Usually two people meeting on their way to a mutual event is a great setup for an unexpected romance. If that’s the case with Destination Wedding, the marketing is doing a great job of keeping the happy ending under wraps.
The movie stars Winona Ryder and Keanu Reeves as Lindsay and Frank, respectively. Both are heading out on the same flight to a destination wedding for a mutual acquaintance, who also happens to be her ex. From the moment they meet in the airport and through the multi-day event, the two misanthropes get on each other’s nerves, bond over their shared dislike of staged formality and more.
The Posters
Reeves and Ryder are smiling on the first poster, something they don’t do a whole lot of in the trailer. Behind them is the lush vineyard they’re visiting for the wedding. The “Check your baggage” copy placed between them *might* have a double meaning here.
The Trailers
Frank and Lindsay have a little meet-cute moment at the airport as the trailer opens, but that’s ruined when their misanthropic tendencies come out and things get awkward. The faint hope that they will no longer have to see each other is quashed when they find themselves on the same flight to the same destination wedding for some mutual friends. Once there, though, they bond over their shared dislike of…well…everything as they endure all the activities and events leading up to the ceremony.
You can see how, assuming this follows the usual patterns, the story plays out but that doesn’t matter because it’s clear the journey with these two will be the biggest draw, not the originality of the story.
Online and Social
Not much on the bare-bones official website, just the trailer, a synopsis and plenty of opportunities to buy tickets. The upper right corner has links to the movie’s Instagram, Facebook and Twitter profiles.
Advertising and Cross-Promotions
Nothing I’ve seen or been made aware of.
Media and Publicity
Reeves spoke occasionally about this movie while on the publicity circuit for other projects, talking about how much fun he and Ryder had reconnecting and working together again.
Of course the conversation wasn’t always just about this movie, as everyone picked up Ryder’s joke about how she and Reeves might have accidentally gotten married on the set of Dracula like it was a real news beat. That was part of a charming press tour where the two displayed their obvious affection for each other, something that’s apparently only deepened on professional and personal levels over the years.
Overall
Can Reeves and Ryder be in all the movies together? Because come on, they have a chemistry that elevates the material well above where it otherwise would be. That’s not surprising given this is their fourth on-screen collaboration and know how to work together to elevate what might otherwise be standard, uninspiring material.
How good the trailer in particular looks (the rest of the campaign is ho-hum) it’s also a testament to how funny these two are. Reeves isn’t – at least not lately – seen as a comedic actor but some of his line readings and movements in the trailer make it clear he has decent chops. Ryder has always been funny and continues to be, so that’s expected. Basically the sales pitch for the movie is to come see these two old friends and professional actors play off one another to the audience’s enjoyment.
Chris Thilk is a freelance writer and content strategist who lives in the Chicago suburbs.
Cinematic Slant 