#jenny's wedding

[annaberunoyume]

Rewatched Jenny's Wedding for the first time since coming out on Facebook on June 30th, 2024. And realized that I have a MASSIVE crush on this lady above, Miss Grace Gummer. Only to see, while looking for a picture of her (that picture above I found on IMDB), that she was married to a man. Aaaw. :-( I guess that's a lesbian thing to crush on straight (or at least bi) lady actresses. She looked so darn cute in that movie...Like an adorable soft butch, the kind you meet while hiking on your favourite track in a national park.

[leighlew3]

For some reason I feel compelled to give some in-depth thoughts on an apparently controversial 2015 wlw film called Jenny's Wedding.

PROS

Amazing cast. You can't go wrong with Katherine Heigl and Alexis Bledel. And everyone was wonderful in their roles. Terrific performances all around from Tom Wilkinson, Linda Emond, and Grace Gummer -- latter of whom nearly stole the show.

Katherine Heigl and Alexis Bledel playing lesbians, and Heigl's character even saying lesbian instead of the movie treating it like a four letter word which even NOW a lot of wlw media won't fix

Frustratingly accurate portrayal of coming out to one's family

Well-written, meaningful, and authentic dialogue

The "Hey Kitty, my dad wants to know if one of us straps it on in bed!” line TOOK ME OUT

CONS

Major lack of any sort of balance between screen time for our lead couple vs Jenny's family dynamics

Lack of Jenny acknowledging Kitty's discomfort at all or showing any real appreciation for her patience

Profuse lack of Alexis Bledel altogether

Now for the ramble. I'm too tired to organize my thoughts, so bear with me if I jump around a bit...

First of all let me defend some elements, and then get into what I agreed was a problem and felt frustration with. I've seen a LOT of people ripping into this movie over the years. I've even seen some people say "They don't even kiss!" or "They have no chemistry!"

First of all, they didn't have enough screen time together to show whether they really had major chemistry and secondly, they were a couple who had already been together for five years. From what little we saw of them together -- they very much felt to me like a duo who had settled into their life together, were comfortable with each other and their routines and in some ways had that 'old married couple' vibe already, which is sorta nice and refreshing to see in wlw media. Secondly, yes, they did kiss. By my count 3+ times in at least 3 different scenes throughout the film. And again, sure, the kisses were not deeply passionate or full of yearning... because they weren't first kisses. They were comfortable, sweet kisses of a couple that's been together for a while, but still shows moments of affection.

Next, yes -- in 2013 when the film was made, we should've been beyond messages of "tolerance" only. But look at where our world and especially our country is TODAY, in nearly 2025 for shit's sake. We've regressed. So now, a movie like this doesn't feel quite so "outdated" in its messaging.

I gotta be honest, the way in which this film tackled the issues -- was bizarrely spot on. The offensive, frustrating, irritating, selfish things said by each of the family members was so accurate to real life. Their self indulgence, and how Jenny's life and love affected THEM overshadowing their concern or love for her at times -- was painfully spot on with how it often goes. Them also coming to terms with how they could learn to at least TOLERATE/ACCEPT and "still love [her] no matter what" seems so eye roll worthy, but again -- it's sadly realistic. Look, I'm the first person to say how tired I am of the coming out tales, but they're still needed in some instances, for people to feel seen and relate. And this movie -- wow they nailed how complicated it can be. And again, this was over ten years ago.

I think a lot of people (especially Gen Z and younger) see a movie like this and hate it or even are disgusted by the "negative, harmful tropes" ...but this was before everyone had all of their personal labels, identities, and even medical and mental health diagnoses listed in their bios. I'm so glad we're to that point of not hiding who we are anymore, but -- these are online behaviors. I currently live in middle class suburban Texas and if I hung Pride flag on my house, it would be torn down, and my landlord who tried to get my neighbor to let her put up pro-Trump signs (she thankfully refused) would probably do everything she could to boot me outta here. Back in 2022, less than 3 miles from where I live, a preacher went viral for a sermon saying us LGBTQ people should all be "put to death".

It is because of this, that I don't find the subject matter nor purpose of this film to be offensive. I find it to be necessary, in a "first step" sort of way. And while we should not still be on "first steps" in 2013 when it was made, 2015 when it was released, nor now in 2024 when I'm seeing it for the first time and it's still relevant... but here we are.

Now. All that being said...

The film's biggest problem was in the balance of focus and blind spots. "This movie is about gay people, but focuses on the straights." is a very, very valid complaint. I agree. And while I think it's okay that it focused on the reactions of the family, we absolutely could have done with one or two less moments between her father and his pals, her mother and her friend, etc. They could have easily cut 3-4 repetitive scenes involving the family off on their own in exchange for more Jenny/Kitty.

Don't get me wrong, I loved the scene in the store with the mother confronting her (ex)friend by saying (paraphrasing) "why is it normal for your shitty ass kids to be messy as hell and it's okay because they're straight but my wonderful and kind daughter is a problem just because she's gay". This was "preachy" for some, but for me it was spot fucking ON. So often you see conservatives citing their so-called morality while they look the other way on "sinful" and immoral, unethical and even illegal behaviors within their families, while condemning queer people for just EXISTING even though we'll be out here following the law and being good and empathetic and helpful human beings. This being called out in the film? Bravo.

So I would've kept THAT one, but trimmed a lot of the rest.

It would have been so much better if they'd traded some of scenes of the family off on their own processing and struggling, for scenes with the leading couple. Showing how all of this is impacting not just Jenny, but Kitty too. Showing Jenny apologizing to Kitty, and maybe even Kitty swooping in to go talk to Jenny's father or something and making him see why she's that right person for her that he was talking about before. Him hearing how Kitty understood and loved his daughter in the same but different way that he loved his daughter -- I think that would have been far more impactful than him coming to these realizations while moping around, fighting with his wife again and again about it, talking to his coworkers/friends repeatedly, etc.

I think part of the issue in the balance of focus was... well, the writer/director -- whom I believe was 70 years old at the time, was seemingly so determined to give meaty material to the veteran actors that she lost sight of the "young" core couple. It's as if these were the characters she related to the most, and therefore prioritized in her writing and directing. I think perhaps with a younger LGBTQ writer or director or co-producer involved, this might have been a blind spot that could have been addressed along the way.

Alas, it was what it was, and thus -- it became " a movie about lesbians that focuses more on heterosexual people". And yes, that part drove me nuts as well. I wanted more of Jenny, whose various stages of fear, sadness, rage and eventual apathy and defiance were so wonderfully portrayed by Heigl. I wanted more between Jenny and Kitty, from finding out how they met and what made them fall in love, to more domestic moments with them and not just always conversations about Jenny's family, and again, more of Kitty being her own character -- someone clearly struggling with the awkward position she'd been put in, being heard, and appreciated more. And also having a say in... well, any of this.

That being said, I think it's important to remember that at the very least -- the Jenny/Kitty relationship and "Jenny coming out" was at the heart of everything happening around them. They didn't show THEM very much, indeed, to its downfall. But every choice and struggle that was happening was ultimately tied to them, and to Jenny. Her sister finding inspiration to leave a loser husband by seeing Jenny's happiness in her identity and relationship. Etc.

Did we need a movie where the barely shown lesbians inspire the heavily shown straights to lead better lives? Not really, lol.

But for what it is... it worked in some ways. In others, not so much.

For instance, it was a little odd how at first it seemed as if her father would be the more understanding of the two and was frustrated by her mother's choice to continue the lies. But then ultimately he became the "villain" of the story in a lot of ways, who by the end learned, at best -- tolerance. Just so he didn't lose his daughter. Was that enough? No. Was it realistic? Yes. Was it frustrating that by the end, even though he showed up for the wedding -- he looked away when they'd kiss? Yes. Do we deserve better representation of ourselves and our allies? Yes. But was it realistic? Again, sadly yes.

Ultimately -- I liked this movie. I would give it tilted thumbs up, but with a big asterisk of "so much potential, amazing acting and great dialogue, but as a whole -- needed a LOT of work from an LGBTQ perspective".

There were a lot of things it could've done better. Especially in terms of MORE SCREEN TIME FOR THE LESBIANS IN A LESBIAN MOVIE. But for what it was, at the time -- and even today... it was authentic. It was frustratingly realistic. And I feel like now once again we're right back to "Hey, could you like... at least just not try to shit on my right to exist, and maybe still love me as a human being?" So movies like this -- well, they're quite relevant again. Unfortunately.

When it comes to LGBTQ representation, we keep taking one step forward, then two steps backwards. In society, and in Hollywood.

We get incredible shows like A League of their Own with the best representation across the board I've ever seen -- and then a billion dollar company decides to undo the renewal and axe it citing union strike excuses. We get Agatha All Along by Marvel, but you'd better believe that LGBTQ representation in Marvel shows and movies (and DC and everywhere major) is gonna die off again over the next four years now that an orange felon rightwing bigot is POTUS again and his cult wants us to go back to the closet, or worse, yet again.

At the end of the day, maybe this movie is less for the gays, and more for the families of the gays who want to understand how their reactions and behaviors can be selfish and self-serving and harmful. And while this movie might teach some of them to do the bare minimum of "tolerance" -- that's better than nothing. And while we deserve WAY more than "better than nothing", society is still telling us otherwise. So, maybe movies like this aren't the worst thing in the world. Maybe it's a foundation upon which to build for the LGBTQ community to be better understood and embraced. And maybe we can also still tell Hollywood:

Hey, next time... focus more on us, will ya?

[queerstuffonscreen]

Jenny's Wedding (2015)

94 min.

Country: USA

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Language: English

Jenny Farrell is getting married. But how will her straight-laced family react when they find out that the woman they thought was their daughter’s roommate is actually her fiancée? As the old-fashioned Farrells attempt to come to terms with the prospect of a surprise daughter-in-law, they face a difficult choice: either adapt with the times or risk being left behind.

Watch on AMC+ or Tubi

[haveyouseenthisromcom]

[parcai]

that was genuinely one of the worst movies ive ever seen 🤦‍♂️ i didn't even bother w seeing the reviews bc i like katherine heigl romcoms...and this was not that. should've checked out the commentary first 🧍‍♀️

[haveyouseenthislesbianfilm]

[wlwmoviebracket]

round 1

[tctmp]

Comedy  Drama  Romance

[microscotch]

[nostalgicninjas]

Gossip Girl Dynamics: Nate Archibald and Jenny Humphrey

But I can’t hide the way I really feel about you. The emotions are too strong for me to just pretend like they don’t exist. I think about you all the time. Now that your brother knows about us, I have to stay away from you . . . but I don’t want to. I really care about you. I just don’t know what to do. — Nate

[cupids-fiction]

the fandom is expanding to the most batshit rarepairs ever yessss 🌝🌝🌝🌝

yes dbda fandom growwwwww 😈😈😈😈GROWWWW GET A NEW SEASON 😛😛😛😛😛

[glittter-skeleton]

Ted and Jenny, I personally prefer thinking they were generally insufferable

[gameo-archive]

"Hello, George, it's me again, and hello Jayden. Keeping my first question simple: is there anything you'd like to see more fan art of in DBD? I'd also love to make a key chain of Raffy and one for Luna to give to you at some point if that's ok."

Edited to add a transcript:

George: Oh, good start. Jayden: That was a good start. “Hello, George. It's me again and hello Jayden. Keeping my first question simple, is there anything you'd like to see more fanart of for DBD? I'd also love to make a key chain of Raffi and one for Luna to give it to you at some point, if that's OK”. Well, first of all, hello, Ethii. Again, I’m, I speak to you pretty much every week anyway. First what I want to say thank you for all of your fan art. I know me and George have both posted pictures of your fan art on our Instagram. I have actually used your fan art as my emotes on Twitch. So yeah, big shout out to you, ehm, I mean. For me, I can't think of anything specific that I'd like to see. I mean, you're amazingly creative and you always make the coolest fan art, so I guess you could just surprise us. How about something of us like this? You should make a fan art and try and add in all of this beautiful set design that that, George added in. George: and you could make fan art of fan art. Because this is Adele, who, ehm, very kindly sent, sent over some fan art which I treasure very much. Well, hi, Ethii. I obviously don't know you as well as this one, but I do recognise you from the last round of cameos. In terms of fan art, I would probably say I'd love to see some of. I mean, listen, I'm grateful for any fan art cause you guys are doing it for the love of the show, which means a lot to us, but maybe some of the characters with the creatures. Jayden: Yes, love that. George: That would be cool. I'd be interested to like, see those creatures because they're CGI. I think it'd be really cool to see them, see your interpretations of them. Jayden: And Teethface. George: Teethface, yeah. And like the floating squid and stuff. And also, you know, we had some favourite episodes to film, like Episode 5. Like, maybe like, I don't know, like a screen grab of, I don't know, us in the school. Or something like that I. Jayden: Yeah. Love that. Or the dragon, you know the dragon. Yeah. Was it the mascot? George: Mascot, yeah, yeah. I mean, yeah, I think that'd be really cool. And also actually now I think about it. Jayden: Go on. George: Bree, Jenny the Butcher is getting married, so you could, as a surprise at the end of the year, have, like, Jenny the Butcher. Yeah, in a butchery gown. And then all the characters at the wedding. Jayden: Yeah yeah. Oh my God, do it. George: That'd be so cool. Jayden: Do it! George: She would like. And we, do you know what, we’ll personally make sure that she sees that. Jayden: Yeah, as we are going to the wedding. George: We're going to the wedding.

[lady-d-arbanville]

Jenny Packham Wedding Collection 2023

[tendousatori]

lamb and nari doodles as i try to figure out their designs.

[bunnymcbunnister]

What is it that the antis say- Supernatural is not a love story? Well, recent evidence begs to differ