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Which wedding film is better: Father of the Bride or The Wedding Planner? Squaring off in today’s debate are the hosts of the Betches Brides podcast: Chelsea White and Selena Coppock. Chelsea says The Wedding Planner has an all-star cast and flips the wedding movie genre on its head by focusing on the person planning the wedding, not the person in the wedding. Selena argues that Father of the Bride has an even more stellar cast and manages to tug at your heartstrings while also giving you slapstick physical comedy. Which rom-com will Ronald Young Jr. declare the best wedding movie?

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Transcript

SPEAKERS

Selena Coppock, Chelsea White, Ronald young Jr.

Ronald young Jr.  00:00

The Wedding industrial complex is valued somewhere in the billions of dollars. For folks who dream of their wedding, it’s worth every penny as they get to live the experience they imagined for years. But in order to make that one day, or for some multiple days, happen, it takes planning and someone to foot the bill. At the movies, these rules have been depicted many times, but few as on the nose as The Wedding Planner and Father of the Bride. These are two romantic comedies that depict all of the commotion that goes on behind the scenes before we get to I do but told from slightly different perspectives. One is told in the comedy stylings of Steve Martin as the aptly named Father of the Bride, and the other is from perpetual career bride Jennifer Lopez as The Wedding Planner. Both have flowers and cakes and antics based in deep misunderstandings. But which wedding movie is the best? We decide today, once and for all right here and right now on Pop Culture Debate Club. I’m Ronald Young Jr.

 

Ronald young Jr.  01:12

So let’s meet our panelists for the day, representing Father of the Bride is a comedian, creator of a parody New York Times vows page on Instagram that was featured in the actual New York Times and co host of the bitches podcast, Bitches Bride, hello and welcome to Selena Coppock.

 

Selena Coppock  01:29

Hi, Ronald. I’m so excited to be here. Lovely to meet you.

 

Ronald young Jr.  01:32

I’m so excited to have you. I’m ready to dig in. Also joining us, representing The Wedding Planner, is comedian, TV writer and the other co host of Bitches Brides, let’s welcome Chelsea white.

 

Chelsea White  01:44

Ronald, thanks for having me. I’m excited to chat with you and to kick Selena’s ass.

 

Ronald young Jr.  01:50

Ooh, that’s the type of energy we like here on Pop Culture Debate Club, Selena, do you have a rebuttal?

 

Selena Coppock  01:59

Buckle up, Chelsea, because I don’t know if you’re ready to hear about Father of the Bride, the 1991 cinematic master piece, but I just re watched it twice in a row to make sure it was fresh on my in my brain. Not twice. Yep, twice. I’m not just giving away once over. I need to make sure I get all the layers. I watched it twice over the weekend. You’re welcome.

 

Ronald young Jr.  02:18

Chelsea, are you prepared?

 

Chelsea White  02:20

I’m afraid I was gonna try to think of a one up, like I have it playing in my mind’s eye right now with my meta implant.

 

Ronald young Jr.  02:29

I studied the script. Okay, are y’all ready to fight?

 

Selena Coppock  02:36

Yes, I love it.

 

Ronald young Jr.  02:40

Chelsea, okay. Opening argument. We should watch Wedding planner?

 

Chelsea White  02:44

The wedding planner, when it comes to wedding movies, the wedding planner truly has it all. Okay? Matthew McConaughey, like pretending he loves his fiance, Bridget Wilson. Bridget Wilson, pretending Matthew McConaughey isn’t in love with their wedding planner, J Lo. J Lo, pretending to be Italian. That’s right. In this movie, J Lo is Italian and comes from an Italian family.

 

Ronald young Jr.  03:03

No.

 

Chelsea White  03:04

It’s also full of valuable, relatable lessons, like outside of, you know, romance and love and everything, like valuing your Gucci shoes over your own life. That is actually how JLo meets Matthew McConaughey. We can go into it more as we as we go on. That’s a little teaser. Plus Judy Greer as a best friend, which every wedding movie needs and not everyone has, unless you are advocating for the movie, 27 Dresses she’s also in that one. Don’t worry about that. We’re talking about Judy Grier in this movie. That’s it.

 

Ronald young Jr.  03:32

Oh, I love it. Mic drop at the end.

 

Chelsea White  03:34

Are you enticed?

 

Ronald young Jr.  03:36

I am enticed, Selena Coppock, opening argument, Father of the Bride.

 

Selena Coppock  03:41

Okay, opening argument, father of the bride. Let me take you back to the year 1991 when a boomer husband dad could charm America by talking about how he owns a home and he’s never, ever gonna sell it, and he wants to stay there forever. I know this sounds like a painful storyline for many millennials, but the house and father of the bride is very much part of the story. The main character, Steve Martin, plays a father who owns a charming sneaker company, and he’s just sort of like a perfect dad. He loves his kids. His kids are Kimberly Williams, who has just been studying in Rome for her master’s degree. She’s 22 years old, and then a very young son, a young Kieran Culkin, who is cute as a button. Yes. I mean, the cast is perfection. The movie itself is not just about planning a wedding, which it might sound like. It’s about the seasons of your life and sort of knowing that things are changing. And Steve Martin’s character is married to Diane Keaton, and it’s about the two of them navigating that, wow, they’re old enough to be throwing a wedding, and Steve Martin’s having a hard time grappling with this to comedic effect. It also there’s so much sort of good commentary on hypocrisy of your parents, you know, like Steve Martin’s like, oh, she’s too young to get married. She’s 22 and Diane. And Keaton, the mom is, like, we got married at 21 like, there’s just a lot of funny stuff there. Also it is. There’s a lot of pratfalls and physicality, which I love as a viewer. Give me Steve Martin falling into a pool because he’s being chased by dogs when he goes to the home of his future son in laws, parrots, when he goes to meet them, like just so many, so funny physical comedy, which I love, and really amazing performances by everyone, including Martin Short, who plays Frank, the wedding planner, and his, yeah, I mean, it’s an iconic role for him. He’s is like, he has this accent. You don’t even know what he’s saying, but he’s just a snob at a half, and I love it. And his assistant is BD Wong at his best. He’s so great. I mean, there’s not like the roles are cast so perfectly, and the hierarchy of sort of Frank making the calls and everyone kind of scrambling behind it’s so well done. And also I appreciate that it is a movie about, kind of the dad being a little bit of a Bridezilla. It’s not about a woman being a Bridezilla. It’s not about the bride being difficult. It’s about the dad having a meltdown hilariously.

 

Ronald young Jr.  06:10

Okay, I love it. Y’all have I’m intrigued by both of these premises. I’m noticing that I’m hearing that the there with the father of the bride. There’s more leaning into the actual comedy of the rom com. Chelsea, how does that ring for you? We’re looking at Steve Martin versus J Lo. Is J Lo funny in the Wedding Planner? Should I be looking forward to that?

 

Chelsea White  06:33

Wow, Ronald, that’s a really existential question. I would say the idea is that J Lo is funny in this movie? Yes, is she funny? Yes, she’s a good comedic actress. Is it also unintentionally funny? Very much yes. Probably 200% more yes than than the times they’re trying to be funny.

 

Ronald young Jr.  06:56

It’s fair.

 

Chelsea White  06:56

So it’s really a twofer. You know what I mean?

 

Ronald young Jr.  06:58

Got you but Selena, we’re leaning more into the actual physicality of and we have the tandem of Steve Martin Short, as I like to call them, in this movie. So we’re more into the zany hijinks there?

 

Selena Coppock  07:09

Indeed we are the zani hijinks. I mean, the young Gen Z might see this as a pre, you know, this sort of precursor to all murders in the building, you know, like, because, yeah, I mean that comedy duo is so solid. And I mean the physicality and the hijinks. For example, there’s sort of a legendary scene of Steve Martin having an absolute meltdown in a supermarket because he’s trying to buy a number of hot dogs and a number of hot dog buns, but you can buy eight hot dogs, but you have to buy 12 hot dog buns, and he hasn’t, yeah, which I’m sure you’ve probably seen this on the internet, like, I’ve seen it out of context. And I think people like, where did that come from? I’m like, oh my god, it’s father of the broad like, you know, and because he’s like, I’m not gonna get taken for a ride. Because the whole thing is, Steve Martin keeps thinking, like, you’re taking my money for this wedding. So he opens the hot dog bun container and removes a few and, of course, ends up being, you know, ends up in jail. And, you know, the the supermarket manager comes over and is like, you can’t do that. And he just has, like, a meltdown. So super funny. But also, there are some really heartfelt moments, like I cried watching this. They there’s a moment where Annie and her dad, you know, when she comes home and he’s kind of processing that, oh my gosh, my little girl’s engaged, they go and do what they always do, which is they play basketball in the driveway. And, you know, and they put on one of his pairs of sneakers, because he works in the sneaker industry, and they play basketball in the driveway. And it’s to my girl the song, and, oh, God, I just started crying watching it. I mean, it’s really sort of, I mean, I never played basketball in my driveway with my dad. Like, I just it really, I was like, God, what a dream. Like, it’s just such a aspirational and delightful thing to watch and to see this relationship between father and child. Chelsea goes to jail.

 

Ronald young Jr.  08:53

Chelsea, what I’ve noted is that, like, there’s, there’s a lot of when I think about the 90s, I think about wedding movies, and I think about the fact that father of the bride came out in 1991 wedding planner came out 10 years later in 2001 and between those two movies, Four Weddings and a Funeral. 1994 my best friend’s wedding. 1990 I want to say five, The Wedding Singer. 1998 Runaway Bride. 1999 the best man. 1999 before we get to the wedding planner in 2001 for someone who has seen the others. What sets the wedding planner apart from any of the other 90s movies or early aughts movies about weddings?

 

Chelsea White  09:28

Oh my gosh. Well, I can’t emphasize enough, they made J Lo pretend to be Italian. So that’s number one. Number two, well, Selena was talking about some of the great physicality and comedy in the wedding planner, in the father of the bride. And so I think I should mention and entice you with some of the great physical comedy that J Lo, Matthew McConaughey, actually bring to the wedding planner. You wouldn’t expect it, folks, but the hijinks scenes include when Matthew McConaughey and J Lo meet happenstance. It’s a real meet cute. She gets her Gucci shoe stuck in a grate in the street. And I’m pretty sure it’s someone like a street vendor loses control of his cart, or like something is like barreling down the street at her, and she is trying to get her shoe unstuck, and she can’t, so she decides, okay, I have to save myself and leave the shoe. But then she doubles back, because she remembers how much she loves Gucci, which is relatable and appreciated. And so she decides Her shoes are more important than her own life, and she goes back to try to wedge the shoe out. And that’s when Matthew McConaughey happens to be there and swoops in and and rescues her, pushes her out of the way, just in time they rescue the shoe as well. He just happens to be a doctor. You can’t write this stuff, folks only they did. And then as the scene as the movie goes on, they get into heightened hijinks, such as when they’re going on a horseback ride as part of like a little wedding preparation situation. So she’s supposed to be there as a wedding planner, like helping the bride and the groom and the horse gets out of control, and all of a sudden starts running away, and Matthew McConaughey has to swoop in. They’re doing horse stunts. Can you imagine Ronald [..] doing horse stunts?

 

Selena Coppock  11:14

The budget alone? Gosh, for 2001?

 

Chelsea White  11:19

Jinx alone set it apart from the all the other 90s movies, wedding movies wedding movies that you just mentioned, I love and then not. I would be remiss if I also didn’t mention them. Prepper prepping to learn their first dance for their wedding. The bride and the groom, eth McConaughey and Bridget Wilson with J Lo there to help them along the way. But then Bridget Wilson, the fiance has to take a phone call, and J Lo steps in to take the dance lesson, and they have like a very a tango of of the heart and the mind Ronald, where they Matthew and J Lo are tangoing together and arguing as they Tango about the fact that they’re in love with a camping.

 

Ronald young Jr.  11:57

Chelsea convinced me that home wrecking is a good place to start, okay, as a purpose of a movie.

 

Chelsea White  12:03

This is where this is you ask a very good question. You ask a very, very good question. Ronald and one girl’s girl, one that I grappled with after I watched it again. So the whole, well, I don’t think J Lo is a girl’s girl, but is Italian J Lo in the wedding planner, girls, girl, she is. So when they first fall in love, she doesn’t realize it’s one of her grooms. She’s only been working with Bridget Wilson the fiance, so she does many different meetups with Bridget Wilson the fiance, planning the wedding, before she realizes that this guy that she kind of has a crush on and had a moment with is actually the groom. So he’s more the piece of shit here, you know. So then she confronts him, and she tries to do the right thing by by walking away from the situation, but he but she doesn’t want to lose the count. It’s the biggest account at her at her wedding planner firm right now, Ronald. Her career kind of depends on it the her boss, Kathy Najimy, nonetheless. Kathy Najimy, her boss says, if you, if you don’t fuck this up, Italian J Lo, you are going to like be made a partner. So she has to stick it out and just kind of keep Matthew McConaughey at arm’s length. So then basically, to your home wrecking. Question is where we started. Matthew McConaughey is more the piece of shit. J Lo’s trying to do the right thing and pull back. And then finally, on their wedding day, Matthew McConaughey goes to Bridget Wilson, the fiance on their wedding day, and says, Why do you want to marry me? Are we really still in love, or are we just doing this because we’ve been together since college? And at first she’s like, What the fuck Matthew McConaughey? And then she’s like, you’re also not wrong. Do you want to marry the fucking wedding planner, you dumb bitch? And he’s like, kind of and they’re like, All right, put me in a cab. Wow. And then he go, you know, is it right? Is it wrong? It’s messy, just like life Ronald. And that’s why watching a movie like The Wedding Planner is cathartic. It’s the real wedding day relationship drama that we deserve, because who hasn’t walked away from their bride on their wedding day to marry the wedding planner. We all have that person in our life. We all have that Uncle.

 

Ronald young Jr.  14:15

Selena doesn’t father of the bride. Kind of originate that for the wedding planner, the idea of the climactic ending happening on the wedding day.

 

Selena Coppock  14:23

Yes, and the notion of a cuckoo bananas wedding planner. I’m sorry, but I don’t think J Lo could do the service that Martin Short has done, to the notion of an absurd wedding planner. I mean, Martin Short, he’s wearing this crazy hairstyle, his Franc. I mean, from the first meeting, where early on the Diane Keaton, Steve Martin and Kimberly Williams go for their first meeting with him. And, I mean, from the jump, Steve Martin is sort of having a meltdown. He’s like, I What is this guy? He’s like a cartoon character and and so Steve Martin kind of gets iced out. And so it’s really the mom and the daughters kind of thing with Frank. And with Frank this. Assistant, BD Wong, who is such sort of a strange character, but he is a phenomenal wedding planner. I mean, he literally, they have, of course, it snows on the wedding day, which has never happened, has not happened in Southern California in like decades, you know? I mean, of course, and they booked swans to roam around the front yard. And, I mean, it’s just no expenses spared. The entire backyard is tented, and it’s like Chelsea and I have talked about on the Bucha brides podcast. They have to sort of build a world of this backyard. So, you know, it’s expensive because, like, every single chair is rented, every single table is rented, everything’s brought in. But that’s part of the hilariousness of the movie, and like the delight in Frank being there all day, and Frank sort of melting down on the day of because, oh my gosh, it’s the big show, you know. But I think if we were gonna go toe to toe, J Lo as wedding planner versus Frank, Steve Martin as wedding planner, I’m sorry, but I’m going with Frank.

 

Chelsea White  15:58

But listen to this, Selena the wedding planner revolutionized wedding movies because it brought the wedding planner front and center as the main character, exploring her wants and her needs, not just a side character, the wedding planner is the one making the wedding happen. We’re tired of hearing about the bride and groom and the fathers of the brides. Okay, we need to know what is the wedding planner going through in this? Is she in love with one of the fiances that are getting married? Is she Yeah? Is she a homewrecker? Is she not? Is one? Is the bride or the groom ahomewrecker?

 

Selena Coppock  16:33

Does she have important slot Gucci shoes.

 

Chelsea White  16:35

That she needs to save? What does her best friend Judy Greer think about all of this?

 

Selena Coppock  16:42

And I know Chelsea has had an incident with her own personal Gucci slides, so I’m sure this is very tip of rain and emotional for you.

 

Chelsea White  16:49

Chelsea really struck a chord with me. I didn’t get into how the with the guy from Grey’s Anatomy. I forget his name, he pretends also to be Italian and that he can barely speak English, and J Lo’s dad is trying to arrange marriage. J Lo and Grey’s Anatomy guy, that’s like a whole subplot Ronald that we didn’t even touch on.

 

Ronald young Jr.  17:13

We’ll be back with more Pop Culture Debate Club after this break.

 

Ronald young Jr.  17:32

Selena, I want to come back to you for a second so Father the Bride, because it came out in 1991 I’m wondering for like a Gen Z, a Gen alpha, and elder millennial re approaching this film. Are there any parts of this movie that don’t age so well through a 2024 lens?

 

Selena Coppock  17:49

Ronald, I am glad you asked, because I must admit, I originally watched this when I was 11 years old. I was born in 1980 like all the cool kids and and I loved it. I remember it, loving it when I was young. And then I re watched it this weekend twice, as I’ve noted, and and it’s my first instinct. I was like, this entire movie is centered on a white, straight, cis man who is a father. Like, I’m not hearing about the bride at all. Like, where is she in this? And then I remembered Selena it’s literally called Father of the Bride. Like, it is his story. I shouldn’t be so furious that I’m not hearing much about the daughter or any other character as much. Like, yeah, it is a Steve Martin piece. And I do think that perhaps Gen Z, Gen alpha, will have to get their brains around that piece that like, Okay, this is the story of an old white guy who has a ton of money, who bought a house, who is literally saying he never wants to sell this house, who owns his own company. So, you know, it feels like, yeah, of that era, those were the stories we were hearing. There isn’t much diversity in the film, unfortunately. So I do think I could see Gen Z and Gen Alpha feeling like, gosh, this is it just feels a little bit retrograde. I must admit.

 

Chelsea White  19:08

Although they I know I’m supposed to be advocating for my own movie, but also they make the bride gets mad at the at her fiance for getting her a blender. So, like, there’s like, 1991 feminism light, you know, I know, yeah, they’re trying to desensitize you to it.

 

Selena Coppock  19:23

They’re like, yeah there is some that it was a nice touch, because she was like, I want to be an architect, and I want to have a career, and that is my top priority. And sort of that, you know, her the fiance, like, you better be down for what I want to do. And, you know, and they met in Rome, and she was doing her master’s degree, and so she is focused on her desires, which I think is great and important. And yeah, and there is sort of a seminal scene that he gets to a blender, so she calls off the wedding. And then, and this is sort of what was so fun, is Steve Martin’s character takes his future son in law out for drinks to sort of mend the fence. Even though Steve Martin is like. I’d be cool if you beat it too, guy, you know, like so and it’s, and of course, it’s rainy, you know, and then, and then it’s, and actually, that part ends up being so hilarious, because the when Steve Martin and his daughter are, you know, and she’s saying, it’s called off, you know, he bought me a blender, she says, also he lied. He said that when you and mom went over to his parents house that you, you know, were sneaking around his dad’s office, and you ended up jumping in the pool and being chased by the dogs. And it’s so funny, because it really kind of was like, you kind of expect that that whole scene would never really be addressed later in the film, but like, the fact that it does come back around, and she’s like, clearly he’s lying. You would never do that. And Steve Martin’s, like, you know, that was, I found that hilarious. Um, but yes, I guess it’s a mixed bag of, like, it is a little bit feminist, but it’s also like, a predominantly very white movie.

 

Ronald young Jr.  20:53

Understood, so let me ask y’all this, like,y’all, are y’all both? You know, if you have a podcast that’s wedding based, like, you have a y’all have both been married. You are a part of American society and culture today. I wonder which of these films do you think does a better job of navigating the parts of marriage that may be most problematic, and the fact that we are, we are kind of pushed in society towards this idea of the wedding day. And I would argue that a lot of these 90s weddings movies, are pushing us in that direction further and further. Instagram and social media has kind of picked up the cause since then. But think about these movies and how what their place is in those stories. Do you think either of these does a better job of saying, hey, but you know, you can do whatever you want. You don’t have to get married.

 

Selena Coppock  21:40

I will say the wedding industrial complex is strong and it doesn’t go away, and the propaganda that this is the most important day of your life. And I do think that it’s funny you mentioned that Ronald, because there’s a moment in father of the bride that I think is meant to be heartfelt, but I think it’s a tiny bit misguided, and I know that I’m probably terrible at arguing my case, but you know the the expenses are going up so high, and they determine that the catering is going to be $250 ahead, and they want to invite something like 250 people. And so Steve Martin […]

 

Ronald young Jr.  22:16

That is why, yeah, those are 2024, prices.

 

Selena Coppock  22:20

I know, yeah. And Steve Martin’s character is like, Okay, we got to cut the list. So they each, they each bring up note cards of who do they want to invite, and they’re trying to cut out cousins. And they remember that someone who they thought they were going to invite actually died. So, okay, good fewer on the list. And, and Steve Martin really is, you know, he’s the one kind of try saying, like, we have to have fewer people at this wedding. And then later in the evening, he finds his daughter, Annie. She’s fallen asleep on the couch, and she has a magazine over her and it’s ways to save money on your wedding. And it says, like, make your own wedding cake, have your friend take the photos. Like, and and it that is sort of his, like, come to Jesus moment where he’s like, oh my gosh, I don’t want my daughter to be making her own wedding cake. Like, let okay, you know what? I’m gonna let it ride. Let’s let the expenses be what they are. But I honestly found that part kind of problematic, because I felt like a lot of people can’t afford this, and so for him to feel like, oh god, how disgusting Can you imagine just having your friends take the pictures. I just felt like, God, whoever the writers room of this movie was a bunch of rich dicks. Maybe, you know, if that’s just like, yeah, that’s the emotional moment. Is like, when you realize, wait, no, you do have money. You gotta spend it, you know.

 

Ronald young Jr.  23:38

Chelsea, how does your film hold up against the wedding industrial complex.

 

Chelsea White  23:41

Well, yeah, I’ve been being a little bit tongue in cheek about some elements of the wedding planner, even though I love it dearly. But it really does, I think, touch on two very realistic and, you know, interesting scenarios. One, being without the home wrecking element and without the, you know, perhaps Matthew McConaughey didn’t go about it in the right way, but when he brings up the point to Bridget Wilson, are we getting married just because we think we’re supposed to get married? Is it just because we got on this roller coaster of, like, okay, we were together in college. Now we’re just supposed to keep being together. We’ve been together this many years. So then, I guess that’s like you do when you’ve been together that many years. Then you just, you know, stay together and you have to get married. And then, of course, Bridget Wilson wants, like, the biggest, most, you know, expensive wedding of all time, very like old money, type of, type of vibes, like, we have to have the best wedding that, out does all of, like, our, you know, parents, friends and family’s weddings. So I think touching on that aspect, I think it does in actually, a very, you know, kind of like sincere and realistic way of making people sort of potentially have a light bulb moment of like, you don’t have to get married and have a big wedding to be happy, and you also don’t have to marry the person you’re with just because you’re with them. You can just stay with them and not marry them or you could date lots of more time. People, and then also the arranged marriage thing, which I touched on, is also kind of a sweet and storyline that brings to light that J Lo’s parents are. Her dad reveals your mom and I were actually in arranged marriage. And this blows J Lo’s mind, because she has this image of her parents as being like the love story to end all love stories, and she’s so close to them, and they had such a tight knit family relationship, and she cannot believe what she’s hearing, that her parents didn’t marry for love, that they married and arranged marriage, but then love grew from it. So this kind of changes the way she feels about love and relationships, and that’s why, then she is open to her dad wanting to set her up with guy from Grey’s Anatomy in an arranged marriage, because he is concerned about her being alone for the rest of your life, her life, which you can, you know, obviously there’s a problematic way you can look at that. And you can also look at it as, you know, kind of just an old school Italian dad being like, yeah, my daughter’s kicking ass, but, but I was happy with this arranged marriage. It turned into love and turned into a great life story for me. So maybe this would also be nice for my daughter. And J Lo kind of has to grapple with that and consider it, and she almost does marry Grey’s Anatomy guy, until Homewrecker Matthew McConaughey leaves his wife at the altar and runs to J Lo to stop the arranged marriage and they live happily ever after. Can you wreck your own home? I think you can. I think you can wreck your own home. […] Another very existential question from it.

 

Ronald young Jr.  26:31

Different podcasts. Chelsea, I do want to, I do have a question about Italian J Lo. And I guess I’m actually going to ask about Puerto Rican J Lo, because she’s the star of the wedding planner, obviously, and today she’s played the bride in nine movies, and has been married can’t get enough four times. J Lo is doing this over, and was doing this over and over again, as she is in in real life.

 

Chelsea White  26:57

In real life.

 

Ronald young Jr.  26:58

Is this life reflecting art? What’s going on here?

 

Chelsea White  27:01

Or she maybe she just can’t take her own goddamn advice or maybe she can, because, do they all end happily? Yeah, we need to do some more research, and if they actually all end happily. Now, I guess most of them do.

 

Selena Coppock  27:11

Don’t sleep on her engagements too. I mean, she’s been married but also engaged to a rod, but never walked down the aisle. Yeah, she is a she’s a romantic. She’s a real romantic.

 

Ronald young Jr.  27:21

Oh, here’s two you probably forgot there was one in 2022 called Shotgun Wedding, and there was another one in 2022 called Marry Me with Owen Wilson.

 

Selena Coppock  27:30

Yes, that’s the one.

 

Chelsea White  27:31

I really think he was the one, yeah. And I forgot, I did see Shotgun Wedding, actually, yeah, the one Fergie’s ex husband […] goes a little bit awry, so maybe, oh man.

 

Ronald young Jr.  27:46

We’ll be back with more PCDC after this break.

 

Ronald young Jr.  28:04

Let’s get the closing arguments. Chelsea, your closing argument, we should watch The Wedding Planner instead of Father of the Bride.

 

Chelsea White  28:11

Listen, if you guys want to watch a movie that is, you know, heartfelt, entertaining and starring some of the best comedic actors of our time. Sure, you could watch Father of the Bride, but if you want to watch a movie that, when I forced my husband to watch it, he described as the entire movie being one long micro aggression, then you’re going to want to watch the wedding player. And if that doesn’t pique your curiosity, to explore what we are consuming in the year 2001 I don’t know what will Bridget Wilson of love interest in Billy Madison. She did lots of other things, but that was her favorite role for me. Also wait the grandma from Happy Gilmore. She’s also in this which is fun. Matthew McConaughey, J Lo, what else do you need right there? Gucci shoes being valued over one’s life. Judy Greer, amazing is the best friend in every movie. Kathy Najimy Lou, Lou Myers, he’s in this. He’s a guy. He was in a different world, and he was like, in all like the originated a lot of August Wilson play roles, you know. So, yeah, if you just want to watch a good old fashioned, problematic romp and remember how carefree and problematic we were in 2001 and think about your life for a while and then check out The Winning Planner.

 

Ronald young Jr.  29:31

Chelsea, I love that you introduce New strikes against your movie. I’d buy your honesty here. Selena, closing argument, we should watch father of the bride instead of the wedding planner.

 

Selena Coppock  29:49

Okay, father of the bride, if you want roughly 90 minutes of feel good of some of your favorite wedding related songs, such as, my girl going to the chapel. Today, I met the boy I’m gonna marry, if you want an exploration of the seasons of your life, if you want just simply stunning visuals. I mean, they live in a gorgeous house in a gorgeous Street, and then they go to Bel Air and see an even more gorgeous house. If you love a good comedy like, I mean, a Franck is so funny. BD, Wang crushes it. The cast is absolutely top notch, and it is both hilarious and, you know, there’s so much hijinks going on, but it also is like it really tugs at your heartstrings and makes you think about your relationship with your family and your romance and your love. And would if somebody got you a blender, would you freak out at them? You know, it makes you question these existential quandaries of of life. Also, I forgot to bury the lead. There are scenes of children driving cars in it. That’s a fun, random valet moment. Siskel and Ebert absolutely loved father of the bride. And I got to say, I go with Siskel and Ebert on this one.

 

Ronald young Jr.  30:59

Ooh, I admire the style points for sticking the landing on that closing argument. Are y’all ready for my ruling?

 

Selena Coppock  31:09

It’s immediate? Oh God.

 

Ronald young Jr.  31:11

Would you think there’s a deliberation process? I don’t know, absolutely not. It’s real time happening in front of you. So it’s funny.

 

Selena Coppock  31:20

Ronald, we’re ready.

 

Ronald young Jr.  31:21

On this show, we we start with the argument, and we were tied, 111, each of you has a vote. You’re voting for your own and I am neutral. I’m not voting for anything yet, and your goal is to convince me to take your side and to watch that movie. I love 90s movies, like if you put on a 90s movie right now, what Netflix does is it puts these movies out, and all of a sudden, these new movies come into your queue, and it’s all stuff from like, like that we haven’t seen in years, even sometimes the early odds movies, you’ll see them and you’ll put them on, and you’ll see a 90s movie, and you’ll have this big, long score in the beginning that they don’t really do anymore. You know now it’s just like cold open title of the movie. Straight to the first scene. It’s like somebody riding a bike through a town, and there’s music, and there’s sweeping shots, and all of that happening over and over in those movies. So I love 90s movies, and I would consider the wedding planner to still be of that era of movie came out in 2001 it was probably filmed in the 90s. So, like, it feels the same of those. So I would watch either one of these movies. Let me just start there. Like, as soon as y’all said these, I was like, these I was like, these are two movies that slipped by me that I did not see either one because I was watching other stuff. I was watching the matrix. I was watching all kinds of, like, boy movies and all that. But, and there’s a lot of but there’s a lot of rom coms that, like, did stick with me. The one thing I will say is, I am always enticed by hijacks, by realistic Hi Jinks, especially if someone could sell them. And Selena, when you started talking about what Steve Martin was doing and creeping around and all that, I’m like, I could see him doing that. I would love to see that that is already like scratching a very specific itch for me. Chelsea, when you were talking about what’s going on, it’s like the meet cute, you know what I mean, the idea of the shoe getting caught in the gray and then all that. I’m like, yeah, this is probably one of the earlier meet cutes of this variety, in which it’s like something about Gucci shoes, in which that J Lo’s obviously would be really, really attached to I like that. That kicks off the movie. I don’t like that. She’s Italian. That really something that sticks with me. It’s definitely a vestige of old Hollywood, where they’re just like, she’s Brown. She could play this, which I don’t like they did that with Arnold Schwarzenegger, where they’re just like, yeah, he’s an every man. Do you hear this man that he’s not from you? What are we talking about? No one believes this, you know. So I’m like, that’s something the vestige of old Hollywood. But I had to boil it down to like, how I’m feeling right now in this moment, like, what do? What am I in the mood to watch? And while both are kind of like problematic on the wedding industrial complex and all that, but if you’re signing up for a 90s movie, you’re just signing up for problematic. That’s just that, like you’re that’s what’s gonna come with it. But only murders in the building is a really good show. And when I turned on that show and I saw Steve Martin Short back together, there was a feeling that was evoked inside of me that I just could not get rid of. I’m just like, I love these two together, and I love watching them do comedy. They just remind me of a very specific place I was in in the 80s and 90s. I was born 84 so specific. As a child, watching them, they really made me laugh. And when you mentioned that Martin Short was in this movie, I was just like, oh, no, I got I think I’m honest. Chelsea, you lost it right there.

 

Chelsea White  34:38

Yes, she started naming people in a ponytail […] mean, unbeatable.

 

Ronald young Jr.  34:44

Yeah, so I would say your your closing argument, strangely, almost convinced me. Chelsea, you said it’s one long micro aggression. I’m like, I kind of want to sleep. But in the end. And I think I have to give this one to Selena for Father of the Bride.

 

Selena Coppock  35:06

I’m honored. And I really, I didn’t do anything. It’s the movie itself.

 

Ronald young Jr.  35:13

Chelsea, where can folks find you? If they’re looking for you?

 

Chelsea White  35:16

They can find me on Instagram @theChelseawhite where I infrequently post pictures of my cats or like one thing I liked one day a month. Um, if Tiktok still exists a few weeks from now, you can follow me @theChelseaWhite with a little underscore after it, and I haven’t posted there yet, but if I get 1000 followers, I’ll go live and tell you more about more problematic movies I’ve seen.

 

Ronald young Jr.  35:39

It sounds likely that you’ll be going live and posting reels on Instagram, so I’m glad you gave both of those handles with Selena. If folks are looking where can they find you?

 

Selena Coppock  35:51

Yes, they could find me on Instagram @SelenaCoppock, S, E, L, E, N, A, C, O, P, P, O, C, K, also my labor of love, NYT Vows, where I mock the wedding industrial complex and the New York Times and elites and wasps, which is N, Y, T, V, O, W, S, it’s on Instagram. It’s also on Twitter, because it has to be, but don’t go to that one. And then, and I have a silly little podcast about candles called Two Wick Minimum also.

 

Ronald young Jr.  36:16

Wow, okay, I’m you, I’m intrigued, if the listeners aren’t, but I’m definitely intrigued. So you at least went over one person. Thank you so much for being on the show. Y’all have been incredible.

 

Selena Coppock  36:26

Thank you so much, Ronald.

 

Chelsea White  36:28

Thank you guys.

 

Selena Coppock  36:29

Such a blast.

 

CREDITS  36:35

Thanks again to Selena Coppock and Chelsea White. There’s more Pop Culture Debate Club with Lemonada Premium subscribers get exclusive access to bonus content like Selena and Chelsea discussing their favorite moments from their own weddings. Subscribe now in Apple podcasts. Pop Culture Debate Club is a production of Lemonada and the BBC.   It’s produced by Jamela Zarha Williams, Kryssy Pease,  Dani Matias and me, Ronald young Jr. Our mix is by Noah Smith. Rachel Neel is VP of new content. Our Senior Vice President of weekly content  and production is Steve Nelson. Commissioning editor for the BBC is Rhian Roberts. Executive Producers are Stephanie Wittels Wachs and Jessica Cordova Kramer.   Follow Pop Culture Debate Club, wherever you get your podcasts.