Second-Hand Wedding

Director: Paul Murphy
Cast: Geraldine Brophy, Patrick Wilson, Holly Shanahan and Ryan O’Kane
Releasing in cinemas: 29 July 2010
Rated: PG

Second-Hand Wedding is a totally pleasant little film from New Zealand. This domestic comedy will have resonance to all those good folk to enjoy garage sales and bargain hunting at the weekend. It’s reminiscent of The Castle in some ways, a bittersweet observation of N.Z. middle-class family life which has close similarities in this country. This is a movie with heart and a cheerfully upbeat conclusion.

Jill (Geraldine Brophy) and Brian Rose (Patrick Wilson) are happily married with a daughter, Cheryl (Holly Shanahan), who is soon to be engaged to boyfriend Stew Davis (Ryan O’Kane). Jill and her best friend Muffy (Tina Regtien) are dyed-in-the-wool hunters and hoarders, haunting local garage sales and buying up such desirable items as butt-ugly gnome placeholders at rock bottom prices. Realistic garage sale scenes make wry comment on the elusive hunt for that hidden gem. The enthusiastic bargain seekers attending these sales are all neatly fleshed out.

Cheryl fears her mother’s penchant for crazy bargains will spoil her forthcoming nuptials by taking over the arrangements. She only confides in her father that she’s engaged - “I just want to own something that somebody else hasn’t worn”. In a small town it doesn’t take long for Jill - the original ‘second hand Rose’ - to hear of her daughter’s engagement, and she’s naturally hurt; especially so as the news comes via her envious teacher colleague Gracie (Vivien Bell).

With Cheryl and Jill estranged over the wedding, a major hassle appears on the horizon. The wedding reception facilities are booked but way over budget, and the young couple are at loss to know how to pay. Meanwhile, back at home, Brian tinkers with the restoration of his T model Ford, and precipitates a train of events which dramatically affect the wedding and its guests.

So will Stew and Cheryl live happily ever after? Will the obsessed bargain hunter ever find his rare Tretchnikoff? Has pop singer John Rowles become a garage sale chaser? And what about that weird guy in the sports car who keeps nicking garage sale signs?

The core group of ensemble players work splendidly together. Leading the pack is Geraldine Brophy (The Water Horse), who gives a zippy performance with warm tender moments among the exuberance of the chase. She’s the winner in this film with her wide emotional range and surprising conviction in the role. Brian Wilson as the genial husband has a touch of our own Michael Caton, while Holly Shanahan brings suitably wild desperation to her portrayal of Cheryl. The cast all contribute in making the script come vividly to life with considerable humour.

Director Paul Murphy hails from TV and commercials and this is his first feature. There’s a touch of television production around the edges, but the performances on his watch are really commendable. The film is from an observant script by Nick Ward and Linda Niccol and was filmed on the Kapiti Coast in New Zealand. My only quibble was the extra long take of the aging John Rowles warbling away in the big finale.

The film’s certainly pertinent in this e-bay era, where bargain hunters are often gifted amateurs facing up to the professional antique dealers and winning out. With the Internet, Antiques Roadshow and many info books, the amateurs come well-informed these days. This movie should ring their bells to be out early on Saturday mornings. Pity Second-Hand Wedding, made in 2008, has been so long in reaching Australia. The wait has been worth it.

John Bale