4/10
Two Acting Knights Hold Up The Film
3 November 2009
Invitation To The Wedding is the last film of Sir Ralph Richardson who plays a somewhat dotty old bishop who accidentally marries his grand niece to a visiting American who was just standing in for the groom at a wedding rehearsal. It was released two years after Richardson had died and it also features that other classical acting knight, Sir John Gielgud as well.

It was a family joke that Richardson had married a butler to a member of the royal Danish house under similar circumstances. And here the old boy does it again. But apparently Richardson had a sense about these things. Because it turns out that visiting American Paul Nicholas is really falling for bride Susan Brooks and he's got a week to make his case before the real groom Jeremy Clyde returns.

They must do things differently in the United Kingdom because I thought they would have had to have a license first. But that aside the young lovers, allegedly of college age and slightly over are all well into their thirties and even forties. They simply just didn't convince me as young people in love.

John Gielgud was in the film as an Eighties era reverend bring the United Kingdom some of the Billy Graham school of evangelism. I'm not sure what his purpose in the film was other than to be with a valued colleague and friend for a last time. His role was entirely superfluous.

However as a last look at thespian giant Ralph Richardson does deliver a great performance. To bad it had to be in such an ordinary film.
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