Double Wedding is pure, chaotic fluff

Should you bother?

If you have a soft spot for the kind of 1930s comedies where people talk very fast and live in trailers for no discernible reason, then Double Wedding is your jam. If you hate movies where the 'hero' is actually kind of a manipulative creep who hides behind a bohemian aesthetic, you’re gonna have a bad time. It’s light, it’s fluffy, and it’s completely disposable. Perfect for a rainy Sunday when you don't want to think too hard.

William Powell is playing this unhinged artist character who lives in a trailer and spends his time 'painting' and lecturing people on how to actually live. Honestly, he’s exhausting. But because it’s Powell, you just kind of go with it.

Myrna Loy is stuck playing the sister who needs to 'loosen up.' We’ve seen this trope a thousand times before. She’s rigid, she’s engaged to a guy who probably irons his socks, and she desperately needs someone to ruin her life in the name of love. It’s classic stuff, but sometimes it feels like the movie is just spinning its wheels to get to the next punchline.

Odd little moments

• There is a scene with a pet bear that makes absolutely zero sense and I loved every confusing second of it. 🐻
• The pacing feels like it was edited by someone who had a train to catch. It just jumps around.
• Edgar Kennedy is in this for a bit, and honestly, the man could make a grocery list funny.

The dialogue is snappy, sure. But there are moments where the movie tries to be deep about marriage and freedom, and it just lands with a thud. It’s at its best when it stops trying to be a romantic manifesto and just lets the leads bicker in a car.

I found myself thinking back to the mood in something like Cynara, but Double Wedding has none of that heaviness. It’s almost too light. It floats away from you while you’re watching it.

Is it a masterpiece? No. Does it feel like a fever dream about the 1930s? Definitely. Sometimes that's enough, right? Maybe just watch it for the hats.