Wedding Daze (2006)

Marrying a complete stranger is a life sentence.

Isla plays Katie

Director: Michael Ian Black
Writer(s): Michael Ian Black
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Filming: Filmed in New York City from November 2005.
Budget:
Box Office: Made a total of $11,492,406 worldwide. Took $1,592,609 on opening weekend in the UK, and a total of £2,225,080 there. Also did well in Mexico, taking $2,123,900.
Runtime: 90 minutes
Rating: R in the US, 15 in the UK

 

This is a comedy that shows us that love has nothing to do with perfection. After losing the woman of his dreams, Anderson is convinced he’ll never fall in love again. But at the urging of his best friend, he spontaneously proposes to a dissatisfied waitress named Katie and an innocent dare evolves into the kind of love that both have been looking for all along.

 

Co-Starring

Jason Biggs … as Anderson
Michael Weston … as Ted
Ebon Moss-Bachrach … as Matador
Joe Pantoliano … as Smitty
Heather Goldenhersh … as Jane
Joanna Gleason … as Lois
Matt Malloy… as Stuart
Edward Herrmann … as Lyle
Margo Martindale … as Betsy

 

International Release Dates

The film received a theatrical release in the UK and Ireland on June 1st 2007. Releases worldwide followed over the next 12 months, including September 14th 2007 in Spain, September 27th 2007 in Russia, and May 1st 2008 in Germany. It went straight to DVD in the US, on January 15th 2008.

It was first screened at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2006.

 

Character Information

Isla plays Katie, a waitress at a local diner/restaurant. Katie’s boyfriend has recently proposed to her, but she’s still deciding on what to say to him. They get along so well, and he’s funny, she says, but she’s still confused, and is trying to be more excited by the prospect than she actually is. When a stranger, Anderson, proposes to her in the diner, she reacts completely spontaneously and says yes to him, hoping it will help her escape from the boredom of her current life and free her from following in her mother’s footsteps of repressing her feelings. Katie adopts this free-sprited lifestyle after saying yes to Anderson, and is very excited by it and keen to make their relationship work.

 

Media

Wedding Daze Wedding Daze Wedding Daze Wedding Daze Wedding Daze

Photos: Gallery at Isla Fisher Web
Videos: Videos at Isla Fisher Web

 

Trivia

• The film also goes by the names of The Pleasure of Your Company and The Next Girl I See.

• Isla speaks with an American accent in this role.

• When Katie asks for Anderson’s address when booking a taxi, Anderson says ‘6 New Lane’ – this is actually the real address for the apartments in Staten Island where it is filmed.

• Tricks of filming: When Katie shoots the ceiling in the jail, it’s clear that no bullet casing gets expelled from the gun, indicating it’s a prop.

 

Quotes: Isla, Cast & Crew

Isla Fisher: “Katie is just someone who lives a really boring suburban life. There is nothing going on. Emotionally she is engaged to this guy she doesn’t connect to and then this other bloke just walks into her life and proposes to her. She knows he is the one and they do everything so quickly. They get engaged before they’ve even had a conversation, they move in together before they even know each other and a lot of the comedy comes from the awkwardness of that.”

Isla Fisher: “Katie is a normal girl who lives a repressed life in the suburbs. Whereas Gloria is basically a bipolar nymphomaniac.” (on the differences between the characters in her two wedding themed movies.)

Isla Fisher: “Neither. But playing a normal, healthy person is not as interesting as someone who is broken or complicated.” (when asked whether she was more like Katie, or Gloria in Wedding Crashers.)

Isla Fisher: “I think the theme of the movie is to follow your heart. I think the movie is about love and about different types of love – paternal love, sisterly love, brotherly love, motherly love, romantic love, friendship – and it’s all about the various shades of love, and it’s sort of an exploration of love. And I see Katie as someone who spends the movie discovering different colours of love.”

Isla Fisher: “Working with Jason is a lot of fun. He’s a very generous actor.”

Isla Fisher: “I think Michael Ian Black is probably the nicest person I’ve ever met. He’s so sweet and such a giving, giving director, and he is very supportive of the acting process – being an actor himself – and really gives you the space to discover, and I think what’s great for the shooting of a comedy film is that he keeps the set very light, and it’s less disciplined than most sets which actually gives you more freedom to muck around.”

Isla Fisher: “Anderson represents everything that her fiance that she has at that moment – well, she hasn’t technically said yes to marrying him – but Anderson represents the unknown to her, he represents passion and adventure and excitement, and these are things that Katie has never experienced in her life, so meeting Anderson is literally the most exciting thing that has ever happened to her.”

Jason Biggs: “We got along really well, she would go for it, she would go for these jokes, I mean the movie wouldn’t have worked without her, because if you don’t have someone in there who’s willing to make a fool of themself for the sake of a laugh it’s just, you know. And I pride myself on being an actor who does the same thing and so, we’re very similar in that regard, and we just got along really well, and we had a great time with each other.”

Jason Biggs: “That was great because the thing about her role is that if you don’t have an actress who’s willing to do anything for the joke and basically risk making a fool of herself then the movie doesn’t work in my opinion. Isla is part of a rare breed – the actress who is funny, pretty, young, smart and yet is willing to be outrageous and not worry about how she looks. They are few and far between. On top of that we had amazing chemistry, which is also integral to the movie and whether or not it would work. She was a perfect bit of casting.”

Jason Biggs: “She was just a delight to work with, she’s super funny, she’s down to go for the joke which most actresses aren’t, she’s down to make herself look foolish in order to get a laugh, and I really respect that – a lot!”

Jason Biggs: “She’s sweet and fun and just a good person to have on set. The best thing about Isla is that she’s down to do anything for a joke. I’m not unique as a young guy who’ll go for those things, but young, funny, beautiful women who will do anything for the sake of a joke? The movie wouldn’t have worked without her.”

 

Quotes: Character

Katie: “Can I get you guys anything else?”
Anderson: “”Will you marry me?
Katie: “Excuse me?”
Anderson: “Will you marry me? Seriously, think about it – what could possibly be more romantic than throwing away your entire life, and running off with some handsome dark-haired stranger you spotted across a restaurant?”
Ted: “Uhh I’m sorry, he’s had a lot of syrup.”
Katie: “Ok.”
Ted: “Ok he’s had a lot of syrup?”
Katie: “Ok I’ll marry you.”

[Talking about meeting the parents]
Anderson: “I was thinking that we could go over there and meet them before we … ”
Katie: “Get married?”
Anderson: “If you wanna put a label on it!”

Katie: “You don’t like me!”
Anderson: “Don’t tell me who I like, screw you!”
Katie: “Screw you!”
Anderson: “Screw you!”
Katie: “No, screw you!”
Anderson: “God, you’re impossible! You are pig-headed, you are stubborn, you don’t even warn a guy before he’s about to step in dog sh*t – what is that? Ever since I’ve met you I’ve been a total wreck, even more of a wreck than usual! And screw you, I like you!”
Katie: “Yeah, well you’re a liar, and you have horrible morning breath, and you could never have made it as a picture frame model, it is so cut-throat, and so competetive, and ever since I met you I’ve been feeling completely crazy, and I like you too!”

[After Katie shoots a gun in a police cell]
Anderson: “Katie, what are you doing?”
Katie: “Um, I don’t know! These past few days I haven’t really had any idea what I’m doing Anderson, but what I’m realising is I’m standing here shooting a stolen gun – which by the way is pretty cool – um, what I’m realising is that I don’t care, as long as I can keep doing it with you Anderson, because I think you can – I think you can look across a crowded restaurant and fall in love with a grubby stranger, and I think love can be instantaneous and insane. Anderson, for the last time I’m asking you….”
Anderson: “Will you marry me?”
Everyone else in the cell: “Yes, yes.”
Katie: “Yes. YES!”

 

Reviews

Empire: “It may be predictable stuff but it’s truly charming in places.”

Talk Talk: “The best that can be said for Fisher is that she gamely battles on with a script that can only be described as leaden. To be avoided.”

The Mirror (UK): “The real star of the show is the pert and perfect Isla Fisher (fiancee of Borat creator Sacha Baron Cohen) who has quirky charm and sex appeal in abundance and certainly gives the film its sense of drive and energy. While Isla Fisher is terrific, sadly Jason Biggs never really delivers anything more than his expected modest klutzy charm. It means that Fisher is the one who really keeps the storyline lively and interesting.”

BBC: “Somewhere at the heart of this film is a sweet little indie romance, buried alive by the weight of self-conscious kookiness. Ludicrous characters and bizarre plot threads are roughly crowbarred in everywhere, often looking as if they’ve wandered in from a completely different gross-out movie.”

Variety: “Biggs is a walking cliche as a variation on his ‘American Pie’ character, while Fisher takes a step backward from the wacko she played opposite Vince Vaughn in ‘Wedding Crashers.'”

ReelFilm.com: “Though it becomes more and more conventional as it progresses, The Pleasure of Your Company is initially an irreverent, sporadically hilarious romantic comedy that boasts fantastic performances from stars Jason Biggs and Isla Fisher.”

DVDVerdict.com: ” A significant portion of credit must go to Isla Fisher for being effervescently charming and delightfully adorable throughout the film—without her, Wedding Daze would probably be a lost cause.”

Total Film: “But Biggs remains trapped under the Pie crust, while attempts to re-bottle Fisher’s kooky Crashers schtick come off as half-baked. Worse still, you won’t care whether they end up at the altar or not.”

Movie Web: ” I expect such shamefulness from Biggs, but it kills me to see Isla Fisher cast in this dud. Not only is she one of my biggest crushes right now, but she does have comic talent that she has proven in prior efforts.”

 

Fisher Fantastic

This film rates quite high on the Fisher Fantastic scale, but mostly because Isla plays the lead role in the film — her first time doing so! Wedding Daze is random and predictable with a lacklustre script, and it’s definitely not Isla’s best performance. But somehow Isla and the cast make it watchable! Our former webmistress Riikka rated it as one of her favourite Isla roles to date back in early 2008. If you’re in need of a Fisher fix then this may be a good one to add to your pile of Isla DVD’s as she has a lot of screentime, and is her usual adorable self.

 

Promotion

Isla and co-star Jason Biggs promoted the film at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2006, attending a premiere and portrait studio session for it. She gave an interview – or at least, an article with quotes from her – appeared in The Mirror (UK) newspaper on the day of the film’s release in the UK, and she also mentioned the film in a 2007 article for Entertainment Weekly. She didn’t attend any further premieres or promotional events for it either. The only other promotion we are aware of, is the official promotional interview soundbite which can be found on the US/Region 1 DVD, and excerpts of which can be found in our Video section linked under video interviews below.

Isla Fisher Web‘s Press page (related: 2007 interviews)
Isla Fisher Web‘s 2006 Appearances Gallery
Isla Fisher Web‘s 2007 Magazine Scans Gallery
Isla Fisher Web‘s 2006 video interviews



 

Related Links

• News & Updates for Wedding Daze at Isla Fisher Web

IMDB
Wikipedia

Amazon.co.uk – purchase the DVD
Amazon.com – purchase on Amazon Video
Amazon.com – purchase the DVD
Amazon.com – purchase the Blu-ray
EzyDVD.com.au – purchase the DVD

 

Last Updated: April 4th 2013