Father of the Bride Part II

This film works so well simply because every moment of it is suffused with the joy a new baby brings into the world. Save for a needlessly mean comic shot at an Arab businessman, it couldn't be more appropriate for family viewing. [8 Dec 1995, p.D]

What Meyers and Shyer have accomplished is to create a pleasant, sentimental domestic comedy out of a family that really has no problems to overcome, not an easy feat. Read full review

The bourgeois splendor of the Banks house is a major feature of Father of the Bride Part II, a cheerful, harmlessly ingratiating sequel on a par with its 1991 predecessor. Read full review

Sure, Martin and Keaton squander their talents on this sentimental piffle, but it's hard to begrudge these two stars a couple of commercial hits. And oh, those adorable babies at the conclusion! The audience I saw Father of the Bride Part II with loved this big, corny, old-fashioned movie; as crowd-pleasers go, it's a shrewd one. Read full review

Father of the Bride Part II is not a great movie and not even as good as its 1991 inspiration. But it is warm and fuzzy, and has some good laughs and a lot of sweetness. Read full review

The curious thing about Father of the Bride Part 2 is that not only is it the sequel to a remake, but it's the remake of a sequel. As such, it's a perfect illustration of stretching an idea too far. Certain premises lack the necessary material for a multiple features, and this is one such example Read full review

Father of the Bride Part II is too long, completely predictable and unabashedly immersed in a posh world that is totally out of reach of most people. It's a comfort to see that riches don't keep some guys from being dithering fools when it comes to life's fundamentals. Read full review

This feature-length sitcom episode is handsomely filmed, but not as funny as you'd hope with Steve Martin and Diane Keaton in leading roles, and some of the humor has a nasty edge. [8 Dec 1995, p.13]

Damned if this sugary confection doesn't come with a creepy crust. the odd sense that these aging boomers, ever eager to stall the march of time, are competing with their own daughter in the maternity sweepstakes - I'll see your child, and raise you one. [8 Dec 1995, p.C1]

Martin, Keaton and cinematographer William A. Fraker put this retro fluff over better than expected early on, but hour 2 is only for those who don't want their equilibriums rattled by surprises. [8 Dec 1995, p.1D]

Martin's performance is as impeccable as the set decoration, though one wishes he'd stop wasting his skill. Keaton flaunts her matronly hips, daring us to remember Annie Hall, but despite a jawline that's tighter than it was a decade ago in Baby Boom, she looks past the age of conception (no cosmetic surgery for wombs). [19 Dec 1995]

In all, it's fairly harmless, tolerably sentimental and mildly entertaining: just the thing for the kind of holiday afternoon when you've had way too much of your relatives. Read full review

Sugary enough to induce immediate diabetes, this is not one for cynics. Read full review

It's basically just more of the same maudlin sentimentality mixed with clumsy slapstick, hassled-father routines and Geritol jokes. [8 Dec 1995, p.29]

Martin's comic charisma, which kept the first movie alive, is buried under a banal avalanche of trite comic situations. The flesh is willing but the script is weak. Read full review

Father of the Bride, Part II is a virtual avalanche of cheap emotion. Short on comedy but long on maudlin sentiment, this sequel stumps so hard for the traditional values of home, hearth and family that any possible entertainment value is canceled out. Read full review