Thank God He Met Lizzie (1997)

It is indeed sad that this film failed to succeed where other, far less interesting, Australian films did.It is excellent. Beautiful script. A truly high end cast. Restrained direction. Thoroughly enjoyable, yet thought-provoking.I lay its commercial failure at the fact that it was neither "a rom com" nor "a weepy". It was promoted as a rom com and therefore failed when audiences didn't get what they expected. It does not deliver the "everything is wrapped up nicely at the end and you can walk out of the cinema and forget all about it" conclusion that audiences seem to demand – especially if they think it's a rom com.Like many good stories (and life itself), it is more complex than that. There are some incredibly funny and romantic moments. There is also real loss, bitterness and regret.So if you can handle some ambiguity and nuance, then this is a great film.Through a completely relatable story about two quite different romances it explores many themes about love, romance and the perception of happiness.Who is the "right one"? How would you know? Would you recognise "the right one" or would you still think something better is out there? What is it that makes us leave one love but stay with another? Is it purely how happy they make us? Is it timing? Is it something else? Is settling a compromise? Can one love really make us happy? The list goes one.But this is all explored through a film that is engaging, and with some great little moments of comedy to leaven the mix.I recommend it.Oh, one more thing regarding various posts about the title. The US title "The Wedding Party" is in my view far worse than the original one, because it implies just a fun filled romp, yet again setting up the wrong audience expectation.The original title is an ironic reference to the fact that everyone else clearly thinks the main character will be happy with his bride, Lizzie, and is glad that he has finally moved on from his last relationship.But will he be, and has he? That's the whole crux of the film: expectations of happiness (both our own and other people's for us) and whether they can be met.

I first saw this movie in 1997 and was thought it was fantastic.The story focuses on Guy's relationship with Jenny, a fun, energetic, middle class Australian girl who has an irresistible charm. Guy, understandably, falls for Jenny and their relationship is delicately balanced with a quirky friendship that has its ups and downs. Jenny is a gregarious, fun and slightly melodramatic girl who fills Guy's life with lots of challenges. Between their lives and the growing expectation of their future together, things seem to fall apart, slowly and, at times, in a rather painful way. Have they just grown apart or has Guy stopped appreciating Jenny for what she brings to his life? Is Guy really ready yet for this sort of relationship? And so it ends, much to the disappointment and surprise of many.Then, rather suddenly, Guy meets and falls for a slightly older and a certainly more sophisticated woman in Lizzie. She's stylish, refined and intriguing.Before we know it Guy and Lizzie are at the alter and so the real story begins. Guy's reflection on life and love really begins. Is he doing the right thing? Does he really know Lizzie (like he knew Jenny). Was he right in leaving Jenny? This movie captures and teases the viewer with the notion of relationship timing. Love takes time and evolves in different ways. Guy's reflection questions how he fell out of love with Jenny or had that love been lost? Was Lizzie filling a void lost in Jenny's absence? Guy and Lizzie's relationship moved at a pace and, perhaps, in some way, reality hadn't arrived. Perhaps Guy hadn't given this relationship the time he gave to Jenny.Guy survived the wedding night and seemed to then get caught up in the swirl of life without having the time to question his own needs in love and life. As the movie flashed years in to the future Guy leaves us wondering whether was Lizzie filling his life as Jenny could have....(time for a tissue by now).This movie delves deeply in to the complexity of relationships, how they develop and our expectations of love. Life, like love, is often about timing and the right place. Perhaps in Jenny, Guy wasn't in the right place at the right time. Or perhaps he was, but wasn't ready to appreciate how happy he really was. One of the most moving moments of the movie is when Guy imagines he sees Jenny in the street years later and they stare for a moment. Jenny's expression says it all...And whilst this may sound complex and overwhelming, this movie isn't. Its fun, fantastic and the cast are brilliant. As for the producer and director - 5 stars!! Enjoy this movie and think more about love.David Ps - for what its worth, I fell for Jenny.......

Towards the end of the movie, the Guy character says : "The trouble with happiness is that you don't feel it when it's there. You remember it." And I'm glad to remember that this is one of the very few movies I've ever seen that made me glad and ... (simply) happy.

They don't make movies like this anymore! Thank so much to Alexandra Long for sharing your insight into life and relationships. The first time I watched it in February 2000 I cried for 1 hour after watching it. I blamed Guy for getting over Jenny too quickly. Last week when I watched it again - Sept 2000, I saw things differently. They had hit a brick wall in their relationship and didn't know how to fix things. That's life - If only they went to a marriage counsellor! All principle characters I thought were superb in their translation of their parts - Richard, Jenny and Cate - they might have been my neighbours across the street. Real people, with real reactions and emotions.