The People We Hate at the Wedding (2022) Plot Synopsis
Rom-com family drama movie ‘The People We Hate at the Wedding’ is produced by Amazon Studios and revolves around three children: Eloise, Paul, and Alice.
The family gradually grows further apart over time. Paul is upset with his mom since he thinks Bill, his late father, wasn’t treated well by her. Eloise, who’s had a different upbringing from Alice and Paul, has lived a fortunate life in the UK and as a consequence has a strained relationship with her siblings.
Furthermore, Alice is secretly dating her employer Jonathan, whose spouse is expecting a child. Additionally, Paul’s situation has become completely out of control owing to his obnoxious and self-centered boyfriend, Dominic.
Alongside their mom, Donna, Alice, and Paul halfheartedly decide to attend the nuptials of their rich but distant half-sister Eloise after receiving invitations. What comes next are hours of laughter interwoven with a number of heartwarming moments.
What is the inspiration behind the movie?
This movie is an adaptation of Grant Ginder’s 2016 novel sporting the same title. Director Claire Scanlon complimented Ginder’s novel in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, noting how intimately relatable the story felt to her.
Although the movie is modeled on Grant Ginder’s rom-com, the film version includes some significant alterations that end up giving the book’s resolution a more nuanced interpretation. The destinies of several major characters are also revealed in the movie.
What is the back story?
Donna weds Henrique in Britain during the 1980’s. They conceive Eloise as a couple. Thereafter, Donna catches him having an affair with the babysitter, and they part ways.
After moving to Indianapolis, Donna decides to get married to Bill. Paul and Alice are born thereafter. Eloise goes to Indianapolis to live with Donna’s beautiful family for half a year. However, as the siblings grow older, the trio starts growing apart.
Presently, Eloise, who is extremely wealthy as a result of Henrique’s riches, is marrying Ollie and she invites her entire extended family to London. Donna reaches out to Paul and Alice, but they don’t respond to her at all. Paul feels that following Bill’s passing, she moved on far too quickly.
Despite her boss being married, Alice has been having an affair with Jonathan, and he constantly promises her that he’ll divorce his wife because they fell out of love.
Paul is dating Dominic, an entirely different person than him. Paul is always being pushed about matters like polyamorous relationships and he clearly isn’t down for the same things his partner wants to engage in.
What unfolds after the siblings travel to England?
The entire extended family chooses to travel to London for the upcoming nuptials. Jonathan informs Alice that he most likely won’t be able to attend the ceremony. Alice befriends an overly pleasant Dennis Bottoms during her trip to the countryside and they end up sleeping together.
Dominic upsets Paul by suddenly canceling their bookings and moving in with an elderly man named Alcott. Dominic’s goal is to persuade Paul to join him in a threesome. When things go wrong, Paul accuses Dominic of never making him feel like he is worthy. Furthermore, in order to explore things with Alcott, he ends up breaking up with Paul, but it turns out that Alcott finds Paul attractive.
Until Alice receives a text from Jonathan indicating that he will be attending the wedding, Alice and Dennis’ relationship is going really well. On receiving the text, Alice attempts to back off with Dennis and he expresses his disappointment and warns her, claiming that she wants a trashy man because she believes that she is trash and that she deserves trash.
Eloise wishes to reconcile with Alice, while the latter is upset since she didn’t show up to visit her a year earlier. On the other hand, Henrique continues to have affairs with younger women despite Donna and him enjoying a relationship together.
What happens at the rehearsal dinner?
During the rehearsal dinner, Paul informs Eloise that Alice is upset with her since Eloise did not turn up the year before when she went through a traumatic miscarriage. While Paul continues to criticize Henrique, Eloise informs him how Bill was truly opposed to him being gay. She goes on to tell him that Donna was the only one who decided to fight on his behalf and warned Bill not to make him feel bad. Paul was against his mom, despite the fact that she had been the one who loved him wholeheartedly
Paul gets enraged when he catches Henrique having an affair with some other lady and pees on his shoes thereafter. Henrique chases him down, and Paul ends up punching him.
Alice learns that the person messaging her as Jonathan is really his spouse, Marissa, who confronts and attacks her during the rehearsal dinner. Donna comes to rescue her child and bites Marissa. Thereafter, Donna, Alice, and Paul end up going to prison.
Who frees the trio from prison?
The trio receives a letter from Eloise while they are imprisoned, informing them that she will quit trying to patch things up because they clearly do not wish for it. Additionally, she informs them that she won’t help them get out of prison.
They are all ultimately bailed out by Dennis. After he drops them, Alice goes on to tell him about how Jonathan has filed a divorce and wishes to be with her.
What sets the plot in motion?
Henrique takes responsibility for wrecking Donna’s life once more when she questions him. She responds by telling him that by being a kind person who genuinely cared about him, she damaged his lifestyle and he has simply been filling the void left in his heart as a consequence of the mistake he made with her.
Eloise begins to panic about her wedding and vanishes. Ollie spots Donna, Paul, and Alice as they are about to leave town and thereafter requests them to help him find Eloise.
How does the conflict get resolved?
The trio already knows where Eloise is: Taco Bell. On reaching the place, Alice asks to speak to her alone. Eloise apologizes for not visiting her the previous year. She did, however, have a genuine reason. She had recently discovered that she wouldn’t be able to have a child so she didn’t want to face Alice. Eloise goes on to tell Alice that even Ollie isn’t aware of the situation.
Alice feels guilty for rejecting Eloise’s efforts to help her find a job in architecture since she always put her on a moral high ground and felt inadequate in her presence. They reunite, and Alice requests Eloise to tell Ollie the truth.
Henrique informs Donna that everything she said to him was accurate as she, Alice, and Paul lead Eloise down the aisle during her wedding. The family members come to terms with their shortcomings and end up bonding at the ceremony.
After, Alice informs Dennis that she ended things with Jonathan when they later cross paths on a flight.
Is there a happy ending?
In the present timeline, Dennis and Alice are officially a couple. Even if there’s no happily ever after, the narrator states that the family reunited by the end of the tale.
Viewers who did not stay for the movie’s concluding credits might not have witnessed Donna’s uplifting resolution. The closing scenes feature a picture of Donna from her Eat, Pray, Loving it through Greece journey. The picture and the note, which makes a reference to Eat, Pray, Love, suggests that Donna must have moved past her unsuccessful relationships and is now simply focusing on her well-being.
Donna realizes that she doesn’t require a partner in order to experience unwavering love. After this, Donna uses the opportunity to see the world and find herself.
The movie’s resolution shows Eloise and Ollie adopting a girl right away, dispelling a taboo that is all too frequently associated with adoption.
The surprise happy ending for Paul’s character is unveiled during the closing credits. “True Love!” is written on a note that is displayed alongside a picture of Paul and a new partner at what seems to be his wedding.
Read More: The People We Hate at the Wedding Movie Review