Weddings are always social minefields. But when your daughter is marrying your ex’s son? How do you assign that seating chart?
Brooke Shields is about to find out in Mother of the Bride, a new rom-com directed by Mark Waters (He’s All That, Mean Girls, Freaky Friday) from a script by Robin Bernheim, who penned the Princess Switch trilogy. Castle for Christmas star Shields will appear alongside an all-star ensemble of wedding attendants in the nuptial slapstick comedy, and we’ve got all the hot wedding gossip you could possibly ask for.
“It was a nice film because it was like an actual destination wedding where you really have nobody to hang out with but the other people in the wedding,” director Waters says of the production, which filmed in Thailand. “We were all living in the same hotels and going to the same restaurant, so everyone naturally became friends.”
Read on for a deeper look at Mother of the Bride.
Mother of the Bride is now streaming on Netflix.
Lana’s daughter Emma returns from abroad and drops a bombshell: She’s getting married. In Thailand. In a month! Things only get worse when Lana learns that the man who captured Emma’s heart is the son of the man who broke hers years ago.
Shields and Miranda Cosgrove, who plays Emma, bonded on set while playing mother and daughter. “I realized the base of these relationships is love and respect and there are growing pains that come with that, which is what the movie is about,” Shields told Netflix. “Mostly it was just spending all that time with each other and laughing with each other, and she’s so lovely and composed. We realized we were safe to be ourselves.”
Cosgrove agrees. “What was also fun is, since I turned 30 during filming and it was near Mother’s Day, my mom flew out and we celebrated with Brooke and her daughter,” Cosgrove recalled. “Since the film is so much about a mother-daughter relationship, it was really nice that we all got to celebrate those days together, especially since she’s a huge Brooke Shields fan.”
Check it out at the top of this story!
Lana is the titular mother of the bride, a loving but protective figure who just wants the best for her daughter Emma. Of course, those feelings are complicated by the entrance of Will — the former flame who broke Lana’s heart decades ago.
“What both of those characters were going through was sadness and insecurity,” Shields told Netflix. “[Will] felt like he wasn’t going to be enough for her. She felt gutted. And then they both had these full lives and experienced tragedy in different ways. Their relationship is layered, and I was really glad that [director Mark Waters] championed that.”
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Emma is Lana’s newly engaged influencer daughter. Her whirlwind courtship lands her in an absurdly complicated situation when she realizes her fiancé’s father is her mother’s ex-boyfriend.
“I’ve never been in a rom-com before, but rom-coms are my favorite genre of film,” Cosgrove told Netflix. “I’ve probably seen them all, so I feel like that prepared me because I love that tone, when things are mostly happy and silly and fun, but then there are these heartfelt moments that creep up on you.”
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Will has a lot to answer for: long in Lana’s bad graces after their own relationship ended in college, his son RJ just happens to be Emma’s fiancé. Small world, huh?
Working with Shields was the culmination of a lifelong dream for Bratt, who’s been a fan of hers for decades. And Shields lived up to his expectations. “You don’t end up having a career that spans more than 50 years without having equal parts talent and tenacity,” he told Netflix. “She’s the hardest working person I’ve ever met, she’s a brilliant comedienne, and she does it all with aplomb, just makes it look so easy.”
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Janice is Lana’s best friend and confidante. She’s just along for the ride, but she’s determined to make sure her friend isn’t hurt again.
“I loved how the script followed a young woman in love and an older woman’s point of view of love,” Harris told Netflix. “And I loved my character Janice’s dry wit. She’s direct, funny, loyal, and let’s be honest, a good time.”
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Will’s son and Emma’s fiancé, RJ is hopelessly in love with his bride-to-be — and tragically unprepared for the insanity to come.
“Who wouldn’t want to shoot a rom-com with Mark Waters, in a beautiful destination, with a great cast and crew, too?” Teale said. “Admittedly, the appeal started with the character, though. I liked RJ. He’s a sweet joker who remains unflappable whilst everyone else goes a bit bonkers.”
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Lucas is a dreamy doctor staying at the wedding resort who falls hard for Lana.
“I thought it was a fun story that an audience would really rally around and enjoy the feeling of getting away,” Murray said. It was also a chance to reunite with his Freaky Friday director Mark Waters. “Reconnecting with Mark Waters (obviously) and then working with [producer] Christina Rogers were also huge motivators,” Murray added.
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Will’s brother Scott is an old college pal of Lana and Janice’s who does his best to push his brother and Lana back together.
“Because Mother of the Bride deals with two love stories, one younger and one older, it has something for everyone.” Cruz told Netflix. “Love is eternal and if you believe you deserve it, it doesn’t matter what age you are, it can find you, even with a love you thought was long gone.”
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Clay is Scott’s husband, also a past Stanford acquaintance who knows Will and Lana’s history.
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Camala is the wedding planner for Emma and RJ’s big day.
“Even the supporting characters we got were total finds,” Waters told Netflix of Austalian performer Tasneem Roc, who plays Camala. “They all stepped up and delivered.”
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Harley is the hotel concierge — a hefty responsibility as the wedding gets hectic.
But on- and off-screen, the supporting players got in on the fun. “They really bonded and worked well with the principal cast,” Waters said.
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Mother of the Bride’s destination wedding was shot on location in Thailand at the Anantara Mai Khao and Anantara Layan resort hotels on Phuket. “The best thing about this job was it never felt like work,” Bratt told Netflix. “As a troupe of actors, we were like a circus crew, all off on a great adventure together.” Who can complain about a working vacation?
