Four Sisters and a Wedding

The four daughters of the Salazar family have lived apart for years. Teddie works abroad, Bobbie too; Alex and Gabbie are at home with their own work. One day the news comes: their only brother CJ is getting married and the wedding is in three weeks. All four come home. They soon reach the same conclusion: the marriage is a mistake and must be stopped. They try to do it without telling their brother. Then the old accounts inside the house are opened and the matter moves from the wedding to themselves. Cathy Garcia-Sampana directs. Bea Alonzo, Toni Gonzaga, Angel Locsin and Shaina Magdayao are in the cast. It is a Philippine production. The film was a large commercial success in the Philippines and among the most watched domestic productions there. Its best side is the argument among the sisters; that long, unbroken scene became its most cited part. The form is family comedy and drama; it moves between the two registers, a shape common in the country's cinema. The matter it works at is migrant work; two of the sisters work abroad and the family's living depends on it. None of the characters is put entirely in the right and the film shows the sisters' faults. Its limit is length; in the second half the narrative slides into an emotional register and the resolution comes quickly. Who it is for: anyone curious about family comedy and Philippine cinema. Who it is not for: it is predictable, the emotional register high, and there are many characters.