Great Scene: “Rachel Getting Married”

A wedding toast gone awkwardly, painfully awry.

Plot summary: A young woman who has been in and out of rehab for the past ten years returns home for the weekend for her sister’s wedding.

Written by Jenny Lumet.

Scene setup: It’s Kym’s turn to toast her sister.

This is such a painful moment in the movie … which is why it’s such a great scene. Here’s the film version of Kym’s speech.

Directed by the late Jonathan Demme, this is a superb intimate movie, a compelling exploration of the fragility of life and how families manage to survive despite fractured pasts.

Putting on my producer’s hat for a moment. You will note Kym’s toast is a monologue. They are tough to write. This one penned by screenwriter Jenny Lumet jumps off the page. Monologues like this are actor bait. I doubt there’s an actor alive who doesn’t relish the opportunity to take the spotlight for a minute or more and deliver a side of dialogue 20, 30, or more lines long. Monologues like this:

I saw an interview with Bull Durham writer-director Ron Shelton who confessed he put this monologue in the script specifically to attract an actor. It worked so well, they kept it in the film!

So, if you’re up to it … and importantly, if it’s integral to the story … see if you’ve got a killer monologue up your sleeve.

For more articles in the Great Scene series, go here.