Father of the Bride Page #4

MARTA:

Mucho gusto.

NINA:

Hello.

JOANNA:

Oh, and here's the rest of our family.

JOHN:

Oh, don't worry. They look like killers but they're actually quite

friendly. As long as you're relaxed, why, they're relaxed.

GEORGE:

Hi, puppy, puppy, puppy!

JOHN:

All right, fellas. That's enough. Come on. Release!

JOANNA:

Well, why don't we all sit down?

JOHN:

Please.

NINA:

Oh, thank you.

JOHN:

All right, here we go. George. Honey.

JOANNA:

Sweet heart. (TO GEORGE AND NINA): I don't know if the kids told you,

but we were over in Europe on business and we stopped in Rome to see

Brian. So we got to spend a few days with Annie. Oh, boy. We just

fell in love with her immediately.

GEORGE:

Isn't she great?

JOANNA:

Yes. We just couldn't be happier about this.

JOHN:

How did you...uh...take the news, George?

GEORGE:

Me? Uh, truthfully, I was a little surprised.

JOHN:

I was shocked.

GEORGE:

So was I.

JOHN:

After all, they'd only known each other a few months.

GEORGE:

Exactly. And Annie is just finishing up school.

JOHN:

Absolutely. Oh, believe me, I tossed and turned over this one,

but...the bottom line is, they're in love. They over twenty-one, and

whether they're rushing into this or not is maybe not for us to say.

GEORGE:

(VO)

Right. Not for us to say. We're only their parents. I was just about

to say these very words out loud when he hit me with...

JOHN:

Yes, sooner or later you just have to let your kids go and hope you

brought 'em up right. George...Nina...Darling.

GEORGE:

(VO)

This guy was making a little too much sense for me. Suddenly, my shirt

collar felt like it was starting to strangle me.

JOHN:

To George and Nina. And a future of wonderful memories. First, the

wedding of our children. And the happiness we'll share watching their

lives. Then, sharing the joy of our grandchildren together. Birthday

parties...graduation...

GEORGE:

(VO)

Now I knew where they got the expression, "Like father, like son." I

also knew I needed some air.

GEORGE:

Can you tell me where the restroom is?

JOANNA:

Oh, actually the one down here is a mess. We're remodeling. Why don't

you try the one at the top of the stairs. It's the seventh door on the

left.

GEORGE:

Second?

JOANNA:

Seventh.

JOHN:

Seventh.

GEORGE:

Seventh.

SCENE 12

GEORGE:

(TO DOG):
I'm leaving. I'm relaxed and I'm leaving. (TO DOGS):

Relent! Recoil. Reverse!

SCENE 13

JOHN:

Well, I hope George hasn't gotten lost up there.

NINA:

Oh no, he's gonna be fine.

JOHN:

Okay.

NINA:

That's such a lovely sculpture.

JOHN:

Oh. Doesn't it have such a wonderful sense of motion?

JOANNA:

We got it in Denmark. Quite a lot of my family is from Copenhagen.

NINA:

Is that right?

JOHN:

Oh, yeah. Doesn't it have a wonderful sense of balance?

NINA:

Oh, it's amazing.

JOHN:

I was going to put it in the garden...Actually, Brian spent quite a few

summers in Denmark. He now speaks better Danish than Joanna.

NINA:

Is that a fact?

JOHN:

And we're planning a trip back this summer.

NINA:

Um...I think this is a very beautiful spread here.

JOANNA:

Oh, thank you.

JOHN:

Well, should we wait for George? ...Maybe I should check on George?

NINA:

No.

GEORGE:

(TO DOGS):
Release!

NINA:

Oh, man.

SCENE 14

ANNIE:

Wow! No kidding? Really? It went great?

GEORGE:

Better than great. I mean, it just...just...couldn't have gone better!

ANNIE:

God, I'm so relieved. I mean, who knows what can happen at these

things, you know? Now I feel like the wedding's officially on. Dad,

that looks so good. This is great.

NINA:

Oh, Brian's mom called with the names of her immediate family.

GEORGE:

Is this is a joke?

NINA:

Not only is this not a joke, but eight of them are from Copenhagen and

it's the bride's family's responsibility to...

GEORGE:

Do you have any idea what a round-trip ticket from Denmark costs?

MATT:

Try eight round-trip tickets.

NINA:

Well, actually it's nine. You see, Joanna's cousin Gitte is apparently

a rather large woman, so she needs two seats.

GEORGE:

She can lop into the aisle for all I care because there's no way I'm

paying for...

BRIAN:

Hello everyone. Sorry I'm late.

NINA:

Hi!

ANNIE:

Hey, Sweetie.

GEORGE:

Hello.

MATT:

Hey, dude.

BRIAN:

Oh, here you are.

NINA:

Oh. Well, thank you!

BRIAN:

Slev tak. That's "You're welcome" in Danish.

NINA:

Oh, thanks.

BRIAN:

This looks great. Hear you're a whiz at the barbecue, Dad.

NINA:

Well. So have you two given any thought to what kind of wedding you

want?

ANNIE:

Well, we've talked about it.

NINA:

Yes? And what do you think? Big? Small?

ANNIE:

Well, it can't be too big. We don't have that many friends.

GEORGE:

So we're talking in the small vicinity range?

NINA:

Well, she didn't say small. She said not too big.

GEORGE:

Yeah, but nothing fancy or overblown, right?

ANNIE:

Right.

GEORGE:

Right. So, kind of the less is more theory, huh, Annie?

ANNIE:

Basically.

GEORGE:

Well, the reason I'm asking all these questions is I have a great idea

where we can have this lovely, not small, but not too big wedding.

NINA:

You do? Where?

GEORGE:

At our favorite restaurant. The place we've been eating at for fifteen

years. The best. The Steak Pit!

ANNIE:

Dad, get serious.

MATT:

I don't think you want the word "Pit" on a wedding invitation, George.

ANNIE:

Really, Dad. A rib joint with sawdust on the floor isn't exactly what

I had in mind for my wedding. No offense.

GEORGE:

Well, excuse me. What did you have in mind? The Beverly Hills Hotel?

ANNIE:

No. Actually, what I'd like to have is my wedding in a church and have

the reception here. That's what I was hoping for.

GEORGE:

Here? (GEORGE VISUALIZES RECEPTION BARBECUE IN THE BACKYARD--VO:

Here's the bride burger and groom burger, and uh, go on over and see

the juggler! ANNIE: A dream wedding! A barbecue wedding!) This is a

better idea than The Steak Pit!

ANNIE:

Yeah.

GEORGE:

We'll get some picnic tables and crepe paper and balloons...You know,

and invite all our best pals...I'll make my famous guacamole...A

wedding at home...This is a great idea.

SCENE 15

NINA:

Great idea. Picnic tables, crepe paper, balloons...You at the

barbecue...Oh, George...

GEORGE:

What don't you like about that?

NINA:

Why have you been acting so crazy since the moment Annie told you she

was getting married?

GEORGE:

I haven't been acting crazy. I've simply been acting like any normal,

red-blooded, American dad.

NINA:

Normal? Uh-huh. Okay. Falling into the MacKenzie's pool. Suggesting

The Steak Pit as a wedding reception. Oh, watching "America's Most

Wanted" every night looking for Brian's face, and now this picnic

scenario? George, a wedding is a big deal. Everybody seems to

understand this but you. And as a matter of fact, now don't go nuts

when I tell you this, but when Brian's Mom called with their list, she

suggested that they might just want to pitch in and help with the cost

of the wedding.

GEORGE:

No. Hey! We may not have a house the size of Rhode Island but we're

not poverty stricken. We can certainly afford to give our daughter a

proper wedding.

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