My Best Friend's Wedding Page #23

And DISSOLVES, sobbing, into Julianne's arms. A beat, for Julianne

to reflect, and then she strokes her tenderly.

JULIANNE:

Well, of course, he loves

you.

Kisses the top of Kimmy's head.

JULIANNE:

(very soft)

Hell, even I love you.

Kimmy holds her tight. From her heart...

JULIANNE:

I never want to go through this

again.

KIMMY:

That's entirely understandable.

ANGLES... outside the stall. Julianne's feet sticking out under

the door.

KIMMY (O.S.)

Sh*t! THE TIME!

The two BURST out of the stall, hand-in-hand, at a desperate DEAD

RUN past us. HEAR them EXPLODE out the door, and...

... five stalls OPEN. Women exit, crying.

EXT. UNIVERSITY CHAPEL - TWILIGHT

A taxi pulls up in front of an ivy-covered CHAPEL, fronted by nearly

a hundred souls, milling about in attitude ranging from overstimulated

curiosity to clinical hyperanxiety. Our girls JUMP out of the cab,

and half the crowd starts running toward us, twins in the lead...

SAMMY:

Whatever hap...

JULIANNE:

(cutting this short)

We were bonding, we lost track,

we're officially sorry, now

let's put it behind us.

Kim WAVES at her mom by the chapel entrance. And takes Julianne's

hand for support.

JULIANNE:

Believe me, we got a bride who's

worth waiting for, yes?

Everybody nods.

JULIANNE:

Out of our way.

EXT. DRESSING ROOM - TWILIGHT

White. Pure blinding white. Across FRAME floats more white, this

gauzy and ethereal. It settles, its roots planting deeply in the

bride's hair. TILTS UP to...

... the face of the woman who placed it there. Julianne's eyes,

appraising this bride we cannot see. And so softly...

JULIANNE:

Don't worry, sugar.

Don't worry.

JULIANNE:

When he looks at you, it will

be as if...

The words stronger. Because there is no smile.

JULIANNE:

... he's never seen a woman

before.

PAN DOWN the white until we are...

CLOSE on the bride's perfect slippers. HOLD. And...

INT. CHAPEL - EVENING

Begins to slowly PAN BACK UP the length of an exquisite gown. We

can tell from the organ, the nearby thrum of expectant voices, that

we are nearing the moment. We reach...

... Kimmy's hand. Firmly clasping Walter's. Keep PANNING, the

bodice, the lace, her throat, and finally, we are CLOSE on...

... the face of the bride. Now we understand the word radiant. We

also understand scared senseless. Our perfect, unflappable Kimmy

is in a trance of emotional overload where bliss and panic

seamlessly blend.

The organ's noddling stops. Kimmy's eyes alerted, like a small

animal bearing a predator approach her thicket. Suddenly, the

CHORD. The Wedding March from Wagner's Lohengrin. Here. Comes.

The bride. And we SNAP TO...

FULL ANGLE... Kim and Walter. This is it.

WALTER:

(whispers)

Left foot.

REVERSE ANGLE... Kim's POV, the chapel, every pew packed, every neck

craning this way, the white satin carpet down the endless aisle to

where...

Michael waits. Also in a zone of pseudo-consciousness. From which

he attempts a smile. Not comforting. Kim's POV WHIP PAN the

groomsmen, the twins, LOCKING FOCUS on Julianne, standing strong

and beautiful, a glow of her own in the daffodil dress. She sends

her little sister a WINK across the trackless miles of aisle. You

can do this, kid. So...

... Kimmy does. On her father's arm, she walks the gauntlet of the

world's intrusive admiration. One step at a time. The most beautiful

she will ever be. She is dazzling the crowd and managing to not throw

up at the same time.

And she's there. At his side. She glances back to her maid of

honor, just to make sure she's not working without a net. So

Julianne...

... CROSSES her eyes. Which lets the kid smile and finally take a

breath. Have a little fun, huh? Kim nods, got it, turns to...

The Minister. Who stands before them with a calming presence.

Thank God someone has done this before. The crowd has hushed.

The Minister's eyes are only for two. His words are for all...

MINISTER:

Michael and Kimmy wrote these

words. She asked me to confide,

mostly Michael.

A ripple of laughter. Gentle and fine. They are setting in.

MINISTER:

So he gets to say them.

A surprise. A pleasant one. The crowd adjust in its seats. As

Michael begins...

MICHAEL:

Why do people get married

anymore?

And on these words. We SNAP to Julianne. Share her interest in

the bluntness, the simplicity, the unorthodoxy of this beginning.

MICHAEL (O.S.)

Why not live together amicably,

with no sense of obligation

beyond the moment?

Her eyes. She's listening.

MICHAEL (O.S.)

As long as the sex is good. As

long as no one more interesting

has wandered into view. As long

as the thousand conflicts of two

individual wills remain

comfortably compromised.

PANNING now. Other faces. Isabelle. Proud to the bone.

MICHAEL (O.S.)

And when one feels the urge to

move on, to explore the new.

No guilt, no disgrace, no

promise broken.

Walter. His eyes damp. Against our expectation.

MICHAEL (O.S.)

No agony of having dishonored

a time. When our hearts. And

the world were different.

Joe nods, as he hears...

MICHAEL (O.S.)

Marriage is a lot to put up

with.

Julianne once more. No breath. Rapt.

MICHAEL (O.S.)

The answer must be. That there

is some need basic to the human

heart. That embracing... the obligation

of commitment... fulfills.

Her eyes have clouded. As if Michael is talking to her.

MICHAEL (O.S.)

Some need to belong to one another

in a way which rages against the

notion... that all is impermanent.

Against the notion of mortality.

And suddenly, ALL the feeling rises in her throat.

MICHAEL (O.S.)

Our love is bigger. And longer.

Than life itself.

And the tears come. They come freely, unhidden, unnoticed. As if

they were needed.

Michael now. Looking at his bride.

MICHAEL:

That's what we want. And marriage.

Is what we do about it.

Kimmy smiles at him. With love bigger than life itself.

MICHAEL:

We are fools in this. Thank

God Almighty.

He is done. There is a silence.

MINISTER:

Boy, that was good!

People LAUGH. The Minister holds up a sheet of paper. For the

crowd to see. Mostly paragraphs crossed out in red ink.

MINISTER:

Michael and Kim also edited what

they want me to say...

More laughter.

MINISTER:

The idea was, we're only marrying

once. We have to remember it

forever. Let's keep to the good

stuff.

(squints at the sheet)

You may kiss the bride.

Bigger LAUGHTER. The Minister waves this off, his little joke.

Turns to the best man, pantomimes the ring. As the hammered gold

circle is handed to Michael, Julianne absently scratches her still-

swollen finger. Mandy taps Julianne on the arm, and produces...

... a matching ring. Take it! Gives it to her. So Julianne steps

forward. Places the second ring into Kimmy's waiting hand. Their

eyes meet, and hold throughout...

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