cut togetherfrom over the entire movie,so, when spread
out over 113 minutes,they don’t appearas stakesat all.
Romanticcomedieshinge on the ‘will they, won’t they’;
inTopEndWedding, despiteNed’s lies of omission about
his job, this conflictnever really feels in play.
The ten-daytime limit (a nod, perhaps,to a cynical
classicof the genre,DonaldPetrie’s2003 filmHowtoLose
a Guyin 10Days) is arbitrarilyset by Lauren’sworkplace
and compoundedby her missingmother;at worst,the
weddingwill be postponed,and Blair never managesto
convinceus that this is a true hazard.The couple’srelation-
ship itself doesn’tcome into questionuntil well into the sec-
ond act. By then, we have alreadyseen them in love for so
long that the stakeshere, too, feel odd and manufactured.^5
Additionally,the comedy– particularlyin the first act, as
the film strugglesto find its tone – is broadand slapstick:
Laurenwalkingthroughthe high-atriummedfoyer of her
law firm on tiptoesto disguiseher brokenheel; Ned making
fun of the man at the airportwearingpyjamas,only for Blair
to revealthat it is Trevor.Tapsellshineswhen portraying
the kindnessof Lauren,her smile and affect managingto
eke out laughsfrom the stupidestof jokes,yet some story
elementsneverthelessfeel disjointed.Someof the film’s
best momentsare its subtlest,such as Lauren’sringtone
for her boss being set to Yothu Yindi’s‘Treaty’– something
Blair never drawsgreat attentionto, but tells us so much
about these characters.There is, we feel, much more that
could’vebeen exploredin the quiet.
And there is much to love in the quiet spacesof this
romanceabouta lovingand tendercross-culturalcon-
nection,in whichthe man is truly honouredto be part
of exploringhis partner’scultureand relationshipwith
country.The pair bumblethroughthe awkwardcontours
of the culturaldivide, but always with heart and never
with true stress.
Over the last decade,the rom-comhas graduallybe-
come less prominent;in 2018, its US box-officemarket
share was only 2 per cent, itself a four-yearhigh.^6 Arguably,
this trend is due, in part, to the screenindustries’increasing
investmentin blockbustersequels– with rom-comrelation-
ships often too resolvedat the end of each film, the genre
resolutelycomprisesstandalonetitles.^7 In this nascentera
of streaming,however,the romanticcomedyis findingitself
anew.As streamingplatformslike Netflixlook not only
to marketingto diffuseviewerships,but also to algorithm-
guidedartisticcreation,this formulaicgenre is experienc-
ing a revival– exceptthe recipeis being reconsideredby
a new generationof screenwriters.Films likeSetIt Up
(ClaireScanlon,2018),Dumplin’(Anne Fletcher,2018)and
ToAlltheBoysI’veLovedBefore(SusanJohnson,2018)
are demonstratingthat the romanticcomedycan tell new
storiesand with new types of women.Sure, there is still the
skinny,blonde,ambitiousmagazinewriter in films such as
AChristmasPrince(Alex Zamm,2017),but she is increas-
ingly giving way to characterssuch as the Asian-American
leadinToAlltheBoys, the plus-sizelead inDumplin’, the
black lead inTheIncredibleJessicaJames(JamesC
Strouse,2017) and the queer leadinAlex Strangelove
(Craig Johnson, 2018).Away from Netflix,there is the rom-comthat takes place
arounda hospitalbed in the Oscar-nominatedTheBigSick
(MichaelShowalter,2017);the celebrationofnotdating
inHowtoBeSingle(ChristianDitter,2016);and the one-
night-standand subsequentabortionthat pave the way
to romanceinObviousChild(GillianRobespierre,2014).
There’salso the blockbusterlove story ofCrazyRichAsians
(Jon M Chu, 2018) and the Muslim-Australianromanceof
Ali’sWedding(JeffreyWalker,2017).In each of these titles,
we see the rom-comrevitalisedthroughan eschewal of
formulaicnarrativesand/orformulaiccasting.
It’s in the midst of these excitingcontemporarychanges
thatTopEndWeddingsits. While it has had a successful
run in cinemas– and the big screenis wherecinematogra-
pher Eric MurrayLui’s epic sweepsof sunlit,richly coloured
NorthernTerritorylandscapesdeserveto be seen^8 – it feels
like onlinestreamingwill be whereTopEndWeddingtruly
finds its feet. Because,much like the other successfulex-
amplesof the genre today,TopEndWeddingflourishes
when itletsgoof the conventionsof the romanticcomedy.
For much of the film, it feels as if Blair, Tapselland Tyler are
reachingfor the classicsof the genre and falling short; how-
ever, in the third act, after properlysheddingconvention,
the moviecomesalive. It is revealedhow the tensionin the
film is not one of romantic love, but of familial love and love
of countryand place.
In Act 1, as Laurenand Ned fly north,a cartoonplane
tracestheir journey:not over two states,but over dozens
of Indigenouscountries.It is withinthis separationthat the
film positionsits stakes:not betweena man and a woman,
but betweenLauren’slife in Adelaideand her piningfor the
Tiwi Islands,the land she comesfrom but has never set
foot on. Laurenand Ned’s relationshipisn’t in jeopardy;it
never was. Whatisin jeopardyis Lauren’srelationshipwith
country.Laurenthinksshe knowswhat she’s missing:she
missesher home town, Darwin,and missesDaffy (indeed,
she spendsmuch of the film lookingfor her mother).But,
like all rom-comleads,she doesn’ttruly realisewhat she
has been missinguntil she is standingin front of it – some-
thing that doesn’tcrystalliseuntil the film’s third act. What
she hasn’trealisedis how much she could miss the Tiwi
Islands– how this longingcould be inheritedfrom a mother
who left this place,and never admitted to her own self how
much she missedit, too.
On the islands,Blair mixes his professionalcast with actors
from the local community,includingthe WangatungaStrong
Women’sGroupchoir (also knownas Ngarukuruwala),who
all performin language;these gentlerenditions,especially
from BernardTipilouraand LynetteMarie Johnson,who
play Lauren’sgrandparents,providethe depthand heart
the film was missing.Nevertheless,Blair does inspireaffec-
ting renditionsfrom his cast: Ned is a kind yet awkward
suitor trying to build a relationshipwith the dishevelled
Trevor– a bromancetackedonto a rom-com.Hamptonis
kinderthan she first appears,Fox intelligentlytoyingwith
being both icy and lovinglystrict. Lauren’sbest friendsand
bridesmaids(Shari Sebbens,ElaineCrombieand Dalara
Williams)are a chorusof support,heart and slapstick,
showing the complexities of friendship but also embodying16 • Metro Magazine 201 | © ATOM