In this fun little chick flick from Israel, Michal (Noa Kooler) is finally getting married. She has the fiancé, the wedding hall, and has invitations ready to go out for the big day. But just when it seems she’s destined to become a married woman, her groom decides he doesn’t really love her. Devastated, she heads to a matchmaker and starts dating a series of men, thinking that one of them must be her intended. And she doesn’t cancel her plans to get married on the eighth night of Hanukkah, so she has a month to find Mr. Right. Being an Orthodox Jew, she puts it in God’s hands to find her a husband by the day of the wedding. Of course, everyone thinks she is totally nuts!

Noa Kooler as Michal feels like a mix of Anna Kendrick with Debra Messing. She’s very nice but a bit kooky. She owns a petting zoo and is fond of snakes. And she sees through artifice. But she really wants to get married. So after a few dates, she takes a pilgrimage to the shrine of Rabbi Nachman, the patriarch of her kind of Hasidism, and in laying out her plan to him, draws the attention of a rock star who is on the men’s side of the wall. Definitely a meet cute! He’s into her, and a lot cuter than all those other Orthodox guys with payot (hair curls) and black suits (to me anyway), but she is wary, and they are far from home in Urkaine. He comes to see her when she’s home, but she isn’t sure. But the time is ticking away and the wedding is just a few days away.

I’m sure that if this were in English, it would be a hit. It is just as funny and sweet as can be, and no, it isn’t a terribly religious movie. Michal just believes that there is such a thing as divine intervention. The actors are all wonderful, and the story kind of whimsical. I liked it a lot and hope American audiences can see past the subtitles. And I wouldn’t be surprised to see an American remake either.


One thought on “The Wedding Plan”
  1. It’s definitely a foreign film chick flick, and I can totally see it being remade as an American romantic comedy. I liked the film, although it did start dragging a bit in the latter half, and I am still pondering why she didn’t end up with one particular fairy tale ending over another. Excellent performances overall, and it helped that I knew enough Hebrew to catch some of the nuances that don’t quite translate into subtitles. It’s kooky, but sweet.

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