Polish Wedding

REVIEW
Set in Detroit at an indeterminate time, Polish Wedding is a muddled and disjointed, though earnest effort by writer-director Connelly. Byrne and Olin are a husband and wife whose lives barely intersect. He bakes bread, she makes babies: 7 children, 5 living, 4 sons. Danes is the roving daughter, who is named to lead the procession of the Virgin just before she finds out she's pregnant. At times a meditation on procreation and fecundity, sometimes an exploration of working-class travails, the film is too long and awkwardly structured; its attempt at hyperrealism is inauthentic and flat. Olin and Byrne give it their best shot; Danes' inexperience binds her more closely to the failures of the script. Slapstick is no substitute for charm, or melodrama for profundity. A disappointment.