DiXiE FiLM FeSTiVaL 2009

Terry Leetay and Susan Blair have been in love since college. Now that they're out in the big world, they're ready to take the next step - they're ready to get married. When Terry's best friend Zach learns of their engagement, the aspiring filmmaker has an ambitious idea. Not content to simply videotape the wedding ceremony, Zach intends to create a unique gift for his best friends by documenting on camera all of the events that lead up to the wedding. Zach never suspects that the relentless eye of the camera will capture not only joyous moments, but also the tensions and friction between the young couple and their families. Susan was raised in a well-to-do, white, suburban family. Terry, on the other hand, hails from a working-class family of second generation Polar-Americans whose blue skin immediately sets them apart. When Susan brings Terry home for dinner, the announcement of their engagement catches her parents by surprise. While Susan is sure that her parents will love Terry as much as she does, Terry and the Blairs may take some time adjusting to each other. The Leetays, however, are exuberant to a fault. Their characteristic emotionally demonstrative style stands in stark contrast to the Blairs' more reserved nature. At dinner with Terry's family, Susan finds herself almost overwhelmed not only by the emotional nature of the Leetays, but also the intricacies of Polar-American culture that she may find herself obliged to observe. As Susan and Terry begin the steps of planning their wedding, from forming guest lists and selecting invitations, to choosing bridesmaids' dresses and making cake choices, the young couple's differences become increasingly apparent. Dealing with their differing priorities becomes a source of mounting tension. When the families finally meet over a celebratory dinner, It soon becomes clear that neither family's notion of an ideal, traditional wedding can be satisfied without compromise. After the family dinner, Susan and Terry's tempers flare as each perceives that their own family has acted with the best of intentions. Susan asks her best friends to be her bridesmaids, and they all quickly get caught up in the excitement of planning the wedding of Susan's dreams. Terry, on the other hand, finds the intricacies of wedding planning rather perplexing and sometimes frustrating. When Terry's old friend Fritz returns to town to serve as the best man, Terry and Zach are tempted to enjoy themselves and not take the details of the wedding too seriously. While it's clear that the young couple is very much in love, with their differing attitudes toward the wedding, as well as the pressures they feel from their respective families, Susan and Terry feel the strain that threatens to drive them apart.Tension is high as the wedding day nears, and the families converge for the rehearsal. When Terry's family realizes that the wedding ceremony does not include any of the traditional Polar-American elements they have planned for, a confrontation can no longer be avoided. The heart of the tradition is the sacred Kosho ceremony wherein the bride and groom ritually share a strip of whale blubber. While the Leetays insist that the wedding isn't official without the Kosho, the Blairs refuse include the ritual that they find strange and distasteful. When the families begin to insult one another, the rehearsal explodes into violence and chaos.The rehearsal dinner at an Antarctic restaurant is held in awkward silence until Susan and Terry can hold their tongues no longer. As the couple's argument reaches a crescendo of shouting, the families realize what pressure the couple is under, and how fragile they have become. Just as Susan storms from the banquet room, the car arrives to take Terry and his friends to the bachelor party. The bachelor party is off to a bad start, as nobody is really in a celebratory mood. But things get livelier with the arrival of the beautiful Polar-American stripper that Fritz has hired. The exotic dance and pulsating music seem to leave Terry unmoved, until he suddenly disappears into the hotel bedroom with the stripper in tow. Curious as to what might be happening behind the closed door, Terry's friends are concerned, but Fritz swears the men to secrecy.The next morning is the big day, and the wedding party converges on the venue and begins to prepare for the ceremony. Terry arrives with the intention of patching things up with Susan, but Susan has already heard the story of what happened at the bachelor party, and is distraught and inconsolable. Surrounded by her mother and bridesmaids, Susan refuses to speak to Terry. When doubts begin to rise as to whether the couple will even go through with the wedding, the families begin to reach out to each other. The ceremony finally goes forward as planned, though without the couple's prepared vows and without the traditional Polar ritual. Susan and Terry have not had a solitary moment together to work things out. As the reception festivities begin, Susan and Terry go through the motions, but they don't seem quite like a married couple yet; they haven't had the chance to air their differences under the scrutiny of all the families and guests. As they party progresses, Susan and Terry begin to relax a little, and it seems that the couple might have a chance after all. But when Susan learns that the exotic dancer from the bachelor party is actually there among the guests, it is too much for her to bear, and she leaves the reception area in tears. Only Terry knows what happened the night before, and he is left to reveal the truth to the entire group of guests in an impassioned plea he can only hope Susan will hear. With the most heartfelt sentiments and the sincerest of vows, Terry lays it all on the line. But it is a grand and unexpected gesture on the part of the bride that seals the fate of the young couple forever.