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| Silvestri |
Father of the Bride Part II: (Alan Silvestri)
Propelled by the success of 1991's remake of the 1950 film
Father of
the Bride, the same cast and crew returned to modernize the 1951
sequel as well, resulting in 1995's
Father of the Bride Part II.
Having survived the wedding experience in the first film, Steve Martin's
character must now contend with the pregnancy of not only his daughter
but his wife, causing him to panic upon learning that he will become
both a new father and grandfather at once. His manic response includes
selling and then desperately reclaiming the family home, and there's
plenty of silly soap opera-worthy developments in the character
interactions. Diane Keaton and Martin Short once again help the father
right his ship just in time for a sappy ending, but not before yet
another parade of ridiculous physical gags. Critics and audiences didn't
greet the sequel as warmly as they had the predecessor, but the project
still managed to earn a considerable sum at the box office. The equation
for the soundtrack is exactly the same in
Father of the Bride Part
II, an identical combination of retro-styled songs and romantic
comedy score by Alan Silvestri keeping the ball rolling. There was
nothing revolutionary about either the songs or score for
Father of
the Bride, but they were charming enough to play their role well,
pilfering traditional tunes associated with weddings. That particular
wedding angle to the music is gone from the sequel, but everything else
is regurgitated without much alteration. The most prominent source songs
of old are the original recordings of "When the Saints Go Marching In"
by Fats Domino and "At Last" by Etta James, but Steve Tyrell returns to
provide new performances for this soundtrack. Led by "Give Me the Simple
Life," his contributions receive a better mix and superior performances
to the vocals' presence this time. The modern instrumentation (and
particularly slide guitar) in the lead song is obnoxious against the
otherwise vintage jazz, but the reprise of "The Way You Look Tonight"
for this soundtrack is fine, and his version of "On the Sunny Side of
the Street" is probably the most attractive rendition of all three. As
for Silvestri's score, this work is more conventionally orchestral than
the predecessor, with only one pop-oriented diversion coming in the
contemporary light rock tone occupying much of "Rush Down Corridor."
Otherwise, the orchestral instrumentation is mostly the same, with
perhaps fewer metallic accents.
Predictably, Silvestri revisits his pair of themes from
Father of the Bride for the sequel's score, the main theme of the
franchise a little less frequently applied. It follows a new theme for
George, the father, on piano at 0:59 in "Jubilant George," extending to
strings, and contains some parody lullaby usage in the middle of the
cue. The main theme is joyous in the flowing rhythmic enthusiasm during
all of "Summer Montage" and follows Annie's theme on piano in "We're
Having a Baby." It slowly develops from piano to full ensemble at 4:23
into "George Tells a Story" and repeats the previous film's credits
presentation wholesale in the middle of "End Credits." Annie's theme is
much better developed in this score, reprising its familiar oboe tones
in the brief "Annie Returns." It takes a more synthetic, almost
space-aged vocalized tact in "Basketball Montage" with a Randy Waldman
performance that is simply out of place. The theme is extremely
sensitive and muted in "New Baby Suite," but the oboe prevails once
again, and that instrument and string wash continues into "We're Having
a Baby." Annie's identity blends with George's material about a minute
into "George Tells a Story" and is particularly pretty at 3:04 on piano,
flourishing for a full ensemble moment at 4:05. It occupies the first
major segment of the "End Credits" suite on oboe and then for all the
players. The new theme for George in this score parallels the
character's tenuous peace with life, a nice and tidy piano identity in
"George Walks" that develops into a fanfare at the cue's end. The same
full treatment continues in "Jubilant George" and emulates the main
theme in style, and it returns after that theme for more fanciful
dreaming and comedy. This idea is at home with the other two themes at
1:04 into "We're Having a Baby," brackets the soft rock instrumental
portion of "Rush Down Corridor," becomes reserved but pretty on
woodwinds in "George Tells a Story," and briefly touches "End Credits."
Listeners seeking a reminder of the Richard Wagner "Bridal Chorus" theme
from the previous score are provided one major reminder at 1:14 into
"End Credits" as a straight reprise of the prior movie's credits cue,
and it closes the suite as a de facto franchise identity. In the end,
the music for
Father of the Bride Part II is perfectly
serviceable but largely unremarkable. Silvestri's contributions amount
to just over 20 minutes on the lone album release, which offers more of
the songs than the product for the previous film. A decent compilation
of music from both scores could form a very easily digestible
presentation of ambient sensitivity representing Silvestri in his
romantic comedy comfort zone.
*** @Amazon.com: CD or
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| Bias Check: |
For Alan Silvestri reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.34
(in 56 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.23
(in 41,268 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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