The subject of Save the Date is a twenty-something gal by the name of Sarah (Lizzy Caplan). She’s got a fancy new apartment despite being an artist who draws doodles that’s dating the lead singer of a band, and her life seems to be going pretty great. But once her sister (Alison Brie) gets engaged to a longtime suitor (Martin Starr), and her boyfriend (Geoffrey Arend) takes that as a hint that he should propose as well, things get complicated. Sarah is still confused about her life and not ready to commit. But given that her, her sister, and their two beaus were the perfect foursome, what sort of drama happens once she rebukes his proposal? That’s what you have to watch this movie to find out. Basically, Save the Date is the latest in a long line of glamorous-young-white-people-have-no-cares-in-the-world-so-they-obsess-about-their-relationships-and-make-them-seem-like-the-end-of-the-world movies.
Probably you’re not familiar with Save the Date’s co-writer/director Michael Mohan (One Too Many Mornings), so if you’re interested in checking this one out, chances are it’s because of the cast. Lizzy Caplan and Alison Brie are talented beauties who are likely on their way to being ridiculously famous leading ladies, Martin Starr and Geoffrey Arend are talented enough fellows that they will have successful careers as character actors for many decades to come, and the other member of this fivesome, Mark Webber, has already been working so long that he’s more than proven himself to be a capable romantic lead. Surely a film that’s attracted this level of talent has to be something special and worth checking out, right? Not so much.
Other than a couple of good zingers that Caplan manages to pop off, there isn’t much to Save the Date at all. Instead, this film is an almost dutiful run through of every indie romance cliché in existence. There’s the dialogue scene set in an aquarium, the hand drawings that appear in the opening credits, the drama surrounding a guy who doesn’t care about the planning of his wedding... add it all up and it feels like this movie was made by somebody who was parodying indie movies but somehow managed to keep a straight face in the process. Save the Date is an egregious case of follow the leader that provides no legitimate insight into anything and displays zero enthusiasm for the telling of a personal story. Even if it isn’t aimed at the widest audience, it’s still more product than it is art, and not worth your precious time.
