Father of the Bride

Father of the Bride (1950) is a classic MGM comedy you can watch online on iFILM, directed by Vincente Minnelli and anchored by Spencer Tracy's perfectly calibrated performance as a man who thought he had everything figured out.

Attorney Stanley Banks has one daughter — Kay, played by a luminous Elizabeth Taylor — and one life plan. Neither survives her engagement announcement. His wife Ellie is thrilled. His son Tommy is thrilled. Stanley is quietly unraveling, because the groom seems wrong, the guest list is exploding, and every vendor connected to the wedding appears to operate outside his jurisdiction. Joan Bennett plays Ellie with a knowing warmth that makes Stanley's panic feel all the more isolated.

Tracy resists the easy route of turning Stanley into a buffoon. The film works because the man's feelings are real — the dread of becoming a supporting character in your own daughter's life. Watch Father of the Bride (1950) online on iFILM.