There have been innumerable films titled some variation of Til Death Do Us Part, several of which are already streaming on Tubi. Writer Chris Rhetts differentiates his wedding-themed thriller by co-opting action movie tropes, wherein the protagonist, event planner Vanessa (Virginia Ma), is forced by the villain Terrance Bruckner (Maxwell Almono) to do his bidding or risk the lives of 32 wedding guests and employees.
Rhetts’ script wisely dispenses with any mystery pertaining to the culprit’s identity within the first few minutes. Following the murder of a groundskeeper in a standard cold open, Vanessa and her assistant Anthony (Luke Nieves) arrive on the groom’s secluded island to set up and almost immediately note that things aren’t as they should be.
As Vanessa’s best friend/client Rachel (Meghan Carrasquillo) arrives, Vanessa discovers boxes with her name on them (something old/borrowed/blue, etc) with keepsakes that identify Rachel’s ex as the villain. Turns out that since she left Terrance at the altar two years earlier, the tech mogul has crafted an elaborate revenge scheme to disrupt her new wedding…and he’s blackmailing Vanessa to participate in exchange for keeping Rachel safe.
The details of what occurred between Rachel and Terrance – and how Vanessa is involved – are doled out in flashbacks over the course of the film. There’s no big reveal that unlocks the mystery, though; in fact, director Nick Lyon avoids being gratuitous or sensational by merely suggesting that Terrance was abusive and controlling. The fact that Rachel and Vanessa were violently attacked shortly thereafter is reason enough to justify the presence of a security team on the island. It also explains why Vanessa requires all of the guests to relinquish their phones as soon as they arrive.
Naturally, seclusion and technology play a large part in Terrance’s plan. The island is a forty-minute ferry ride from land, it has a hard-wired wifi connection, and Terrance’s tech background all contribute to the action vibes of Til Death Do Us Part. Terrance and Vanessa’s interactions are exclusively limited to the earpiece he makes her wear as she is made to perform various tasks against her will while Terrance eavesdrops in from his tech dungeon nearby. It all feels like Die Hard-lite in a familiar but mostly well-done fashion.
The plotting becomes slightly convoluted in the last act as a variety of guests and employees are involved – either as moles working for Terrance or made into unwilling participants in his plot. This culminates in a clumsily violent climax that requires both a heavy suspension of disbelief as well as explanatory flashbacks to explain how it all came around. It’s not difficult to follow, but the shift into “utterly ridiculous and improbable” territory undermines the fun of the first few acts.
Anchoring the entire enterprise is Ma, whose character runs the gamut of emotions in an admirably believable fashion. Vanessa is a perfectionist who excels at her job, has believable ‘long term friendship’ chemistry with Carrasquillo’s Rachel, and who cares deeply about people, even tertiary non-characters she barely knows. Ma is versatile enough to have Vanessa cry over the frequent senseless murders Terrance commits and then snap into action in the next scene.
Never mind the fact that she has to regularly move bodies, change her bloodied clothes, and perform tasks that range from slight (knocking a dinner plate into the groom’s lap) to life-destroying (torpedo her maid of honor speech in front of Rachel and all of the guests).
The moments when Vanessa must negotiate between her friendship, her professional expertise, and her unwilling part in Terrance’s plan is when Til Death Do Us Part works best. The flashbacks are incorporated relatively smoothly, and they provide enough backstory about the friendship and Rachel’s previous relationship to justify their inclusion.
On the negative side, the film is overstuffed with supporting characters. Considering it’s not a mystery, it doesn’t need red herrings, so the multiple chefs, multiple security agents, and wealthy Red Shirt wedding guests, in addition to the groom, etc, are simply too much. Too many characters for not enough characterization in any of them – with the sole exception of Vanessa’s assistant, who is at least aware of Terrance’s plan and assists Vanessa in her tasks at various points.
There are simply too many folks that either don’t have enough to do or aren’t actually relevant to the story; many of them exist solely to get murdered, but they’re just Red Shirts, so the deaths don’t carry any weight.
The other issue is the occasional generic pop music that interrupts the proceedings. There’s one specific moment when the guests sit down for dinner immediately following a covert murder that’s particularly ineffective. It’s a moment when the tension should be ramping up, but instead, there’s not one but TWO tonally ill-fitting songs that play back-to-back and for far too long. This does not undercut the severity of the moment; it feels too much like the film is on the verge of wrapping up when the opposite is true. It’s a baffling creative choice that simply doesn’t work.
On the whole, though, Til Death Do Us Part manages to overcome its generic title to be mostly entertaining. Ma is a great lead, the friendship between Vanessa and Rachel is solid, Terrance is an appropriately hissable villain, and the Die Hard at a Wedding-esque vibes are welcome. All in all, not a bad Tubi experience.
Til Death Do Us Part is now streaming on Tubi.
