Our Family Wedding (2010)
Our Family Wedding starring Forest Whitaker, America Ferrera, Carlos Mencia, and Lance Gross. Famuyiwa first became attached to the project two years prior, in 2008, when the presidential campaign was in full swing. With Barack Obama possibly becoming the first African American president, Famuyiwa was interested in making a film that would be reflective of the exciting, changing times. Recounting on the film, Famuyiwa expresses, "At the time the entire debate seemed to be around Hispanics voting for an African-American president. We've all seen these projections of how society is going to look in 50 years. We're all going to have to deal with each other culturally. It felt like a great opportunity to tell that story without being preachy."
The New York Times critiqued the film saying, "Like weddings, wedding movies have their traditions: the dress is white and, usually, so are the characters. Fox Searchlight's Our Family Wedding, which opens this Friday, subverts that custom…"
In Our Family Wedding, two college students, portrayed by Ferrera and Gross, decide to get married and must break the news to their family and loved ones. Commenting on his film, Famuyiwa states, "Wedding films are always about the differences between people but they haven't quite dealt with African Americans and Latinos."
The film made nearly $8 million in its opening weekend and overall, $20 million nationwide.
