The Wedding (TV miniseries)
Encyclopedia
The Wedding is a 1998 television miniseries directed by Charles Burnett
. Based on a novel by Dorothy West
, it stars Halle Berry
, Eric Thal
, and Lynn Whitfield
, and was produced by Harpo Productions
. The story touches on the subjects of marriage, race, prejudice, and family in 1950s Martha's Vineyard
.
The miniseries aired on ABC
on February 22 and February 23, 1998.
) returns home to 'The Oval' to wed her white fiancé, Meade Howell (Eric Thal
). They are not readily accepted by her mother, but in the end she understands. Shelby later meets Lute McNeil (Carl Lumbly) and questions her marrying Meade. After a racially induced incident at a local restaurant, Shelby confesses to Meade that she doesn't want to spend the rest of her life defending their relationship and asks him to give her time.
Meanwhile, Shelby's mother Corrine (Lynn Whitfield
) is battling her own demons within her marriage. With flashbacks the viewer sees that her husband Clark married her not in love, but for looks. Corrine discovers that her husband is having an affair and planning to leave with the other woman when she finds tickets in his coat pocket. She burns the tickets in the bathtub and confronts him with her true feeling about their marriage later in the film.
Later when Lute's wife refuses a divorce, Lute in a rage forces her out of their home and accidentally hits his daughter with his car. After experiencing this event Shelby feels that she 'finally can see who Lute really is' and turns her heart back to Meade. The two marry in the end.
Charles Burnett (director)
Charles Burnett is an African-American film director, film producer, writer, editor, actor, photographer, and cinematographer...
. Based on a novel by Dorothy West
Dorothy West
Dorothy West was a novelist and short story writer who was part of the Harlem Renaissance. She is best known for her novel The Living Is Easy, about the life of an upper-class black family.-Early years:...
, it stars Halle Berry
Halle Berry
Halle Berry is an American actress and a former fashion model. Berry received an Emmy, Golden Globe, SAG, and an NAACP Image Award for Introducing Dorothy Dandridge and won an Academy Award for Best Actress and was nominated for a BAFTA Award in 2001 for her performance in Monster's Ball, becoming...
, Eric Thal
Eric Thal
Eric Thal is an American film and stage actor, perhaps best known for his film roles as Ariel, opposite Melanie Griffith in Sidney Lumet's A Stranger Among Us; Sam Nivens, Donald Sutherland's son, in The Puppet Masters; Samson, opposite Elizabeth Hurley, in Samson and Delilah; Meade Howell, the...
, and Lynn Whitfield
Lynn Whitfield
Lynn Whitfield is an American actress.Whitfield began her acting career in television and theatre, before progressing to supporting roles in film. She won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Special and a NAACP Image Award for her performance as Josephine Baker in the...
, and was produced by Harpo Productions
Harpo Productions
Harpo Productions, Inc. is an incorporated US-based multimedia production company founded by Oprah Winfrey . It also includes Harpo Films & Harpo Radio, Inc....
. The story touches on the subjects of marriage, race, prejudice, and family in 1950s Martha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard is an island located south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, known for being an affluent summer colony....
.
The miniseries aired on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
on February 22 and February 23, 1998.
Plot
Shelby (Halle BerryHalle Berry
Halle Berry is an American actress and a former fashion model. Berry received an Emmy, Golden Globe, SAG, and an NAACP Image Award for Introducing Dorothy Dandridge and won an Academy Award for Best Actress and was nominated for a BAFTA Award in 2001 for her performance in Monster's Ball, becoming...
) returns home to 'The Oval' to wed her white fiancé, Meade Howell (Eric Thal
Eric Thal
Eric Thal is an American film and stage actor, perhaps best known for his film roles as Ariel, opposite Melanie Griffith in Sidney Lumet's A Stranger Among Us; Sam Nivens, Donald Sutherland's son, in The Puppet Masters; Samson, opposite Elizabeth Hurley, in Samson and Delilah; Meade Howell, the...
). They are not readily accepted by her mother, but in the end she understands. Shelby later meets Lute McNeil (Carl Lumbly) and questions her marrying Meade. After a racially induced incident at a local restaurant, Shelby confesses to Meade that she doesn't want to spend the rest of her life defending their relationship and asks him to give her time.
Meanwhile, Shelby's mother Corrine (Lynn Whitfield
Lynn Whitfield
Lynn Whitfield is an American actress.Whitfield began her acting career in television and theatre, before progressing to supporting roles in film. She won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Special and a NAACP Image Award for her performance as Josephine Baker in the...
) is battling her own demons within her marriage. With flashbacks the viewer sees that her husband Clark married her not in love, but for looks. Corrine discovers that her husband is having an affair and planning to leave with the other woman when she finds tickets in his coat pocket. She burns the tickets in the bathtub and confronts him with her true feeling about their marriage later in the film.
Later when Lute's wife refuses a divorce, Lute in a rage forces her out of their home and accidentally hits his daughter with his car. After experiencing this event Shelby feels that she 'finally can see who Lute really is' and turns her heart back to Meade. The two marry in the end.