Noah Baumbach's "Margot at the Wedding", his follow-up to the disturbingly entertaining "The Squid and the Whale", is a colossal disappointment. While both turn the concept of traditional family values on its head, "Margot at the Wedding" has none of "The Squid and the Whale's" warmth or charm.

In fact, it is not an overstatement to say that every adult character in "Margot at the Wedding" is either seriously mentally ill or suffering from an undiagnosed psychosis. These people are seriously unlikable, and that is saying something when you have Jack Black as a member of the cast.

Worse still, it is difficult not to be extraordinarily cynical about this movie. For example, the only mildly funny moments in this dreary portrayal of two alienated sisters are found in the previews. I can't escape the feeling that the producers of this film knew they were in trouble, so they had to couch the trailers in a fashion intentionally designed to mislead potential viewers. While that obviously has been done before, I expect more out of Mr. Baumbach.

The story, to the extent there is one, revolves around the impending marriage of Pauline, played with some passion by Jennifer Jason Leigh. Her estranged sister (an extraordinarily dour Nicole Kidman) surprises Leigh by showing up for the wedding with her son in tow.

The two sisters proceed to constantly bicker over nearly everything, not the least of which is Kidman's view that Leigh's intended, played by Black, is not good enough for her. Stuck in a role that calls for him to be little more than fat, dumb and whiny, few viewers are likely to disagree with Kidman's assessment.

This movie reminds me of Mike Nichols' highly overrated "The Closer" (2004). Both movies waste the talents of fine actors by having them essentially drown in their own bile. Worse than the fact that none of these characters are likeable, the viewer is never given a reason to care for them in any fashion.

In addition, this movie wastes the talents of John Turturro and Ciaran Hinds. Both have small roles, Turturro as the estranged husband of Kidman and Hinds as her artistic collaborator/lover. Turturro's role is nothing more than a cameo, while Hinds has the impossible task of breathing life into a character that is both having an affair with a married woman and pummeling Black for hitting on his teenage daughter.

Simply put, this movie has none of the whimsy or smartness of the above mentioned "Squid." It is so dour that I was left with the feeling that Baumbach was channeling Ingmar Bergman, and Bergman didn't like it one bit!

While I will refrain from giving away the ending, I'm afraid I could do so without spoiling the movie for you in any manner. Suffice it to say that as the screen went suddenly black, I heard a man in a row behind me turn to his wife and say, "Why in God's name did you want me to see this thing." Not a bad question, really.