When I first watched My Best Friends Wedding, I was kind of shocked that the titular best friend was marrying a 20-year-old undergraduate, aka Cameron Diaz. I know it’s not necessarily unethical for a 28-year-old to marry somebody in their early 20s, but I can still think it’s weird and that Julia Roberts was a much better option.
Once someone is 18, they can marry whoever they want without their parent’s consent. Any schmuck can walk down to the courthouse and get officially “married,” but most people want a bigger production that costs a bit more than that. If a young couple is going to get their dream wedding with all the frills, they’re probably going to need some money from their parents to make it all happen. The dad at the center of this story is refusing to pay for his daughter’s wedding because she is Cameron Diaz in My Best Friend’s Wedding and he can’t accept a Dermot Mulroney husband just yet.