Made of Honor Movie Review
More Laughs Than Romance in Patrick Dempsey Film
The predictable "Made of Honor" should satisfy diehard Dempsey fans who dare to leave the television set long enough to visit a movie theater.
This mediocre romantic comedy, however, may have a more difficult time satisfying anyone else. Grey’s Anatomy star Patrick Dempsey stars as Tom, a sexy serial dater with a lengthy list of rules for the women he beds. He takes after his scoundrel father (Sydney Pollack), who marries a much-younger-wife-number-six early in the film. Tom’s long-time best friend, Hannah (Michelle Monaghan), has given up on their nearly perfect relationship ever developing into a romantic union, and accompanies him to the wedding (and other events) as his platonic date.
Role Reversal of My Best Friend’s Wedding
When Hannah leaves New York for a six-week business trip in Scotland, Tom realizes that she means more to him than he realized. When she returns with a handsome new fiancé, he becomes convinced that she’s making a mistake and should marry him instead. Apparently channeling scenes from My Best Friend’s Wedding, Tom decides to break up the happy couple and steal the bride for himself.
Tasked with being the “maid of honor,” Tom uses his influence to try and persuade Hannah of her fiancé’s weaknesses only to find that he has none. Tom then switches to plan B, in which he tries to persuade Hannah of his own strengths instead. When this plan also fails, he joins the wedding party for a wild trip to Scotland for the nuptials. (This New York to Scotland fiasco is reminiscent of the New York to Ireland fiasco in Laws of Attraction, another lukewarm date movie from a few years ago.)
Love and Laughs
While there doesn’t seem to be much chemistry between ladies-man Tom and girl-next-door Hannah, the physical and situational comedy delivers some big laughs. Tom’s clumsiness and ineptitude at all things not related to seducing women should delight most audiences. Although the scenes with his guy friends bonding over basketball and gift baskets lack authenticity, they will elicit some chuckles anyway. In fact, much of the movie feels disjointed and unauthentic – like pieces of other films arranged in a puzzle.
While Made of Honor isn’t as mean-spirited as My Best Friend’s Wedding, the humor in the new wedding movie packs a more perverted punch. Edited from an R-rating to a PG-13, the film still will likely prompt some uncomfortable parent-child talks after the show. Overall, Made of Honor provides a fun hour and a half of light derivative romantic comedy and acts as a vehicle for broadening Dempsey’s fan base. For audiences expecting good storytelling, however, they’ll feel like they got abandoned at the altar.
- Made of Honor
- Director: Paul Weiland
- Run time: 101 minutes
- Rated: PG-13 (sexual content and language)
For more reviews of romantic comedies, read License to Wed on DVD and Braff and Bateman in The Ex.
