| Overall Grade: |
C- |
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| Story: |
C- |
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| Acting: |
C- |
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|
| Direction: |
D |
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|
| Visuals: |
B |
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Old concept fails to enchant...
by Carl (movies profile)
Jan 12, 2009
11
of
11 people found this review helpful
Not even Patrick Dempsey can inject enough charm into this occasionally un-romantic comedy. "Made of Honor" pairs Dempsey (Tom) with the attractive Michelle Monaghan (Claire) in a story that hinges on the relationship between friendship and love. Tom is avoiding committment as if it's some kind of disorder. In fact he has rules against it - a personal code that he lives by - which leads to dating a lot of different women at the same time. Claire, on the other hand, believes in the idea of meaningful relationships and serves as a nice anchor to the often confused and misguided Tom.
The screenplay opens strong with a lot of potential to really connect with the audience. The pieces start to fall apart, however, as the plot progresses into something eerily similar to "My Best Friend's Wedding". Only this time around, it's with a weak supporting cast and poor dialogue. As a result, the message promoting fidelity as a hard lesson learned is lost in translation. The way the relationship between Tom and Claire unfolds also plays into the stereotype that it's okay for men to sleep around but not women (at least not women that are intelligent, mature, and want to keep a respectable status).
Romantic comedies aren't supposed to be perfect, but they should at least leave you feeling good at the end. Instead the climax is nothing worth waiting for. Being predictable isn't the problem. It's the awkward feeling you get from watching the final scenes that make you cringe more than anything. |
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