MADE OF HONOR(PG-13)
** (out of 5)
May 2, 2008
STARRING
Patrick Dempsey as TOM
Michelle Monaghan as HANNAH
Kevin McKidd as COLIN
Kadeem Hardison as FELIX
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Directed by: Paul Weiland
BY KEVIN CARR
Listen to Kevin’s radio review…
I don’t hate Patrick Dempsey, but to be honest, I don’t see what the big deal is with the guy, either. He’s not bad looking, but he’s also not… well, for lack of a better word, McDreamy. Still, the guy has a following from “Grey’s Anatomy,” and that’s why he’s given a shot with “Made of Honor.”
The only thing that Hollywood doesn’t understand is that just because he’s a sexy hunk on television does not necessarily translate into box office gold. Sure, Dempsey has been in several hits, including “Freedom Writers” and last year’s holiday favorite “Enchanted.” However, no one except Patrick Dempsey’s mother saw those movies for him. (And even then, I’m sure she was just delighted with Amy Adams when she saw “Enchanted.”)
Depending on how “Made of Honor” does as an alternative to the blockbuster juggernaut that is “Iron Man” will help decide if Dempsey has a solo movie career or if he’ll be the Luke Wilson of today who can just play off more popular female stars.
“Made of Honor” is about a rich womanizer named Tom (Dempsey) who is such a cad when it comes to women that he refuses to violate a list of rules, including not seeing the same woman two nights in a row or more than once in a week. Of course, he’s perfectly honest with his girlfriends about his commitmentphobia, and miraculously, they’re okay with it. (I’d like these women’s phone numbers please, because I think they’re living in the magical world at the North Pole with another figment of our imagination.)
Tom’s best friend is a woman named Hannah (Michelle Monaghan), and they spend every Sunday together in an annoyingly cute platonic relationship. However, when Hannah takes a business trip to Scotland, Tom realizes he’s in love with her. He’s ready to confess his love for her when she returns, only to find out she got engaged. Then she asks him to be her maid of honor… and the hilarity ensues.
Or so it was supposed to.
I can’t see how anyone can’t see this film as a cheap rip-off of “My Best Friend’s Wedding”… only with a dude. And the only thing that Patrick McDreamy Dempsey proves with this film is that while he probably knows Julia Roberts and has met Julia Robert, he’s no Julia Roberts.
Still, I give him an A for effort – along with the rest of the cast who struggle with a wildly imperfect script and weak direction. But effort can’t give you a good movie when it’s destined to be lame. The writing is so woefully awful that it resorts to cheap tricks to coax the audience into laughing during otherwise unfunny scenes. But really, how many jokes about fat bridesmaids can we stand?
I took my wife to this one because she adores any form of romantic comedy. She liked the film, so I suppose it’s core audience is intact. But like the other “Grey’s Anatomy” star vehicle “27 Dresses,” this is really a substandard film for its own genre.
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