Made of
Honor
In
the late 80s/early 90s, Patrick Dempsey was the prince of nerd romance. He
starred in a whole series of stupid comedies and dramas about a geeky young
kid who was desperately in love with women who were probably a little too
beautiful for him – such Bush-41-era hotties as Jennifer Connelly, Moira
Kelly, Helen Slater, Shannon Tweed and Kelly Preston. He usually floundered
and made a fool of himself while trying to wiggle and
giggle his way into their
heart.
However, when his short-lived career spurt dried up, Dempsey did an
admirable job of reinventing himself – trying serious-and-interesting guest
roles on TV series and smaller film roles, taking acting lessons, buying a
gym membership, getting a nicer wardrobe and an expensive haircut.
This
hard work all paid off a few years ago, when suddenly after over a decade
basically out of public view, Dempsey reappeared as McDreamy, the handsome
and sensitive doc in the smash TV series Grey’s Anatomy.
After all these years, Dempsey was back on the hot list, so it was only a
matter of time before he returned to the movie screens. He started off very
shrewdly, playing second banana to Amy Adams’ sweet and charming fairytale
princess in Enchanted. The role was perfect for him because Adams
character was the central focus of the film. With her bright-eyed
enthusiasm and likability, his handsome blandness was not exactly
noticeable. Don’t get me wrong, he’s pleasant enough, he just doesn’t seem
to have much personality.
Now,
he has finally gotten the opportunity to carry a film himself again – and
Made of Honor places him squarely back where he started from all those
years ago.
Oh,
his character of Tom is supposed to be a gorgeous womanizer rather than a
nerdy boy, but he’s still committing stupid pratfalls and pining after the
girl he can’t get. In fact, several scenes in Made of Honor are
directly reminiscent of Dempsey’s earlier work. The scene where he is so
shocked by meeting the woman of his dream’s fiancée that he knocks over a
waiter carrying a tray – twice – feels like
leftover Loverboy.
Or there is the scene where he is skulking through the hallways of a
dank castle trying to quietly slip into his crush’s bedroom, which
seems straight outta Some Girls.
Of
course the 90s film that Made of Honor steals from the most blatantly
had nothing to do with Patrick Dempsey, for this movie is essentially an
inversion of the story of Julia Roberts’ My Best Friend’s Wedding, in
which the main character realizes they are in love with their long-term
platonic best friend and sets about sabotaging the nuptials and winning the
heart of the friend all the while pretending to be part of the wedding
party. The only real difference is they switched
sexes –
now the
marrying friend is the woman and the saboteur is the man.
The
problem is Patrick Dempsey is no Julia Roberts. (Not that that is always a
bad thing…) He’s basically the straight man, but the movie is riding on his
shoulders, and I’m not sure that he has the personality to pull it off.
A
few months ago, his Grey’s co-star Katherine Heigl appeared in a very
similarly haphazard wedding movie – 27 Dresses – and was able to
carry the whole thing through sheer force of charisma. Comparatively,
Dempsey seems like a bit of an empty suit.
Interestingly, Dempsey’s co-star here, Michelle Monaghan, does have the “it”
factor that her better-known leading man lacks. Monaghan also upstaged Ben
Stiller in yet another wedding movie, the execrable Farrelly Brothers remake
of The Heartbreak Kid.
The
movie is also given occasional shots of life when Tom’s father, played by
director and sometime actor Sydney Pollack, shows up to give his son
refreshingly earthy advice.
However, when the two of them are off-screen, Made of Honor really
drags.
This
may be partially because his best friends – who are supposed to be his
confidants and partners in crime – act like no men I have (or possibly
anyone has) met. I was shocked, SHOCKED, to see
that two of the three screenwriters were men. Who do they think
they're kidding? No man talks like that. Amazingly, her friends are – if possible –
even less likeable.
Or maybe the whole thing seems a chore because the
dialogue regularly thuds awkwardly and the situations are mostly purloined
from more interesting movies.
What
do you expect from a movie that thinks it is clever to confuse the term
Maid in the title with Made? That is always a dead-giveaway of a
lame movie, see also: Maid in Manhattan, Maid to Order.
The
audience has pretty much tuned out by the time we make it to the Scotland
wedding where Tom has to watch the woman he loves marry another man in a
kilt – which is yet another situation purloined from a 90s rom-com, this
time Four Weddings and a Funeral.
Then, for one last misstep, the screenplay ignores the most interesting and
realistic aspect of its inspiration
My Best Friend’s Wedding
–
the credible ending.
I
apologize if this is taken as a spoiler, but really how could such a
predictable film be spoiled? Still, if you want to be surprised
by Made to Honor, first of all good luck at that... and second of
all, please skip
the rest of the review. Okay, everyone who is afraid of possibly
ruining the climax out now? Instead of having the protagonist’s
plan crash and burn,
it
serves up a very standard and rather unbelievable “happy” ending
in which the mismatched characters live happily ever after.
Of
course, for some of us the
happy ending was just the fact that the
movie was indeed ending.
Ken Sharp
Copyright ©2008 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved.
Posted: May 5, 2008.
