Made of Honor (2008)

Monday, February 23, 2009

Made of Honor. Feature film. (2008, 111 mins) IMDB

...Filmmakers keep searching for the new romantic comedy formula....

ADE OF HONOR fits the bill of a romantic comedy. The twist? Our hero is the maid of honour to the woman he loves. Yes, a man is a maid of honour. He wants to marry her but before he can propose, she returns from a trip to Scotland to announce her engagement to a Scot.

At the start of the film, he's a rich womanizer with a series of rules about dating women like: never see the same woman twice in a week. Okay, except, he's not terribly likeable as a result and he doesn't deserve the love interest. That's a fatal flaw in a romantic comedy. The filmmakers try to spin it by saying he realizes the error of his ways, but I never bought it. And it's never adequately explained why after 10 years of being friends with this man, our love interest would suddenly be in love with him especially when he knows his reputation of sleeping with every woman he can. The love between them doesn't seem strong and so when they do end up together at the end, we don't feel it. We're not routing for it and not happy to see it.

There are some funny moments, but not many. The Scottish angle I'm sure is there to create opportunities for humour, but it's a peach tree in November--nothing left on the tree.

And yes, it's predictable. For example, there is a Highland Games sequence. When it comes time to toss the telephone pole (caber tossing), the director telegraphs what's coming by showing parked cars in the background.

Posted 2009/02/23 at 20h11ET in Movie Commentary.

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