The Wedding Date (2005)
reviewed by Brian "the Naked Gun" Felts & Benn "Where's the Humanity?" Farrell

Sometimes you have to ignore the bad and embrace the cheese. If you are in the mood to take that special some one and know that you will score later on that evening, then the Wedding Date is your movie.

Debra Messing (TV's Will and Grace) stars as Kat Ellis, a woman who hires a gigolo named Nick Mercer, played by Dermot Mulroney (My Best Friends Wedding,) to escort her around her sister's wedding where the best man is her former fiancé. Her mother does nothing but embarrass Kit, but her Step-father treats her like she is her own daughter. Kit also has conflict with her half-sister Amy, played by Amy Adams (Serving Sara.) Once at the wedding, Kit is a nervous wreck while she tries to cope with her "date" and make her ex jealous.

The story is pretty much un-original except for the step-father being the calming, supporter influence. The ending would never happen in what we call the real world and is unbelievable. But it is a very fun movie and the timing between Messing and Mulroney more than make up for the story. Also the script was one of the funnier romantic comedies I have seen in a while. The movie knows its place and tries not to give to big a message other than be yourself and the only person who you should worrying about judging you is yourself. I give an atta boy, to Dana Fox who adapted the book from Elizabeth Young. This is Fox's first work and should be the start of a great career in comedy. The director Clair Kilner was smart in making the comedy the backbone of the movie. It is so easy to take a movie like this and turn it into a drama about love and life that is incredibly boring, say, "The Notebook," for example. Kilner uses the drama of Kit's family relationship to accent the movie instead of the reverse. I for one am happy that she let this be a comedy.

There are some problems with the movie, besides for the lack of reality, but there are so many "ah" moments that I just chose to ignore them. My advice is to ignore the movie "The Notebook" and watch "The Wedding Date" with your mate; I think you will thank me later.

Brian - the Naked Gun

This picture, for me, gets my best rating marginally. The writing, as Brian states, is extremely smart and funny. Comedic responses from characters follow a different path than previous pictures in the same genre.

Debra Messing is quickly proving herself to be one of the best female comedic actors of our generation. I am more than eager to see what she has for us in the future. I was also glad to see her land her first leading role, post "Will and Grace," in a picture of quality, and NOT as the love interest in say "Beverly Hills Ninja 2." Plus, she's an absolute hottie.

Dermot Mulroney is always a pleasure to see in these impossibly charming roles, such as "My Best Friend's Wedding." However, being that his character is a professional hooker, I found him a bit more believable than usual.

Director Clare Kilner made a great series of choices, focusing on the subtle responses from Messing and Mulroney, who do make a fine on screen couple. Chemistry between the two was very well established and naturally created, also a credit to Kilner.

The only problems I had with the picture was, writer Dana Fox threw in a handful of cheesy lines for Mulroney as Nick to say as he began to fall for Messing as Kat. They were a distraction, allowing most men in the audience--actually, let's admit it, Brian and I were the only single men in that cinema, SO--a chance to roll there eyes between the laughter.

I also felt the third act of the picture was extremely predictable and unoriginal. Once the big character arcs and plot twists were unveiled in the second act, the picture became as conventional as any other comedy. I also do not appreciate movies which use post scripts to explain what happens to characters passed the last frame. I only accept post-scripts for "Based on a True Story" type pictures. For "The Wedding Date," post-scripts were silly.

Other than that, "The Wedding Date" is one of the best comedies of the year (2005) thus far, along side "Hitch." I think it's a winner if you're a guy looking for a movie to rent your gal. Both of you should enjoy the picture, and SHE may jump you afterwards.

Benn - Where's the Humanity?