Movie Review: Made of Honor
Screenwriting engaging in 'Made of Honor'
By Brett Troxler
btroxler@wbrz.com
Web Producer
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Patrick Dempsey and Michelle Monaghan team up for Hollywood's latest play-on-words romantic comedy, “Made of Honor,” in theaters this May. Dempsey plays Tom, a serial dater, a man set in his ways who follows a set of clearly defined rules in order to keep himself as far away from commitment as humanly possible. He's been best friends with Hannah (Monaghan) for 10 years, ever since an awkward costumed college introduction.
They do everything together. He takes her to his father's wedding. They spend Sundays having dinner, visiting their favorite bakery and walking in Central Park.
But friends, and only friends, they remain.
Then Hannah goes away to Scotland for six weeks, and for Tom, well, you never know what you've got till it's gone. Tom starts reevaluating his lifestyle, and as luck would have it, just when he comes to realize his true feelings for Hannah, she comes home with her new fiancé, Colin (a duke), and plans for a wedding in a fortnight. That's two weeks for you Americans.
The best part? Hannah wants Tom to be her maid of honor. Surprise!
Tom accepts so he can work the inside angle, show he's a changed man, express his true feelings for Hannah and ultimately steal the bride. But it's not going to be easy. As Tom says of Hannah's husband-to-be, “He's Scottish. He can dunk. He's perfect.”
On the whole, the plot of “Made of Honor” is a pretty cheesy idea, but it's got the fish-out-of-water scenario for which we all go to the movies. Tom, a guy's guy, now has to help pick out dresses, plan a wedding shower and put together party favors. But he's doing it all for love. Cue the bridesmaids: “Awwwww.”
This script is extremely well-crafted, actually, with recurring scenes and themes that tie the beginning to the middle to the end in a tidy little bridal bow. There is also some pretty good dialog here, with a one-liner I'd love to share with you if it weren't for those dratted censors.
On the directing front, the camera circling around the dinner table when Hannah breaks the news to Tom about her engagement is a perfect way to convey the whirlwind in which our hero finds himself. So kudos to director Paul Weiland there.
But I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that there are also faults aplenty, from bad spots of voice-over work to the Highland games sequence to the glow-in-the-dark thunder beads to the trio of annoying bridesmaids to Dempsey wearing a mini-kilt. You'll see what I mean.
And you should. The movie on the whole is pretty good. Clichéd, yes, but effective. Patrick Dempsey is quite comfortable in this role — he's played it before — and he and Monaghan are a compatible on-screen couple. And you can't go wrong with Dwayne Wayne (Kadeem Hardison) as McDreamy's trusty sidekick.
“Made of Honor” is a date movie, plain and simple. So guys, grab a girl and treat her to an evening at the cinema. Just be sure you don't break any of your rules.
