Made Of Something (Made of Honour (DVD))

Member Name: JayHall1991

Product:	Made of Honour (DVD)
Date:	12/05/08 (83 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some Nice Moments

Disadvantages: Bad Story, bland Acting, Rubbis Editing

Thomas has the perfect life; he is loaded thanks to his coffee collar invention, he's irresistible to women and has a great friend in one of his failed conquests, Hannah. They have been closest friends for ten years and share everything together - loves, jobs, food but when she is forced to stay in Scotland for six weeks, their dynamics change. Tom realises that he loves his best friend (shock, I know!). When she comes back he vows to woo her, but she brings back a surprise.... a new fiancée. It seems obvious to her that he would be her maid of honour, so she proposes the idea and he agrees - as a way of sabotaging the impending nuptials and winning his girl? But will things go his way?

Made of Honour is an unappealing and fairly unmemorable romantic comedy; it lacks the grace or charm of the genre's best and is saddled down by un-engaging leads, ridiculous plot twists and a screenplay that relies more on tired physical comedy than romantic substance. There is very little in the way of original or fresh ideas in the recycled mess and the whole thing shows a bewildering lack of continuity or good pacing (scenes string along together for no reason and whole chunks of the story seem untold). It's not even particularly romantic with a lead character that is distinctly without honour (on the contrary to what the wittier-than-the rest-of-the-movie title suggests) and a final scene which comes without impact and isn't very well earned. It has its moments in the fairly sweet opening (which shows the characters as far more intelligent than the rest of the film) - but after that it all becomes one unrealistic, unattractive heap that relies far too heavily of clichés without making them work and comes with a steaming hot side order of cynicism; the one thing that can render a rom-com useless. It is further proof that a decent trailer does not a good movie make; I'd stay in and rent When Harry Met Sally instead.

The most shocking thing about Made of Honour is how technically unaccomplished it is; the camera work is lazy and often doesn't show the characters and makes the whole thing seem childish, the editing is atrocious with a lot of scenes making no sense and a few ending on awkward silences and the lighting really isn't much better (at times you can't see the actors faces and at other the light is so bright that everyone looks hideous.) If all this had added to the sense of realism to the piece, or was even a misguided attempt to be unique in the over-crowded genre then I would has forgiven it; but the only reason for such poor visuals is the laziness of the crew. The continuity errors are the most jarring as they really make some of the film hard to follow and, do alot of the time, detract from the enjoyment of the piece. There are many scenes where people say random things and th scene abruptly ends, there are many plot twists (if you could call them that, there signposted to you from the first five minutes) are left unsaid and it adds to the uneasy sense within the film. It looks as if it was made on a very small budget (it was actually made on forty million) and lacks any visual style; with a drab colour palette and some superficial set pieces.

The main failing of Made Of Honour's screenplay is that it fails to establish the leads as engaging or nice people; they don't really have appealing qualities, they aren't very three dimensional and to be honest they don't really seem that they would suit each other romantically. There is little character development established into the script, despite the fact that the writers do craft some nice moments of change and reflection and there's no valid sense of true chemistry or desire. When romantic comedies are at their best they can be breathtaking and they can damn well charm you off your feet - but there is nothing charming about Made of Honour, there are no lovely snippets of dialogue, there are no romanticised situations and there is a distinct lack of idealism. It is too far removed from reality to be interesting, yet it doesn't take that detachment and make it whimsical, charming or fairytale like; infact the overwhelming impression and atmosphere is one of depression. The screenplays comedy moments are fairly tired (although some of the wittier moments do get surprisingly big laughs) but there are some clichéd-but-sweet montage/romance sequences which suggest that the film could have been much more and the structure of the piece is fairly well rooted.

Patrick Dempsey doesn't really do much to help the proceedings; he is, I suppose, occasionally charming but has a sinister air about him that makes some of his scenes frightening rather than gushingly romantic and he never seems completely at ease with his character. He doesn't bring out the nice qualities in the fairly redundant role and seems to be way too intense for a romantic lead; his squinty, laid back persona is kind of unappealing and he doesn't seem to have any chemistry with any of the others actors. He manages to add a layer of emotional resonance to the film which is much welcomed and he tries to have fun with the scenes but he just can't, due to the script and nature of the direction. Surprisingly, he doesn't really show a flare for physical comedy which is in contrast to his funny turn in last year's far superior Enchanted where he showed a real talent for the subtle slapstick. It's not a passionate performance, yet it's not restrained either - it's just routine and ordinary.

Michelle Monaghan fairs a little better as Hannah, at least she enters things with a little gusto - but she remains fairly cold in the romance department and is slightly over the top in the dramatic sequences (most notably towards the end of the film). She has a certain charm about her that makes her scenes in New York pleasant, but once her character is uprooted into Scotland, she loses all screen presence and seems to be sleep-walking through the proceedings. Kevin McKidd is saddled with the most uninteresting role of the film, but has some nice comedic moments which he makes the most of and he has a sort of cool presence that nicely offsets the silliness of everyone else. However, he has absolutely no sexual/romantic chemistry with Monaghan and their relationship feel ridiculous from the very get go.

I am sick of directors making movies without any passion; Paul Weiland's direction isn't clever, cute, funny, vibrant, interesting, moving or stylish- he does give the piece any life, doesn't understand why the rom-com can work so well and throws anything potentially enjoyable up the wall. His directing is stagnant and stale, he lets scenes run on too long, he squashes any comedy and doesn't draw very inspired performances from the cast. There isn't one moment of impulse or life in his boring attempts at rom-com direction because he sticks so very rigidly to the tried and tested formulae, without making it work for him. This film has been screen-tested and audiences tested to hell because there isn't one thing that is remotely surprising or unique in it - and his shall we say languid pacing does the film no favours. The film goes out with a whimper instead of a bang, because he doesn't inject any energy, grace or emotional resonance.

Made of Honour is the reason that romantic comedies get a bad wrap; where there should be fire-works there aren't even sparks, what should make your heart leap leaves you cold, the bits that should make you sit on the edge of your seat in sheer anticipation of that one line or kiss just aren't there... it's not made of honour, nor passion it's made out of cynicism and desperation for money - it's doesn't sweep you off your feet, rather it brings you back to earth with a short, sharp thud. Bland performances, a routine script, atrocious editing and pretty ridiculous direction don't exactly help, what was flawed to start with.

Summary: A Routine and Stupid Hollywood rom-com