A Decent Romantic Comedy (The Wedding Planner (DVD))

Member Name: jane08

Product:	The Wedding Planner (DVD)
Date:	09/09/08 (77 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lighthearted and has Matthew McConaughey

Disadvantages: It's just average

Normally I can't stand Jennifer Lopez so I was pleasantly surprised to find I rather enjoyed this little romantic comedy. Jennifer Lopez plays the lead role of Mary, a wedding planner completely obsessed with her job, who has no prospective romance at all. When she's rescued by cute doctor Steve/Eddie (Matthew McConaughey) she finds herself falling for him only to discover that he is in fact the fiancé of her most important client.

The Wedding Planner is far from a masterpiece but it is an entertaining little romance movie if you happen to be in the mood for that kind of film. The comedy aspects don't really make you laugh but they maintain the light hearted feel of the film without being embarrassing to watch, as you unfortunately sometimes find in rom coms.

The plot is simple and fairly predictable but for this genre it's what you'd expect. Instead of a love triangle you end up with more of a square, the two principle couples, Steve/Eddie's fiance and also the man that Mary's father is trying to get her to marry, Massimo. The final character of the four is perhaps unnecessary and the story tends to slow down a bit too much when the film focuses on that relationship. Having said that the idea of Mary's father preferring an arranged marriage for his daughter, because he was so happy in his marriage, is an interesting idea; it just doesn't flow as well as the rest of the plot.

Jennifer Lopez is quite likable as the lead although her acting can be a little off at times. Matthew McConaughey on the other hand is lovely as the dishy doctor. Their relationship throughout the film is portrayed nicely but I couldn't help but feel that they were a bit of an odd couple, even if I was rooting for them all the same. One thing I did approve of is that they didn't make the respective other halves of the leads unbearable and horrible people. That has become far too much of a cliché in romantic comedies but here I liked the character of Fran, and to a lesser extent Massimo.

Overall The Wedding Planner is an entertaining couple of hours worth of a chick flick. I wouldn't advise that you force any men to watch it with you but for a girly night in it's a good choice, you might even pick up some wedding preparation hints (who knew teal was a bad colour for bridesmaid's dresses and someone please remind me never to pick 'I Honestly Love You' as my wedding song, I really should jot down that fake tan hint as well...).

Summary: An enjoyable, if a little forgettable, film