Here's a New Genre: The Romantic Comedy!!!! (The Wedding Planner (DVD))

Member Name: GNU BOY

Product:	The Wedding Planner (DVD)
Date:	12/02/01 (36 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A few funny moments. Talented staff

Disadvantages: See it a thousand times before, with a different title. Quite poorly constucted.

What’s this? A romantic comedy around February 14th? Good to see Hollywood is breaking with tradition by releasing a movie of this sort at the time people are at their loviest. I had pretty low expectations when I was taken to see this in Calgary recently, and these were met.

The movie stars Jennifer Lopez and Matthew McConaughey; both of whom have a great deal of talent, not only in their appearance, but also in their ability to act at the same time as being funny. Sadly for them, the movie has not been constructed well enough for their talent to make a lasting impression.

Written by Pamela Falk and Michael Ellis, this is a film that rings of the forties and fifities- that innocent charm of two strangers being drawn together by accident (or is it fate? Who cares?) and falling in love. Sadly, the fantastic recipe that epitomised films of that era is not present here; instead the movie resorts to the same dull ingredient of almost every new American comedy: a joke about the male part. By part I do not mean role. In this movie it is a statue losing his manhood unexpectedly.

The storyline involves Mary Fiore (Lopez), a wedding planner who, ironically, hasn’t had a relationship for months. Then one day, she is rescued from being run over by a dump truck. Her saviour is a handsome stranger, Dr.Steve Edison (McConaughey), the Peadiatrician (notice it’s never a taxidermist?). The couple spend a wonderful evening together, dancing, watching a movie and nearly kissing.

Smitten, Mary thinks about asking him out again. But, true to Propp’s functions, things suddenly take a turn for the worst. Steve turns out to be the fiance of one of her new clients, Fran (played by Bridgette Wilson-Sampras). A dilemma arises: should Mary follow her heart, or her bank balance?

The storyline turns out as you would expect of a film of this nature. As usual, there is the ugly, arranged partner for the female, in this inst
ance he is played by Justin Chambers. The director has played on the stereotype of a dimwitted South American in an attempt to extract humour from the subplot, but has succeeded only in demeaning the character and movie.

This is not to say that the movie is a disaster. It has a number of moments which would fit nicely into a better plot. Enraged, Mary and Steve (notice the originality of the names?) dance the Tango, and this is actually thoroughly entertaining and well choreographed. There are a few one-liners from Lopez and McConaughey that show they are capable of comedy. The effect of alcohol on a woman is played upon too, although this is not strictly life-like.

The lead roles are played well, and Lopez and McConaughey are not to blame for the movie’s poor showing. Lopez is more like Sandra Bullock than you will ever see her (isn’t she sweet? Err, kinda), and once again shows that she does not get parts in movies because of her looks (not entirely, anyway). McConaughey does well, and could find himself playing more roles of this kind. Judy Greer plays a humourous best friend to Mary, likewise Kevin Pollak to Steve. They contribute well to a movie that has been let down by its poor script.

‘The Wedding Planner’ is a movie worth watching if you are hooked on romantic comedies. It will make you chuckle a few times, and may warm your proverbial heart cockles. The actors and actresses are talented, and make the best of a storyline that has been used a hundred (better) times. However, be warned there is nothing here you have not seen before, and you could leave the cinema disappointed. If you want originality, excitement, and above all, plot, go and see something else. But for an appropriate flick to see on Valentine’s Day, you could do worse than see this with your other half.

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