[Movies] Made of Honor

In a somewhat surprise change of pace compared to the past films I had been watching, I accompanied a friend to watch the Patrick Dempsey chick flick Made of Honor. Admittedly, it wasn't a movie I would plan out to watch on my own, all things being equal. Still, I can't say I was totally opposed to seeing it since at the very least, Dempsey is rather cute.

The movie centers around the Best Friend Syndrome, as I like to call it, where one best friend realizes after a significant amount of time that he actually fallen in love with the other. In this case the pairing involves Tom (Dempsey) and Hannah (Michelle Monaghan). Of course in typical Hollywood fashion, Hannah finds the man she wants to marry, Colin (Kevin McKidd), just as Tom realizes this. To make matters worse, Hannah asks Tom to be her Maid of Honor, simply because he is her absolutely best friend in the world. The unusual situation present Tom with an opportunity to somehow disrupt the wedding but at the same time still show he's supportive of all this as the Maid of Honor.

Right off the bat, one can't help but compare the film's plot to that of My Best Friend's Wedding, which has long established itself as (1) a classic chick flick, (2) a classic Julia Roberts movie and (3) a generally accepted good piece of movie film-making across genres. It was a movie that had a little something for everyone. To try and somehow go up against a pre-established cult classic like this is a bit unrealistic in some ways, but the people behind Made of Honor did make a serious attempt to distance themselves from that piece.

Image by Getty Images via DaylifeFirst, they clearly established how Tom and Hannah became best friends and those were certainly unusual circumstances. They presented how different their characteristics were and the unusual relationship they developed over time. I can't really go into detail since I've never been in the habit of overwhelming everyone with spoilers that just ruin things.

Second, the whole Made of Honor aspect is a bit of a twist since they decided to play the gender card. This opened the door for a lot of gay insinuations on Dempsey's behalf and they created additional tension with the other bridesmaids competing for attention and the limelight.

Thirdly, you throw in the husband-to-be in the form of Colin (who you might remember from the HBO series Rome and the GLBT film Bedrooms and Hallways) who isn't as annoying as they made Cameron Diaz to be in My Best Friend's Wedding. They made him as universally appealing as possible and tried to stack the odds in his favor, making Dempsey's character the non-logical choice for Hannah's potential husband.

The movie was fairly well written and had its share of entertaining moments and funny situations. They didn't go over-the-top slapstick and tried to make sure there was a fair amount of witty banter and good dialog.

Sure, it's not going to change your life to see this film and I wouldn't necessarily go out of my way to run to the theaters and catch it on its opening weekend. Still, it's a fun and light romantic comedy with its fair share of good writing and interesting plot twists and of course, a lot of Patrick Dempsey. I don't suppose that's worth complaining about.