License to Wed (2007)

We see it's not such a good idea to stop communicating with someone you plan on marrying in this rather formulated romantic comedy. John Krasinski plays Ben, who - in the first ten minutes of the film - embarrasses himself in front of, meets, dates, embarrasses himself some more in front of, and gets engaged to Sadie, played by Mandy Moore.

After Ben proposes, they apparently have 5 seconds in which to decide where they will get married. Ben wants to have a destination wedding while Sadie wants to get married in a church she hasn't even attended in 10 years, but alas, it's part of her typical wedding plan concocted in childhood. From there on, Sadie's not a team player and thus it's harder and harder for Moore to make her sympathetic.

To top it off, the church requires a pre-wedding course run by the incredibly creepy Rev. Frank, played by Robin Williams. Not-so-hilarious antics ensue as they go through Frank's tests - the most creepy and disturbing of all involving robotic twin babies.

The movie becomes increasingly uncomfortable and brushes against the point where you just want to shut off the movie. The ending's predictable, but if you like to know where your movie is going at all times and like only like to be surprised by new heights of corny line delivery, it'll be just right. Bottom line: Kransinski manages to hold his own. Williams stretches his creepy muscles. And it's nice to see cast member from The Office outside of The Office.

Rating: 2/5
Recommended for: Fans of predictable romantic comedy and adults who haven't realized it's pretty important to communicate with your significant other.

Extended Review: Rev. Frank's sidekick minister-in-training seriously gives the best line deliveries and may very well be the best part of the movie. The kid totally commits to the character/performance. Meanwhile you can't tell if his mentor, Rev. Frank, wants to see Sadie & Ben fail, just enjoys watching people fail, or seriously wants to prepare them but just is incredibly socially awkward. Sadly the film does venture into reality in some of its couples' behavior. There are also plenty of bridezillas out there who've had a dream wedding planned all her life and she's not about to let anything or anyone (like the person she's marrying) get in her way. More of the film's uncomfortableness comes from the fact that Mandy Moore plays this role. She's normally so darn likeable and in those few cases she's not supposed to be, you even like to not like her. Here, you don't really like her, but you don't like that you don't like her. Sort of like this film.