McDreamy's cad is no man of 'Honor'
The title's pedestrian pun signals that "Made of Honor" isn't the highest-concept romantic comedy out there.
Then there's its plot, wherein someone realizes they're in love with their best friend as soon as said friend becomes engaged. If it sounds suspiciously similar to that of a certain 1997 Julia Roberts hit, don't worry. This is a completely different movie.
See, the genders are reversed.
Patrick Dempsey plays Tom, a rich, white NYC dude whose dedication to sleeping around is so great that he has his own elaborate set of rules (just like that mid-90s book that coached women on how to play hard-to-get). Thanks to "Grey's Anatomy," Dr. McDreamy has crawled out of the TV movie-of-the-week mire and reclaimed his cinematic heritage, the sort of implausible boy/girl puffball on which he cut his teeth in the 1980s "Can't Buy Me Love," "Loverboy" and "Happy Together"
Here, Tom's women are playthings. We see a few of them but never hear their names. The lone exception is his pal Hannah (Michelle Monaghan), a rich, white NYC gal who Tom met in college when he was trying to hook up with her roommate. Tom actually converses with Hannah. He knows her obnoxiously elaborate Starbuck's order. They play games while waiting in line at the bakery. In other words, they're made for each other.
This is quickly established, but British director Paul Weiland ("Leonard Part 6," "City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold") has to make sure we get it.
Just as Hannah is complaining to a store clerk about an alligator handbag, Tom is in another part of the store, petting a dog. OMG! He's perfect for her!
Of course, Tom doesn't even think about this until Hannah takes a six-week business trip to Scotland. He decides he like-likes her, but just as he's about to spring this news on Hannah upon her return, she shows up with a guy. While she was away, Hannah got engaged to Colin (Kevin McKidd), a rich, white duke whose family owns Scotland's oldest whiskey distillery.
To deal with this sudden threat to his relationship with Hannah, Tom takes his basketball pals' advice and accepts her offer to be her maid of honor. He has to deal with the girly rituals like dress shopping and a bridal shower, all the while trying to prove he's a better catch than Colin. Yes, you've seen this film before.
Admittedly, "Made of Honor" has two things over its rom-com peers. For one, Colin is not depicted as psycho or possessive or involved with shady business.
He's actually a decent guy. In fact, the only strikes the movie can level against him are that he's from another culture, he hunts and he's not Tom. Consider McKidd's role more like the type Ralph Bellamy used to play: not a villain but not deserving of the girl either. Sorry, bro!
Its other plus is that it keeps scenes of manly Patrick Dempsey doing nonbutch things like wrapping gift baskets for a wedding reception or getting quizzed about appropriate dress lengths to a minimum.
You'd think that a comedy of this sort (and length -- mercy, is it long) would be stuffed with "you're the maid of whaaa?" gags, but these thankfully only pop up a handful of times.
In the end, all that distinguishes "Made of Honor" is its stars. Dempsey seems stiff when it comes to the broad comedy bits, but overall he's on the likable side of wooden. Monaghan, who was so magnetic in the underrated "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang," is an equally bland but pleasant tomboy, although she's ultimately not much more considerate than sex-machine Tom.
Their characters have chemistry, and hooray for them.
Still, did they really need to take so long and spend so much of other people's money to figure it out for themselves?
"Made of Honor"
1 1/2 stars
Starring: Patrick Dempsey, Michelle Monaghan, Kevin McKidd
Directed by: Paul Weiland
Other: A Columbia Pictures release. Rated PG-13 for sexual content and language. 101 minutes.