Stars:
**
Rating: PG-13 for naked
backsides and adult situations
Run
Time: 1
hour, 20 minutes
A sparkling
romantic comedy should be just the ticket for the deadly doldrums between year-end
and the Oscars. Nicer still if the
comedy in question is actually sparkling or romantic.
Debra
Messing of TV’s “Will and Grace” fame tries her hand as a bigscreen leading lady
with less than desirable results. As Kat
Ellis she’s the quintessential thirty-something singleton; jilted at the altar,
currently (relentlessly?) manless, and forced to hire a male escort (read:
hooker) to give good face to her situation as maid of honor at her sister’s
The
“gentleman” is Nick Mercer (Dermot Mulroney), a suave ladies man with loads of
experience and charm to spare. No
frills, no attachments, just the perfect eye-candy to flash in front of Kat’s
friends and family.
Naturally
the pair falls for each other quicker than you can say American Gigolo. Relatively understandable in the case of the
needy, neurotic Kat, who’s desperate to make her ex jealous but finds (surprise!)
a good man inside Nick’s sartorially pleasing package.
Completely
mystifying for Nick, a consummate professional cum armchair psychologist who
“dates” for a living and is ostensibly accustomed to keeping his heart securely
under wraps.
There’s an
inherent sweetness to Wedding’s
narrative, a Cinderella story that’s been plied repeatedly and never fails to
please on at least some level. Unfortunately the customary wedding clichés are
present and accounted for: the singly sassy profanity-spouting bridesmaid, 1-800-LOVE
dialogue (“the hardest thing is loving someone and having the courage to let
them love you back”) and of course the Big Secret (an ugly one at that) that
may actually ruin sis’ wedding day.
All of the
above wouldn’t be so bad sprinkled with some pixie dust or blessed with
blistering chemistry. But Messing plays
it clumsily, transitioning from insecure wallflower to sexy siren with little
warning or motivation. Mulroney more or
less maintains his dignity as the token man-whore but I suspect he’s in it for
the dough.
Bottom
line: flashes of engagement mired in starry-eyed pabulum with a bubble-gum
score to match. Bring on the Oscars, and fast!