Movie review: License to Wed
License to Wed is a film I had hoped to catch while it was still in theaters. Having finally received the opportunity to watch it, however, I’m glad I saved my eight dollars. Where did a comedy boasting stars like Robin Williams, John Krasinski and Mandy Moore go so wrong? Just about everywhere.
The plot is simple: Sadie Jones (Mandy Moore) and Ben Murphy (John Krasinski) meet, fall in love, and decide to get married. Sadie has her heart set on the idea of being married in her family church, so Ben agrees and they speak with the church’s eccentric minister, Reverend Frank. Reverend Frank and his little reverend in training (Josh Flitter) give the happy couple a choice of two possible wedding dates; one three weeks from that date and another one two years in the future. With no other options, Sadie and Ben decide a whirlwind wedding will just have to do and begin preparations for a wedding date three weeks in advance. What neither Sadie nor Ben counted on was Reverend Frank’s mandatory pre-wedding marriage preparation course, a course that must be passed before Reverend Frank will agree to marry any couple in his church. Thus begins a long, tedious and altogether painful film that pushes the boundaries of absurdity for a few cheap laughs and sight gags.
This film’s biggest problem is that it simply isn’t funny. The characters aren’t original or believable. The dialogue switches back and forth between run of the mill and ridiculous so often it seems like the script writers were playing a game of mad libs instead of doing their jobs. The situations into which Reverend Frank places Sadie and Ben are wholly unbelievable as part of a marriage prep course, since the activities seem designed more to tear a couple apart rather than strengthen a relationship, but even more ludicrous is the way both Sadie and Ben react in these situations. Robin Williams, who is generally known and loved for his over the top characters, takes Reverend Frank so far over the top that there isn’t even a moment when audiences are allowed to believe that this man may actually be a minister. From hollowing out a Bible so he has a place to stash his bags of cheese puffs to having his choir boy break into Sadie and Ben’s apartment to bug the place, Reverend Frank seems more like an aging voyeur intent on ruining the lives and relationships of those around him than a minister attempting to prepare couples for marriage.
Nothing, not even multiple cameos courtesy of John Krasinski’s The Office costars, can save this horrible mockery of a movie. If this is what marriage is meant to be, count me out.