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 Patrick Dempsey from Grey’s Anatomy’s oversexed, unattainable bachelor meets Michelle Monaghan’s clever, pretty platonic best friend, overcoming his commitment phobia at the last possible moment (when she’s about to marry a Scotch nobleman–what other types of Scotsman are there in romantic comedies?) to claim her and live happily-ever-after.
You might argue that I’ve just given away the entire plot, but strictly speaking there are no surprises, so the word plot is somewhat misleading. If someone wanted to get from A) their home to B) the corner shop, you wouldn’t call that a plot. Similarly, if you’re female and would like to see Dempsey and Dempsey’s haircut transport themselves from the witty, charming side of womanising to full-on Prince Charming, this film is the best film of the year.
The script borrows unashamedly from naughty pickup artist patter in Neil Strauss’ The Game to create the impression of genius in the sales pitches that see Dempsey bedding various hot females at the start of the film. Is VHF an acronym? Should be: sounds sexy.
Anyway, he knows about cake, and is perpetually rich and laid. Only, sleeping with models is bad in the long-run, as they have no honesty. Now, best friend, once-almost-lover Monaghan/Hannah is blunt as a butcher’s cudgel, only she’s a bit of a softy and obviously gaga for him really, though he’s not about to acknowledge feelings for her before more is at stake.
Hip, hey, and a haggis vol-au-vent later, and on a trip to the highlands Hannah gets herself stranded off a Scottish loch so redhead local Colin can appear on a horse to save her. This goes down badly with Dempsey, who in her absence has acknowledged his feelings. After stretched-out wrangling in which Dempsey is a very reluctant Maid (Made) of Honour (he changes, geddit), through entering the highland games and staging a bad bridal shower, he finally plucks up the courage to say ‘I love you!’
Formulaic, but that’s no excuse: so are most comedies from Shakespeare to Four Weddings And A Funeral. Made of Honour, unfortunately, doesn’t risk anything much. The two-dimensional characters really don’t get into more than lifestyle scrapes. It’s enough to sell a few tickets, but not to launch a Richard Gere–who, if we remember, dated Julia Robert’s prostitute–or Meg Ryan, whose lonely journalist wrote a bunch of sad letters and worked through a bad relationship before meeting Tom Hanks in Sleepless in Seattle, or sat through a bunch of rotten jokes and faked an orgasm for Billy Crystal.
Mildly enjoyable, but really better a year from now on MTV3, or for strict romantic comedy junkies. Two cakes out of a possible Five. Directed by Paul Weiland; Produced by Neal H.Moritz; Starring Patrick Dempsey, Michelle Monaghan, Kadeem Hardison, Kevin McKidd, Kelly Carlson, Busy Philipps
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