Two writers, one blockbuster romantic comedy!

Two A 'n' E Vibe correspondents hit the theatre this week for the film Made Of Honor and give their honest thoughts on McDreamy's new film out now on the big screen...

FILM TITLE: Made of Honour
DIRECTOR: Paul Weiland
STUDIO: Columbia Pictures
PRINCIPLE ACTORS: Patrick Dempsey, Michelle Monaghan, Kevin McKidd
LENGTH OF FEATURE: 101 minutes
RELEASE DATE: 2 May 2008  

3 Stars  

Reviewed By: Lauren Eldridge (Port Moody Correspondent - Canada)  

Trailers are notoriously misleading. On walking into the theatre to see Made of Honour, I naively hoped I might see something vaguely original, or at least creative. While the film featured a great soundtrack and some beautiful scenery, nothing could redeem Made of Honour from its thoroughly unoriginal plot.  

Tom (Patrick Dempsey) is living the New York bachelor dream. When his best friend Hannah (Michelle Monaghan) leaves on a six-week working stint in Scotland, Tom realizes how much he misses and loves her. Tom's basketball buddies help him cope when Hannah returns with her whirlwind fiancé Colin (Kevin McKidd) and asks Tom to be her Maid of Honour. He is on a mission as they depart for Scotland to make this the best wedding ever, and steal the bride. Struggling to tell Hannah how he feels in the hectic schedule of traditional Scottish wedding preparations and festivities, Tom is finally able to convey his feelings in a subtle yet passionate kiss. Hannah resolutely refuses to buckle, despite her own feelings for Tom. He heads for home as Hannah heads for the church, but in a last ditch attempt to win her over, Tom turns around and races for the wedding.

One saving grace of this film is the soundtrack; full of fresh tracks, this album could be one of my summer favourites. My only complaint is that I can't buy it on iTunes! Another plus was the scenery. While the first half of the film was set in New York, the latter portion was set in Scotland. Hauntingly enchanting shots of misty moors and moonlit castles were an admirable distraction from the predictability of the plot. Simply a male-lead version of My Best Friend's Wedding, nothing much has changed in the last ten years of film plots. The film attempts to motivate its viewers, trying to inspire you to tell people how you feel and not let opportunities for love pass you by. As one of Tom's friends tells him, "It's always a good time to say 'I love you, marry me'." Debates between the single and married men in Tom's group of friends were quite entertaining. Even the ending was somewhat satisfying. However, these decent parts did not add up to a great film as a whole.

My only true issue with this film is that it is touted as Tom's difficult decision. While scripting a male lead made a slight difference from My Best Friend's Wedding, the choice seems blatantly apparent to me. While it takes guts to tell your best friend that you are in love with her, the only reason not to do so would be the fear of losing your friendship. There seems little to lose and everything to gain. In the end, I believe it is Hannah who must make the difficult choice. Michelle Monaghan does a wonderful job playing this role, but she is not even listed on most of the posters. Patrick Dempsey occupies all of the limelight. However, even though Hannah's choice should be more difficult, Tom does manage to reveal how mismatched she and Colin are, and how little she knows about him. Hannah seems about to marry Colin only because she is pushing thirty and doesn't know what else to do. In truth, Tom just had to find the courage to say what he felt, and it didn't need to take 101 minutes for him to do so.

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Film Title: Made of Honor
Director: Paul Weiland
Studio: Sony Pictures
Principle Actors: Patrick Dempsey, Michelle Monaghan, Kevin McKidd
Length of Feature: 1hr 42 min
Release Date: May 2
Film Rating: PG 

Rating: 3 ½ Stars

Reviewed By: Tessa Perkins (Vancouver Correspondent)  

After accidentally getting into bed with Hannah at a college Halloween party, Tom discovers that it was the best mistake of his life. The two become best friends, but as their lives move forward, Hannah waits on the sidelines for Tom to notice her as more than his best friend.

Tom prides himself on being a completely honest person, but there is one person he has been lying to: himself. When Tom finally starts to realize that there may be more to life than sleeping around or signing your last divorce papers while writing up you next pre-nup, Hannah falls in love with a Scottish Duke while in Scotland on business.

Hannah decides that Tom has to be her maid of honour, and his buddies decide to help him formulate a plan to win her back while helping her plan her wedding from the bridal shower to the wedding-night lingerie. He must prove that he is a changed man who now values life-long commitment and true love, while leaving behind his sordid past of promiscuity (Hannah's grandma even calls Tom "the fornicator").  

Hannah, on the other hand, seems to be the picture of perfection and has never done anything wrong in her perfect life except choose to be "just friends" with the love of her life. As Tom demonstrates his knowledge of her subtle traits and their shared past, Hannah begins to be nostalgic of their special bond, and she begins to realize that Collin could never be a substitute for the way she feels around her best friend.  

The film attempts to be humorous at times, but for the most part the humour is either predictable or implausible. For example, Hannah's grandma is given "glow-in-the-dark thunder beads" at the bridal shower when the entertainment accidentally turns out to be a sex-toy saleslady. For the rest of the film, she is seen wearing them proudly as jewellery (implausible). There are also many gay references as people assume that Tom must be homosexual as he is called the maid of honour (predictable).

If you are a sucker for tear-jerker moments, this film will keep the tears flowing; and depending on your sense of humour, it may even deliver some laughs. Although the message of the film is a bit overdone and could have been presented with a little more eloquence, it is nonetheless a valid one: we must be honest with ourselves first in order to be happy, and sometimes what will make us truly happy has been right in front of us all along.