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"LICENSE TO WED"
(2007) (Robin Williams, Mandy Moore) (PG-13)

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QUICK TAKE:
Comedy: A couple must contend with the repercussions of taking a minister's wedding preparation course to see if they're compatible enough to get hitched.
PLOT:
On her parents' 30th wedding anniversary, florist Sadie Jones (MANDY MOORE) is both surprised and pleased when her boyfriend, Ben Murphy (JOHN KRASINSKI), proposes to her. Her parents are a little concerned, especially since their other daughter, Lindsey (CHRISTINE TAYLOR), has moved back in with them after her divorce.

Yet, Sadie is determined to make it work, and thus convinces Ben to take a wedding preparation course at her childhood church run by Reverend Frank (ROBIN WILLIAMS). Along with his young helper, Choir Boy (JOSH FLITTER), the minister put prospective couples through the paces in something of a pre-marital boot camp. During the next three weeks, the two learn things about each other, such as Ben seemingly not liking Sadie always turning to her childhood friend Carlisle (ERIC CHRISTIAN OLSEN) for advice, while Ben's friend, Joel (DeRAY DAVIS), thinks the whole thing is crazy and warns him about the pitfalls of marriage.

With Reverend Frank determined to make sure the couple has what it takes to have a happy marriage, Sadie and Ben must put up with his unorthodox tests, eavesdropping and more, all of which threaten to break up their relationship.

OUR TAKE: 3 out of 10
While not always fair or accurate, it's common for audiences and studio heads to typecast performers into the sort of characters seemingly best suited for them. For instance, everyone knew and expected Arnold Schwarzenegger would be a bigger than life action star, whereas someone such as Don Knotts never would be, and instead repeatedly got put into the nervous Nelly with faux bravado roles.

The same holds true for comedians in that everybody thinks they'd be perfect for comedies. They often are, but comedic abilities don't always successfully translate to the big screen. The perfect example of that is Robin Williams, undeniably one of the funniest guys around when doing stand-up or appearing on talk shows and such promoting his latest project. While he's had his share of hits and accolades, and has branched out into other genres, his comedy movies either work or they don't, with few shades of grey.

And much of that stems from his specialty being improv. Put a coin in him, wind him up, or just hit the "go" button, and he's off to the races, with no one -- seemingly including him -- knowing where he might turn next. Although that's apparently created some funny scenes in his movies -- where the filmmakers simply turned him loose and captured anything and everything on film -- that comedy styling otherwise isn't the most compatible with the otherwise usually rigid structure needed for cinematic storytelling.

The latest example of where the forms don't mesh is "License To Wed," a comedy that, on paper, would seem to be funny, at least to the powers that be that green-lit this project. After all, Williams is a funny guy (already established), has proven he can make funny movies (ditto), and plays a minister here who puts prospective couples through the equivalent of wedding boot camp hell to see if they're ready.

The problem -- and it's a whopper -- is that the results simply aren't that funny, with the fault of that lying all across the board. The biggest, of course, is the lame script by Kim Barker and Tim Rasmussen & Vince Di Meglio that seems like a project designed for Ben Stiller that the star probably would have turned down.

You know the type -- a regular guy just wants to be happy with his girl when an outsider comes along and shakes everything up, humiliating him in the process and causing his girlfriend to have second doubts. Things then progressively get worse for the guy who only digs himself into a deeper abyss of comedy despair by trying to counteract what's occurring.

Despite the lack of novelty in story arc, that would have been fine, but this "Meet the Wedding Minister" story simply can't deliver on its vows to make us laugh. Considering the religion meets modern couple pairing, there's no doubt the related attempts will involve sex (Williams' character tells the couple played by Mandy Moore and John Krasinski that any extracurricular activity is forbidden until the wedding night). Yet, with all of that built in and then pent-up potential, the filmmakers simply drop the ball in generating the related laughs.

The bigger issue is the way in which the minister character has been drawn and the way in which Williams plays him. While his intentions are good (to make sure the couple is compatible), the way he goes about is not only creepy (talking to the bride-to-be about her sexual likes and dislikes) and illegal (having his minion -- Josh Flitter -- break, enter and bug the couples' bedroom), but also almost demonic in terms of the glee he seems to get from putting them through their paces.

Of course, it all works out in the end that justifies his means, but most everything about the character feels off and therefore more disturbing than funny (especially with Williams looking like he's ready to burst forth with improv when not otherwise let loose in such moments that are easy to spot).

It doesn't help that most everything director Ken Kwapis throws at us is predictable from step one, as there's little doubt about how things will unfold (see most any Stiller comedy) and ultimately conclude. As the hopeful couple, Moore and Krasinski don't exude enough chemistry, charm, goodwill, or especially smarts to make us care about them collectively or even individually. Why the characters put up with such obviously damaging abuse only makes them come off as dolts unable to break free from the script's confines and/or give us a believable reason why they continue.

DeRay Davis and Stiller's wife Christine Taylor land in the advice-giving, best friend and damaged goods sister roles. The former feels like an outcast from the same in "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" while the latter only makes us long for another "Brady Bunch" movie to see her as Marcia just one more time (sorry, that's a certain generational guy thing).

With misguided characters, lame jokes and two robotic "test drive" babies that -- wait, are you ready for this -- wail, vomit, pee and poop, the film won't turn off couples from getting married. However, it will do that for poorly made comedies about just that. "License to Wed" rates as a 3 out of 10.




Reviewed June 27, 2007 / Posted July 3, 2007


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