Thursday, September 15, 2011

Made Of Honor (2008)

*Groan*....

"Made Of Honor." Get it!?

"Made" + "Of" + "Honor." = Maid Of Honor!

One gets a clear idea of what this supposedly funny film attempts to pass off as comedy just from the title: cheap, cheesy and thoughtless bits of what is supposed to be make the audience laugh.

The 2008 film Made Of Honor boils down to a painfully unfunny remake (basically) of the painfully unfunny romcom My Best Friend's Wedding (1997) starring the dude from "Grey's Anatomy." Sure, the two films are a little bit different - in Made Of Honor it is the female friend who asks the male friend to be her maid of honor instead of the groom asking the female friend to be the best man - but there are two major similarities:

1.) Both films are not funny at all.

2.) Both films feature insufferable lead characters.

Patrick "McDreamy" Dempsey stars in Made Of Honor. Everyone of course knows him from "Grey's Anatomy" fame; personally, having previously never seen the show, I jumped to the conclusion that Dempsy was the gay co-star who got called that derogatory name by Isaiah Washington (apparently it was T.R. Knight) but my wife corrected me that Dempsey is not gay - he is, in fact, "McDreamy." Who knew?

Either way; Dempsey sucks. Who decided that this guy was talented - let alone likable enough to center an entire film around? I guess the ladies like him; otherwise he would be out of a job. Dempsey is a terrible actor; really hammy, has little presence and is, specific to this film, not very convincing as some kind of playboy as he is way too effeminate - even if he is not gay. I mean really, even if one thinks Dempsey is "dreamy," you have to admit that his character gets into food and fashion just a little too much to be a convincing playboy in this film.

Dempsey or no Dempsey, one has to be some kind of masochist to put themselves through this film more than once. Never mind that it is a structural mess as it tries desperately to stick to romcom formula like a leech - all that would be forgivable to a point if the film were funny and enjoyable - the film has nothing going for it at all since the jokes are incredibly unfunny and the characters are not likable in the least.

The characters are simply unlikable through a variety of means - who they are on paper, their actions throughout the film, characterizations by the actors, etc. - but they particularly make no sense at all. Hannah (Michelle Monaghan) is built up in the beginning of the film to be smart, not taking a lot of chances, and not exactly adventurous - however, after only six weeks of dating decides to marry someone she met in Scotland. Hmmm.... that's interesting - seems like a plunge for someone who usually plays it safe. A similar nonsensical thing occurs with McDreamy's character: are we really, honestly, supposed to believe that McDreamy suddenly snaps out of a Tomcat lifestyle and is ready to settle down with Hannah in the blink of an eye? Look, I know that some guys are "trainable" to a point, but come on!

But the fact that the characters make no sense ultimately does not matter. I have noticed a trend in the average "chick flick": nobody is a real character. Most romcom characters seem to be who the targeted audience wants people to be, which is this: flawed to a point but ready to shake off those flaws in an instant after being changed by the love interest. If you love watching that, then Made Of Honor might just be up your alley - but for me, Made Of Honor is just made up of unfunny skits and unlikable characters.


CBC Rating: 3/10

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