“Made of Honor” (2008) Should be Left at the Altar ⭐⭐
What happens when a man is chosen to be the bride’s maid of honor? You get a hilarious, but predictable romantic comedy movie starring Patrick Dempsey and Michelle Monaghan. Made of Honor, directed by Paul Weiland, is no more than a typical wedding romcom about a womanizer, Tom (Patrick Dempsey). Tom is being forced into becoming his best friend’s maid of honor. After the sudden news that Hannah (Michelle Monaghan) is getting married to a Scotsman, Collin (Kevin McKidd), Tom naturally realized that he might be in love with Hannah. Tom knew that if he never confessed his feeling before the wedding, he might lose his best friend forever. The real question is, does Hannah feel the same about Tom? Would she drop everything and not marry Collin, the “perfect guy”?
The only thing that attracts me into watching this movie is Patrick Dempsey himself. When Made of Honor was released in 2008, Dempsey’s current TV show, Grey’s Anatomy was on the top of their game earning high ratings. Patrick Dempsey benefits on the success he received from playing McDreamy and decided to star in a romantic comedy movie. Thus, I believe that Dempsey purposely chose to play a similar character to the one he played in Grey’s Anatomy. He did this so that he can attract the Grey’s Anatomy’s fan and make them watch Made of Honor. I saw various similarities when watching Patrick Dempsey’s character in Made of Honor and Grey’s Anatomy. Both characters only shine when there is a strong female lead presence. For instance, Tom would never shine if he wasn’t best friend’s with Hannah, and Derek Shepperd would never have stood out if he wasn’t having a relationship with the daughter of a legendary surgeon, Meredith Grey. Dempsey always wants to depend on the female character in order to make himself shine. I was hoping that Patrick Dempsey would step out of his comfort zone and present a character that is unique, but that is not the case. During the 10 years, he’s been on the TV show, Grey’s Anatomy, Dempsey, again and again, chose a similar character like in Grey’s Anatomy and he also chose the same romantic film genre.
Romantic comedies usually have similar plotline: a girl falling in love with a boy and they live happily ever after. No wonder, when I saw the description of Made of Honor I did not have high expectation because I could already predict the ending from reading the description. Movies like My Best Friend’s Wedding and The Wedding Planner have a very similar storyline to Made of Honor. They all have this lame but captivating technical element within the script. Romantic comedy are always about a girl and a guy that decided to fall for each other right before their wedding. In addition, these movies always try to incorporate well-known actors in the mix for the sake of viewership. For example, in My Best Friend’s Wedding, they have Julia Roberts and Dermot Mulroney. In The Wedding Planner, they have Jennifer Lopez and Matthew McConaughey. Then, Patrick Dempsey and Michelle Monaghan in Made of Honor. With that being said, wedding romcoms like these are difficult to mess up, especially when the director incorporated well-known actors into the movie. Those famous A-listers are making the viewers more focused on their physical appearance instead of the script quality, which is what many romantic comedy directors want. The director knew the storyline of a romantic comedy isvery predictable and they do not have many opportunities to expand their creative writing because there is so much they can do with a love story.
If you are a true believer of fairy tales, and love watching a romantic comedy, Made of Honor is for you. Not to mention, if you love Patrick Dempsey’s character in Grey’s Anatomy you will love the character, Tom. Don’t expect too much out of this movie because it’ll only give you two elements: romantic and comedy. But, I guess that’s the whole point, right?
