License To Wed

Release date: July 6, 2007
Directed by: Ken Kwapis
Starring: Robin Williams, Mandy Moore, John Krasinski, Christine Taylor

License To Wed will definitely earn a spot on many year-end countdowns of the worst films. It's a mediocre story with three forgettable performances wrapped up in a very cliche quasi-romantic comedy.

Sadie Jones (Moore) is a beautiful twenty-something girl who meets Ben Murphy (Krasinski), an equally handsome twenty-something guy. They go on a first date, kiss for the first time, fall in love and then move in together — all in the first 10 minutes of the movie. Six months later, the whirlwind affair reaches its peak when Ben proposes to Sadie at a family gathering. Immediately thereafter, they decide to have the wedding at St. Augustine's, a church that has special meaning to Sadie's family.

Enter Reverend Frank (Williams), a wise-cracking, progressive man of the cloth who's called upon to bless the pending nuptials. However, before doing so, Frank advises that the young couple take his marriage prep course, which includes two conditions — they have to write their own vows and can't have sex until the honeymoon. In order to see if Ben and Sadie have what it takes to make it, and with just three weeks until the big day, they're put through a series of relationship tests and several unorthodox ploys by the Reverend that push their relationship to the brink of a breakup.

License To Wed isn't very funny, despite several attempts to illicit a chuckle or two. You'll spend most of the film laughing at the ridiculous dialogue and over-the-top melodrama. Then, a sudden change of pace occurs and Reverend Frank becomes a "serious" clergyman, completely throwing the already tiresome plot even further out of whack.

While Robin Williams' foray into more dramatic parts has netted positive results, it's a shame he can't seem to recapture the comedic genius he had in the '80s. To be fair, Moore and Krasinski have surprising chemistry and play their helplessly-in-love parts well, but the cliche ending is definitely the icing on a very sour wedding cake.