Falling in Love with the Bride

Take the most sought-after TV star in Hollywood at the moment, fighting for the love of his beloved in a quasi-remake of the Julia Roberts hit "My Best Friend's Wedding", and there you have it, the perfect cinematic romance. But is Patrick Dempsey actually enough to melt the hearts of female moviegoers by the dozen to make the comedy "Falling for the Bride" a romantic smash hit?

Dempsey, best known as Dr. "McDreamy" from the hit series "Grey`s Anatomy", plays Tom, a womanizer in the film who no longer has to worry about money after making an ingenious invention. So he can fully concentrate on picking up women by the dozen. The one constant in his life is his best friend Hannah (Michelle Monaghan), with whom he can do all the things his bedtime stories just don't lend themselves to: talk, shop, eat out - just have a good time. But when Hannah has to go to Scotland for six weeks, Tom realizes that Hannah means far more to him than he previously believed. Determined to tell her how he feels, he can't wait to see Hannah again. However, it turns out to be very different from what he had hoped.

For Hannah has met her Prince Charming in Scotland, to whom she is even already engaged. And as if this wasn't bad enough, she also asks Tom to be her bridesmaid at the altar. But Tom doesn't want to give in that easily, and he does everything in his power to show Hannah his best side, so that she decides for him after all. After all, he's "In love with the bride".

British director Paul Weiland has a thoroughly impressive comedic resume, having directed episodes of cult series "Mr. Bean" and "Blackadder". With his latest Hollywood effort, however, he offers only harmless familiarity in a new guise. Neither the plot, nor the gags or even the soundtrack have an independent character. Everything seems to be staged according to the well-known pattern. And yet, to dismiss the film as a loveless rip-off of "My Best Friend's Wedding" and similar works wouldn't really do the nice comedy justice.

Because even if the film isn't original, it offers its target audience exactly what can be expected from a good romantic comedy: respectable lead actors, a few nice gags and plenty of heart. Weiland then enriches this with the amusing play with genre-typical clichés, which gives the film an additional charm. In addition, the cast, from the leads to the smaller supporting roles, is very well cast. The actors have enough wit to infuse the slightly stale script with enough fresh zest. Dempsey does what he does best and is given a perfect foil in the form of the extremely charming Michelle Monaghan ("Falling in Love with the Bride"). Thus, "Falling in Love with the Bride" becomes, all in all, a light, sugary-sweet cinematic pleasure - without long-term effect, but also without unpleasant side effects. Therefore: well worth seeing for fans of the genre!

Original title: Made of Honor

Directed by Paul Weiland

Length: approx. 101 min.

FSK: o.Al.

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp