Made of Honor (2008)

Director:

Paul Weiland

Writers (WGA):

Adam Sztykiel (screenplay) and
Deborah Kaplan (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

2 May 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

It takes a real man to become a maid of honor.

Plot:

A guy in love with an engaged woman tries to win her over after she asks him to be her maid of honor.

Plot Keywords:

Maid Of Honor | Wedding | Love | Hair Spray | Bar

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Patrick Dempsey	...	Thomas 'Tom' Bailey
Michelle Monaghan	...	Hannah
Kevin McKidd	...	Colin McMurray
Kadeem Hardison	...	Felix
Chris Messina	...	Dennis
Richmond Arquette	...	Gary
Busy Philipps	...	Melissa
Whitney Cummings	...	Stephanie
Emily Nelson	...	Hilary
Kathleen Quinlan	...	Joan
Selma Stern	...	Grandma Pearl
Sydney Pollack	...	Thomas Bailey Sr.
James Sikking	...	Reverend Foote
Kevin Sussman	...	Tiny Shorts Guy
Beau Garrett	...	Gloria

Also Known As:

Made of Honour (Australia) (Hong Kong: English title) (UK)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sexual content and language. (edited; originally Rated R for some sex-related material.)

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS

Certification:

USA:R (original rating) | Ireland:15A | UK:12A | Canada:G (Québec) | Iceland:L | Australia:M | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Singapore:PG | Finland:K-7 | Denmark:7 | Norway:A | Sweden:Btl | Brazil:10 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | South Korea:15 | Netherlands:AL | Malaysia:U | Hong Kong:IIA | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Spain:7 | Venezuela:PG-13 | Argentina:Atp | USA:PG-13 (edited for re-rating) (certificate #44056) | Greece:K | Peru:PT | New Zealand:M

Filming Locations:

Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

Columbia Pictures

Trivia:

While filming at London's Park Lane Hotel, about 30 extras had to be used on short notice when the production team noticed red double-decker buses passing by frequently. That's common in London, but not New York, where the scene is set. The extras were used outside the hotel, to block the buses.

Goofs:

Continuity: Near the end of the movie, Tom is driven to the airport. A few seconds later, Hannah is on a ferry boat. A Land Rover in both shots has the same license plate.

Quotes:

Melissa: Could someone please pass me the Splenda? Could someone who is not a misogynist pass the Splenda?
Melissa: [Stephanie takes the sugar bowl out of Tom's hand and passes it to Melissa] Thank you, Stephanie.

Movie Connections:

References The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Soundtrack:

Walkin' On The Sun

A Nutshell Review: Made of Honor

Made of Honor spells chick flick all over it, the perennial formulaic romantic comedy that tells its entire story in the trailer, but that's not going to stop couples from hitting the cinemas for their date movie flick, does it? What I thought was peculiar was that the original US rating for this was R, meaning a lot more sexual material thrown in, versus the now released PG-13 version which was re-edited, and over here, the rating of PG that allows for everyone to make a beeline if they want to escape from the week's blockbuster.

The plot's nothing new as well, with movies like My Best Friend's Wedding, and even from as far back as Three Men and a Little Lady where the best friend tries his/her very best to convince the bride/groom that their choice for eternal companionship, is of the wrong one, and of course, to make away with their respective selves to live happily ever after. And if you think the premise is a ludicrous one, where a man will take up the duties of a maid of honor, then Singapore perhaps just legitimized it with a wedding in a cinema last Tuesday, where indeed a male did grace the occasion of his best friend's wedding as her MOH.

For a man who doesn't seem to have a job and have a huge trust fund behind him, Patrick Dempsey shed his uptight role as a dad from his debut big screen outing with Enchanted, for a playboy called Tom who lives by certain rules in his dating game, and amongst them, no back to back sex with the same girl, no dates with the same girl unless it's a week apart, and never to call someone new in the next 24 hours, never bring them to weddings and family events, and the likes. Women find him irresistible (either for his looks or for that bank account), and he spares no time in getting to know them inside out. The ideal bachelor lifestyle I'd bet, with a constant flow of money, women, and good pals to shoot hoops with, none of them seemingly poor enough to hold down regular jobs.

However, he has his best friend and confidante in Hannah (Michelle Monaghan) with whom he spends his weekends with, and just when he discovers that he truly loves the girl, she drops the bombshell that she's going to marry a Scot whom she met during her business trip, and talking about whirlwind romances, will be getting married in 14 days. So the clock starts to tick in order for Tom to prove himself to be better than the groom-to-be Colin McMurray (Kevin McKidd), which is an uphill task as riches-for-riches they could be on par, but you just can't inject blue blood into you. While at the same time juggle his role as the maid of honor and going through the many girlie things that they're supposed to do for the bride.

While it is a formulaic story, what works, and so long as it does, this type of movies will forever be made, is the chemistry between the leads. You just can't deny that both Dempsey and Monaghan look good together on screen as a couple, and you can't help but find yourself rooting for them past their characters' stupidity to realize that they're made for each other, after 10 years of being together, with little clues left unanswered with questions such as "why do you like him" going unanswered. If only of course it were that easy in real life, that a romance can be wrapped up with Eureka-like moments of enlightenment within two hours.

Of course I must admit though with formula, it doesn't require anything cerebral from you as you sit through and (try to) enjoy the story in fantasy land. The eclectic soundtrack helped as well, with contemporary tunes taking centerstage and played at the right moments, from Smash Mouth's opening, to Oasis' Stop Crying Your Heart Out, when last I heard of it in a movie was in The Butterfly Effect. Supporting characters like Kathleen Quinlan and Sydney Pollack goes wasted of course.