New Releases:

“License to Wed”

3/5

It seems like a large amount of the negative reviews
“License to Wed” got were due to false expectations of the movie or a general
misunderstanding of its aim. That’s only speculation, as is my assumption that
director Ken Kwapis (nine episodes of “The Office”) was not going for a
happy-go-lucky or cliched romantic comedy, but rather a slightly cruder film
capitalizing on the awkwardness of real life.

Ben (John Krasinski, “The Office”) and Sadie (Mandy Moore,
“American Dreamz”) are recently engaged, but due to a booked schedule with
their church have only three weeks to prepare for their marriage and undergo
the regimented marriage training established by Reverend Frank (Robin Williams,
“Night at the Museum”) to test couples’ certainty in their decision to tie the
knot. Through a series of sometimes hilarious, sometimes dull or hokey events,
the course starts to strain the couple’s relationship and they begin to have
doubts.

Moore proves once again that singers can, sometimes, act,
though in her case maybe she should just stick to acting. The often
over-the-top Williams detracts from the fresh, nuanced humor of Krasinski, who
does well in his first major film, though he plays a character rather similar
to his “Office” persona, Jim. It’s a shame Williams doesn’t have a smaller
role. The part is generally pretty funny, mostly in a subtle way, though it’s
not without a few poor decisions in humor. The blooper reel during the credits
will likely make you wish you saw more of that riotousness during the actual
film.

As far as romantic comedies go, which are normally
unbearably vapid, “License to Wed” adds a nice twist of awkwardness, providing
a relief from the typical drivel starring Barrymore, Sandler, Diaz or Jack
Black.

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