Film Reviews

Licence To Wed

• Rating:
• Director: Ken Kwapis
• Starring: John Krasinski
• Details: US / 90mins (12A).

Socialite Sadie Jones (Moore) and everyman Ben Murphy (Krasinski) are in love and plan to be married, but the irreverent Reverend Frank (Williams) stands in their way. Frank believes that most marriages end in divorce because the couple never completed a proper marriage preparation course and this is what he has in store for Ben and Sadie. However, Ben becomes increasingly irritated with Frank's bizarre methods and is determined to oust Frank's dark past. License To Wed isn't as bad as it sounds, but it's still bad. The humour is lightweight, juvenile and predictable, as you'd expect in a Robin Williams movie rated 12A and directed by the same man who brought us The Sisterhood Of The Travelling Pants. All the gags are placed on Williams and Krasinski's shoulders and while the former never breaks a sweat, the latter tries too hard, far too hard, to be the nice guy in a wacky situation (think Zach Braff's zaniness crossed with Mark Ruffalo's straight guy). The support, which are usually the most memorable performances in romantic comedies, don't really cut the mustard: DeRay Davies' best man isn't afforded one decent line, while Wanda Sykes does her usual brash cameo that's starting to get old.

Review by Gavin Burke