There are few things I've come to expect out of a romantic comedy of late. The genre is getting old, the plots are stuck in some sort of holding pattern, and the basic premises keep getting worse and worse. Take for example, The Wedding Planner - on one side, we have the wedding planner herself, Mary Fiore (Jennifer Lopez), on the other, Dr. Steve (Matthew McConaughey). Dr. Steve saves Mary from a run-away dumpster - yes a dumpster - and not because she couldn't get out of the dumpster's way herself, but because she needed to rescue her shoe that was stuck - it might be a hard choice for her, but for every other sane person - which would you choose - your shoe or your life?

And thus begins the downward spiral of the poorly written, finely acted, and overall corny movie known as The Wedding Planner. After the miraculous rescue, Mary and Dr. Steve go out for a movie in the park where they end up dancing and talking about inane subjects - brown M&M's, scrabble, etc. While Mary and Dr. Steve are 'hooking up,' she's also planning the wedding for a very rich client - and guess who the bride to be is marrying? Could you guess Dr. Steve? If so, I'll just assume that you've seen this plot before and there's really no need to read any further. Just take the basic plot for every romantic comedy you've seen, substitute Jennifer Lopez and Matthew McConaughey in for the lead characters and the plot of the wedding planner falling in love with the groom (and vice versa), and you've no reason to see this movie.

As I mentioned before the script of this particular romantic comedy is decidedly sub-par. Usually, a romantic comedy will have some unexpected turns (of course lack of originality is already a forgone conclusion), or at least some comedy to make up for a lack of originality. Unfortunately with poor dialogue, very sparse comedic relief, and a contrived screenplay, there's very little to make The Wedding Planner appeal to the casual movie-goer. Perhaps to fans of Lopez or McConaughey, there might be some enjoyment in this movie as they both do a great job with the material they are presented with. But as much as they try to elevate the script into something watchable, there's really no hope left.

Perhaps I would have had a better experience at this movie if I were in the same shoes as the person behind me - she apparently didn't speak much English, so her companion translated the key phrases of the movie to her. While not extremely annoying, it did get on my nerves at time, but when I look back, I realize she probably enjoyed it more than I because she didn't have to put up with the awkward and clumsy dialogue throughout the movie, but rather, only received bits and pieces that were deemed important by the translator. Maybe I'll see it again and wear ear plugs - then again, I don't think you could pay me to sit through The Wedding Planner again.

Click here for press notes (122k).

Genres: Comedy, Romance
Rated: PG-13 - For language and some sexual humor.
Runtime: 100 minutes
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