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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