THE WEDDING DATE

There is a much more interesting film buried inside The Wedding Date (a little, pleasant romantic comedy) than ever appears on the screen. It is touched on, but not developed. In fact, sometimes the action on screen seems a little mysterious, and it turns out (watching the commentary and deleted scenes on the DVD) that there really was a lot going on but you never got to see it in the movie.

The more interesting story involves difficult relationships among five very complex people.

The movie itself, stripped of most of the detail of the relationships, is fun but way too predictable. (I could even mouth lines of dialog before they were spoken.)

Here's the setup -- A woman, jilted at the altar two years ago, hires an escort (a top escort with references) to pose as her boyfriend and accompany her to her sister's wedding (in England) where her ex-fiance is the best man.

Answer each of the following questions in the simplest way and you can write this movie:

1- Does she fall in love with her wedding date?
2- Does he fall in love with her?
3- Do they have to share a room with one bed?
4- Do they have some kind of sexual experience? 4b- Is it the first time they have a chance or later?
5- Does she start out timid and repressed and open up as the movie develops?
6- Does the ex turn out to be a heel?
7- What is the problem between the self-absorbed pretty blond little sister (who is getting married) and the less pretty but more solid older sister?
8- Is there a next-to-the-last-minute misunderstanding that sends someone to the airport? 8b- Followed by someone hurrying to the other for a reconciliation?

To be honest, there were a few surprises. But they were mostly kind of left over from the missing storylines.

The acting, by Debra Messing, Dermot Mulroney, and Amy Adams is really very good. They play their parts with the subtlety and richess that is in the movie that could have been.