Wedding Planner - verliebt, verlobt, verplant

boo to the naysayers. i loved this movie. i just saw it last night - practically had the whole theater to myself (it's an out-of-the-way bargain theater). i'm mad at myself for waiting so long to see it. i thought the story was great - and without giving away details, i wasn't sure it was really going to end the way that it did. i loved all of the characters - and can even identify judy greer's character (penny) with a friend of mine. that made the flick particularly enduring. i laughed, i cried, i left feeling wonderful. i love chick flicks, and this one gets 5 stars from me. *****

Let's make a list of the major flaws in this movie.

1. Jennifer Lopez is one of, if not, the most famous Latina entertainers in the world. Why make her Italian?

2. Justin Chambers is horrible as the love forlorn Italian immigrant. His accent is so bad is ruins his otherwise likable character.

3. Lopez and Matthew McConaughey generate no chemistry. I just did not care what happened to them. I hoped that Lopez would go for the other guy.

4. This movie is an excuse to promote Lopez songs.

Movies in which a bright and intelligent woman falls for a spineless letch are starting to wear on me. I just could not believe that a character as strong a Lopez's would fall for such a weiner.

That said, Brigette Wilson and Alex Rocco are great, and there are some fun moments in this film. But please - did the makers of this film watch the scene where Lopez takes a bottle of "solvent" out of her purse to remove a stone penis that his glued to McConaugehy's hand? Good thing she had that solvent! ** out of ****.

The Wedding Planner (2001) Directed by Adam Shankman. Written by Pamela Falk and Michael Ellis. Starring Jennifer Lopez, Matthew McConaughey, Bridgette Wilson-Sampras. Running Time: 100 minutes. PG-13

Ah romance! They meet. They fall in love. They are kept apart by circumstances of the plot. And finally, by the time we reach the bottom of our popcorn boxes, they get back together again. Whether it's Gable and Colbert in 1934, or Lopez and McConaughey in 2001, we love romantic comedies. But let's face it, some are better than others (and few are better than Frank Capra's Oscar-winning classic, "It Happened One Night").

Mary Fiore (Lopez) is a whiz of a wedding planner who seems to be leading the glamorous good life, until you learn that she spends her off hours watching "Antiques Road Show" or playing scrabble with her father (Alex Rocco), a first generation Italian. While hurrying across a San Francisco street one day, her Gucci pump gets caught in a grate just as a runaway dumpster hurtles towards her. The white-coated white knight who comes to her rescue is pediatrician Steve Edison (McConaughey), and thus the familiar cycle of the romantic comedy is set in motion. This "cute meet" is followed by a cute date, her first in four years (if you can believe that of a Lopez character!). Then, of course, come the complications: He is about to be married and she is the one who has been hired to plan it; and her own marriage is being arranged by her determined dad.

In the best romantic comedies, the filmmakers set up interesting and believable barriers for the characters to overcome on their way to the Big Kiss. In this film, the question is: Why they don't just get together right away? The answer: contrived plotting won't let them. One doubts, for example, that a character as smart as Mary would even consider consenting to her father's meddlesome matchmaking.

But rather than tell a compelling story, the filmmakers seem satisfied to simply provide an attractive vehicle for the two stars, and to furnish a few good laughs along the way. The attraction of the leads is unquestionable, and that alone has filled theaters with admiring fans. Supporting characters, though not fully developed, provide a full measure of amusement: Joanna Gleason and Charles Kimbrough, rescued from canceled TV shows, are hilarious as the newly rich, tipsy parents of McConaughey 's would-be bride (Wilson-Sampras). The direction of the film is snappy, with accomplished camera work, brisk editing and lively choreography during the forties-style dance scenes. The look of the film is also greatly enhanced by its San Francisco setting.

So, if you want to see two of today's good looking stars looking good, see this film. If you want to see an excellent romantic comedy, rent "It Happened One Night."

Rating: 2 stars out of 4

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The Wedding Planner tells an identifiable story about falling in love and failing to recognize it.

The Wedding Planner stars Jennifer Lopez as Mary Fiore, a hardworking, beautiful, single woman of Italian descent, who has made a reputable career as a wedding planner. Fully dedicated to her work, Mary successfully coordinates all the details of her wealthy clients' weddings. She even acts as a kind of therapist, transmitting to the brides and grooms-to-be the optimism that relieves them of their "second-thoughts", and that allows them to fulfill their true dreams of marrying. Yet one day, a literal "faux pas" turns Mary's orderly life upside-down: she walks across a street and gets her shoe stuck in a manhole. Just then, a dumpster menacingly rolls down the steep San Francisco street, towards her. Noticing that the dumpster is rapidly gaining speed, a young man rushes to help Mary out of her dilemma. The two are instantly enveloped by the rush of the moment, falling victims to love at first sight. Soon, however, fate shows its cruel side, proving that the handsome Steve Edison (Mathew McConaughey) is tied to Fran Donelly (Bridgette Wilson-Sampras), one of Mary's most promising clients. In the meantime Salvatore (Alex Rocco), Mary's concerned father, tries to inspire her to consider her childhood inamorato Massimo (Justin Chambers), who just arrived from Italy. Torn between acting sensibly and fulfilling her long suppressed dreams of marrying, Mary must first determine which love is the one destined for her.

The Wedding Planner exploits the physical beauty of its star (Lopez) and emphasizes her character's style and professionalism at work, while defining her personality as that of a free-spirited, down-to-earth person who enjoys dancing and playing Bingo with her father and his elderly friends. Similarly, her costar (McConaughey) is depicted as a good-looking, sensitive man who enjoys his work as a pediatrician. However, the film's secondary characters, especially Mary's family, friends and coworkers, are sketchy and mostly inconsequential. Thus, The Wedding Planner creates a story that solely revolves around the coupling of its two main characters; a choice which makes The Wedding Planner's plot extremely predictable, although at times amusing. While the plot complications are limited to the unavailability of either of the two main characters (where Steve is unable to abandon his prior commitments and Mary is ready to take up new ones), The Wedding Planner is most enjoyable when it creates romantic settings for its lovesick characters.

True, "The Wedding Planner" does have its share of cinematic conceits. Just watching the previews, you pretty much have a good idea what's going to happen in the end. But unlike many romantic comedies, this is not predictable by the minute. The characters are likable and charming, and you get quite engrossed in them. The actors are charming as well. Jennifer Lopez and Matthew McCoughnahey are equally good and have a fine chemistry. The scenes, in general, are handled in a sweet-natured fashion without becoming nauseatingly sentimental. The opening scene is very original and made me laugh. In the first scene, we get an idea of how Mary (Lopez) plans her weddings, staging them like a secret service operation, strapping wires to the bride and groom, feeding them suggestions as they walk down the aisle and making sure all the guests are in order pronto. There are certain moments of "sitcom stupidity." There's a scene where Steve (McCoughnahey) gets his hand stuck to a statue's privates. The comedy was badly timed and the scene appeared quite lame. A similar joke was used in Rodney Dangerfield's "Meet Wally Sparks," but was done in a much more structured manner and spawned hilarious results. About the member of the cast who I felt was a little hammy was Alex Rocco as Mary's Sicilian father. His accent comes and goes, and in some scenes he struggles so much with it that he starts talking like someone with down syndrome. Fred Willard has a short but funny, scene-stealing role (when hasn't Willard stolen the show?) as a ballroom dance teacher. There are some moments in the plot that are forced and created simply to move the film along, so we can quickly arrive at the "juicy climax." One of the subplots involves Mary's father trying to fix his daughter up with this silly, thick-accented Sicilian cassanova. He wants her to get married to him, but she refuses. Throughout the film, they don't seem to have any more than a friendly bond. Yet later in the film, he makes a sweet proposal and Mary actually agrees to marry him. The ending is far-fetched and over-the-top, and though I can't discuss it you've probably seen this ending before. One thing I have to credit the writers for is refusing to make Fran (Bridgette Wilson-Sampras--Man, is she sooooo beautiful!!!) a total b**ch, like they would in most films of a similiar plot. The way the formula goes is the guy's engaged this girl, while another girl captures his heart. But the girl he's engaged to is usually so unlikable that you wonder why he wanted to marry her in the first place. I'm glad they didn't take that cheap route. Even Fran has a certain charm to her character. The charming characters and the charming actors are really what makes this movie worth seeing. Yes, it's pretty much (though less than usual) a formula romantic comedy, but a likable one because of the way we're captured by the people on screen. This is not a great film, it has its dull moments, it has its silly moments, but it's often a fun and pleasant movie experience. You'll fall in love with "The Wedding Planner."

My score: 7 (out of 10)