Hochzeit ohne Ehe

This Hallmark movie had no characters worth rooting for. All 3 of the husbands were class "A" stupid jerks. All of their better halves could have done so much better considering their beauty, overall niceness, and successful careers. But they still settled for their men with one (thank-God) exception with a minimum of grovelling on their part. Naomi Judd (why do women who aspire to be actresses freeze their faces?) is a truly evil pervert and her husband, oops, son, is so in her thrall and so weak and naive that words fail. She literally almost murders her daughter-in-law, a doctor, by the way, and all is forgiven after a not very believable apology. The solution to their little problem is that the couple pay her to move out of the house she should not have been in to begin with. Stupid girl #2 makes a fool out of herself longing for and stalking a husband who hires as his secretary his ex-high school sweetheart, "his first love," he tells her, who tortured and bullied his new (very cute) wife when they were teenagers. And he has the gall to leave her when she dares to call him on it. Our heroine #3, actually does not take her psychotically controlling male chauvinist future wife abuser back, even though he begs her (quite satisfyingly). She would have been OK had it not been for her devotion to her very irritating dog, causing a modicum of sympathy for the husband. It is hard to enjoy a movie when 5 out of 6 protagonists is worthy of nothing but contempt.

Erin, Casey and Stella all decided on a June wedding so these gals are newly weds three times over. But, alas, problems arrive. Casey, who owns a dog care business and lives in the apartment right below, experiences woe when a former flame of her new hubby's applies for the job as his assistant. She gets it, ugh. Naturally, the husband doesn't see a problem. Stella, alas, discovers her mate is one domineering guy. Yes, he's wealthy and successful, so Stella had a secure feeling, but he soon resists her accepting a terrific job for herself, saying she doesn't need to work. Meanwhile, Dr. Erin has the difficult mother in law of all mothers in law, Renee (Naomi Judd) move in with her and her handsome husband. What results is no privacy, no peace. Into these situations comes an even greater curveball. It appears the minister who conducted all of their ceremonies passed away before he could sign the marriage certificates. NONE of them are truly married in the eye of the law. The gals learn this information and wait to tell their partners, for all of them are now having second thoughts about their futures together. Will these folks all walk down the aisle again in a month or so? This fun film has one attractive, talented cast although none of the stars is famous, except Judd, who is a hoot and a half as the domineering mama. Also quite gorgeous are the costumes, sets, and makeup jobs. Add on a clever script and a fine direction and the end game is a nice rom-com for all dedicated fans and even those who aren't.

This Hallmark film starts out brightly when the priest speaks to the camera but once he collapses it rapidly descends downhill.

Erin, Casey and Stella all decided on a June wedding so these gals are newlyweds but it seems that the minister who conducted all of their ceremonies passed away before he could sign the marriage certificates. They will have to go through a ceremony again but some of them might have second thoughts after the first few weeks of marriage.

Casey gets upset when an ex-girlfriend gets a job working for her new husband. Erin a doctor finds that her mother in law is pushy and resents her for taking her son away. Stella has a rich but domineering husband who does not want her to have a career.

The film is derivative, fails poorly as a rom-com. The husbands are so bad you wonder why these ladies married them in the first place.

The most positive thing I will say about this movie is that it is unlike all the other usual Hallmark rom/com stuff. Much of the comedy is a little on the silly side for me, so this doesn't get top marks from me for that. As for romance, these couples have already reached the point of getting married, but I really wonder how any of them made it that far. We really don't get to see much of what brought them together. Even so, Erin and David seem like a good couple, but mom is so awful I don't see how Erin got past that to the altar. How did Stella not see Mark's domineering character? Casey and Nick might have been good together since what caused their problems doesn't show up until after the wedding. In their case, the basic red flag I see is Casey's insecurities.

I mentioned the silly humor. Much of it was based on over-exaggeration like some of the things the dog did, or Renee. There is definitely an audience for this kind of humor, but I like a little less over the top. There are some good lines.

There isn't much romance. Every time something romantic was about to happen, there would be either a comical or annoying interruption, or both. Given that, and splitting screen time among three couples, there's no real chemistry.

There is at least one thing that doesn't turn out like I expected. A twist, if you will, given the genre, but it made as much sense as anything else in the story.

The movie portrays the important lesson that a wedding isn't a happy ending. It's just the start of a new journey, one that takes daily effort from both spouses. After the weddings and honeymoons, the three marriages run into trouble. It's mostly the husbands' fault. One husband takes his wife for granted, and becomes emotionally neglectful, heightening her sense of paranoia when his high school sweetheart becomes his secretary. Another husband hasn't learned to tell his manipulative, overbearing mother "No." And the third husband doesn't get on the same page as his wife regarding what she wants out of life. When it is discovered that the minister died before signing their marriage licenses, the relationships are made more fragile by the easy way out. All three girls are likable. They are kind people, and they're good friends who support each other. They deserve better than how their husbands, and the one mother-in-law, treat them. But the plotline comes to a satisfying conclusion, and I think all three girls make the right choice.