Licenza di matrimonio

This movie was a bit of a bore. I walked in rather neutral with my expectations, and after the first 10 minutes realized that this ball of cheese was not for me. I sat through it all, for the sake of the company I was with.

Mandy Moore and John Krasinski are cute, but very flat characters. There is little or no character development in this film. Robin Williams as Reverend Frank tries to save the show with his humorous antics, but was unfortunately cliché in his attempts. The little boy, Josh Flitter, does an excellent job as the annoyingly forthright "minister in training", as do the other children playing minor roles, but the overall attempt was bland.

The movie neither humorously avoids morals, nor does it end with moral enlightenment. The "lesson" in the end is weak and predictable.

If you're looking for something heartwarming, inspiring, or thought-provoking, turn elsewhere. If you'd like a few cheap laughs with a weak storyline, this could be your film.

I rate it a 2 out of 10.

Robin Williams is certainly a very gifted comedian. It would be a sin to classify him as untalented. But somebody needs to send this guy some decent scripts. I think the problem is people feel that all you need to do is cast Robin as the lead, and viola! You've got yourself a hilarious comic romp! Weak writing is weak writing. End of story. The film is not without laughs. I certainly did laugh several times, but as you would expect, most of the good jokes are given away in the trailer. Altogether, "License to Wed" is a predictable romantic comedy filled with lots of sitcom-level humor. It's worth checking out on cable. Like I said, there are some laughs, and watching the gorgeous Mandy Moore certainly doesn't hurt either. But this is one of those comedies you'll probably forget soon after you've seen it.

My friend and I were so excited to see this movie when we saw the trailer to License to Wed, it looked like a fun comedy. But when we heard all the bad reviews, we were a bit hesitant, but we figured that we still wanted to see it and why not? I don't get all the horrible reviews on IMDb, yeah, there were a few things wrong with the movie, but it seemed like nobody really wanted to enjoy this film. I'm not saying this to offend anyone, I just don't get how you could not laugh at least once in this film when it was just a cute romantic comedy that's better than most.

Sadie and Ben are one happy couple, after only six months they feel that they are ready to tie the knot and get married. But Sadie's wishes are to be married in the church her parents got married in and their family minister, Frank. Frank isn't going to give this couple an easy time though, he'll test them from Heaven to Hell to see if they are really ready for marriage and slowly the realize what might be wrong and different in their relationship.

Now, I admit that some of the situations were predictable and unbelievable, but I think if you let go and just have fun, you'll find yourself laughing. This movie was all in good fun; I loved the scene where they have to find out what having kids was like. Those little mechanical babies were so ugly and scary, but so funny! I expected a fun and cute movie and that's what I got with License to Wed, so don't trust the IMDb reviews, just go and have fun!

6/10

"License to Wed" might as well have been called "Meet the Minister," since all the film does is to recycle the nightmare-before-marriage scenario from "Meet the Parents" - albeit with one crucial deviation. Needless to say, lightning rarely strikes twice when it comes to Hollywood happenings and "License to Wed" is no "Meet the Parents." Not by a long shot.

Ben Murphy and Sadie Jones are a young Chicago couple who agree to undergo an intense pre-marital "training course" conducted by an obnoxious local reverend in exchange for being allowed to hold their nuptials at the church Sadie's dearly departed grandfather helped to build. To pass the course, the couple must agree to be abstinent until the wedding night, take care of two fully operational and anatomically correct mechanical infants, and undergo various forms of trauma that even Sigmund Freud himself would have trouble undoing after years of reparative analysis.

As a "Meet the Parents" wannabe, "License to Wed" stumbles right out of the starting gate in that one can imagine suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous humiliation and abuse in order to win the favor of a prospective spouse's PARENTS, but to go through all that just to placate her MINISTER? I don't think so. In no time flat, the laughter turns to frustration as we find ourselves wondering why Ben doesn't just tell the dear old Reverend to go take a hike - or worse - and then seek out some religious establishment with less stringent requirements for walking down the aisle.

And let's face it, there's something more than a trifle off-putting and creepy about an unwed man-of-the-cloth running around with a young boy as his personal protégé and sidekick, planting listening devices in young couple's bedrooms. Even for an alleged comic fantasy such as this one, that may be just a bridge farther than most people will be willing to go in the queasiness department.

John Krasinski and Mandy Moore make an appealing enough couple, and it isn't really their fault that they've been handed a screenplay - written by no fewer than three writers, a sure sign of trouble - filled with cornball humor, heavy-handed slapstick and unappetizing secondary characters. In the role of Reverend Frank, Robin Williams, all cutesy mannerisms and third-rate mugging, hits a new low in teeth-grinding unctuousness, although one likes to believe that, if director Ken Kwapis could have gotten the actor to dial back his performance even a little, this might have been at least a tolerable movie. As it is, though, "License to Wed" is a painful experience that you will have no trouble leaving stranded at the altar.

License to Wed is no masterpiece in any shape or form, but I didn't think it is a bad movie. If I had to sum it up in one word, I would say uneven. Because it is. The story is very predictable and has some dull and unbelievable parts to it, I personally could have done without the part with the "creepy" babies and the script is weak in places. Then there is the pacing, some of the movie does move briskly, but there are moments where it is dull as well, while the direction lacks solidity.

That said, it is nicely filmed, the scenery in Jamaica was especially ravishing, and the soundtrack was good. While the film itself is uneven, there are some funny moments such as the introduction to Robin Williams's character and when Ben blows the trumpet into the bug that had been placed into the room. In terms of performances, Robin Williams gives the best one and provides the film's funniest moments. Mandy Moore and John Krassinski aren't as convincing but they are pretty cute.

Overall, it was an okay comedy, it had its dull moments but see it for Williams. 6/10 Bethany Cox