made of honor Tagged Articles at Cinematical

What, you might fairly ask, inspired me to think of this well-meaning-but-mediocre 2005 rom-com four years later? This entry stems from my refusal to see The Ugly Truth, which I'm pretty sure is the sort of treacly, cloying, romance that I can't abide, with a contrived, ultra-sentimental happy ending shoved down our throats. Like, oh, I don't know, Must Love Dogs. Or, God forbid, Made of Honor. Two people who are meant for each other, but whom fate has kept apart for an endless 100 minutes, dramatically come together with a big heartfelt speech (or two), maybe an interrupted wedding, and, of course, a big kiss. Needless to say, not my favorite brand of crowdpleaser.

I don't want to believe; that's part of it. But really: Total Recall? Weird and scary and totally singular Total Recall? The one with the people being turned into mutants by cosmic rays and the villain who turns Martians into slaves by controlling the air supply? The one where that dude takes off his glove to reveal that holy crap, he's a mutant too? And the three boobs? Remember the three boobs?

Okay, I'm obviously working out some issues here, the main one being that I saw Total Recall as a very young boy and it scared and confused the ever-loving bejeezus out of me (in the best possible way, natch). But really, there's no way to remake Verhoeven's bizarro masterpiece, as I Am Legend (and Made of Honor!) producer Neal H. Moritz claims he's going to do. They might re-adapt the Philip K. Dick story, "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale," but that's a different matter. Dick adaptations are a dime a dozen. So, Mr. Moritz, I don't believe you. Shouldn't you be busy getting The Green Hornet off the ground, anyway? Go wrangle Michel Gondry.

I note, also, that as best I can tell no Arnold Schwarzenegger movie has ever been remade. This may be because people have been physically afraid of him, in which case his advancing age, along with a distinguished civil service career that would make it unseemly for him to murder five men with his bare hands (and surely the man would never stoop to a contract job), may increase the odds of a Total Recall redo. Another possibility involves a combination of two factors: a) Arnold Schwarzenegger movies are always and forever Arnold Schwarzenegger movies, and b) the notion of an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie with some girly man who is not Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Arnold Schwarzenegger role is patently absurd. People would just laugh. Right? That's why this never went anywhere two years ago, right?

There are not enough obscenities in the English language to describe how much I hated -- hated, hated, hated -- this spring's "romantic" "comedy" Made of Honor. The completely nonsensical title was far from the worst of it. The movie hadn't the remotest notion of humor, or romance, or the way human beings behave. I don't remember another time I've been that irritated and embarrassed in a movie theater. It was honestly one of the worst wide releases I've ever seen. Ever.

But it was mildly profitable. Which means that the people behind it have careers in Hollywood. One of those people is screenwriter Adam Sztykiel. And Walden Media has just picked up a pitch from him to write a family comedy called Housebroken, about a motley group of talking animals forced to live under one roof when their owners move in together. The animals will be computer-animated, of course, interacting with live-action adult protagonists. And moving their lips in that grotesque way movie talking animals do.

In a statement about the newly announced project, the CEO of Walden let us know what he thinks of America's children. In lauding his company's enlightened approach to family entertainment, he described Housebroken as "a great conceptual comedy with relatable family issues for adults and talking animals for kids." 'Cause that's all kids want or need when they go to the movies: talking animals. Man, thank God for Pixar.

The second wedding-centric "comedy" I've seen this year is the new release Made of Honor, and like the first one, Over Her Dead Body (aka That Waste of Paul Rudd That I Had to Look Up the Title For), the word "comedy" deserves to be within quotation marks when used as an adjective. It's not a terrible film, but it rarely rises above the hilarity level of Oh, How Cute. Even the cuteness wears off in the last third of the movie, leaving you with nothing but the feeling that you've seen this all before, perhaps in sitcoms, where it was much funnier.

You can predict the plot from the poster. Tom (Patrick Dempsey) and Hannah (Michelle Monaghan) are best friends who pal around New York together like pale imitations of the leads in When Harry Met Sally, except these two characters apparently never watched the second half of that film. Tom is relationship-phobic -- he has a set of strict rules for his frequent one-night stands -- but when Hannah takes a long business trip to Scotland, he starts to realize that maybe Hannah is a bigger part of his life than someone to antique-shop and eat desserts with. Naturally, when Hannah returns from Scotland, it's with a perfectly sexy, perfectly perfect fiance in tow. And in a move that is meant to be the incitement for high humor, she asks the newly lovelorn and crushed Tom to be her -- you won't believe this -- maid of honor. Have you fallen out of your chair yet, and are you rolling on the floor in hysterics?

With Made of Honor now hitting the screens, we're getting even more McDreamy. But being a "made of honor" who wants to crash his best friend's wedding is far from Patrick Dempsey's first gig. There are many other roles in the mix, so Entertainment Weekly has thrown together a list of the actor's 16 "key roles." Now, this isn't all super-star material, since Dempsey dipped out of the spotlight for a while, but the list definitely takes you back in time.

The guy has been around -- from gigolos to road trips, literary adaptations to monkey viruses. (Do you remember him in Outbreak? I completely forgot that he was in that.) It's a pretty decent list. Frankly, I'd forgotten all that came between Can't Buy Me Love and Scream 3.

I have to say -- I like him much more these days. I was one of those people who never liked Can't Buy Me Love. I'd watch it with friends, and their hopeful glances would turn into insidious lasers prodding for a positive reaction. Ronald Miller just wasn't for me. But I realize that I'm in the minority on that one. Sound off below on your favorite Dempsey flick, or if you're not a fan at all, rant about the sensation that is Dempsey.

Due to a snafu (my own fault), I did not have a seat at Tuesday night's Iron Man screening in Philadelphia. So while everybody who is anybody hereabouts was giddily watching Tony Stark transform from an arms dealer to an ass-kicking, metal-suited superhero, I was in a different theater one block away watching Patrick Dempsey be a bridesmaid in Made of Honor. There'll be a Cinematical review of the movie on Friday, but for now I'd like to ask a very specific question: what on earth could that title possibly mean?

Others who have seen the movie have referred to "Made of Honor" as "a pun," or even an "appalling pun." Okay, but a pun usually involves conflating two words or expressions that make sense in the same context and happen to sound alike. In this case, I only count one. Yes, I get it -- Dempsey plays the best friend of a woman who is getting married, and so she names him her maid of honor. It's funny because he's a guy, but he's the maid of honor. Hahaha! Fantastic. But made of honor? What, like built of honor? Who? Patrick Dempsey? I'm not connecting the dots.

The trend of successful pregnancy comedies led by Knocked Up and Juno continued as Baby Mama took top honors. Harold and Kumar took second but still managed to pull in almost $3million over its $12 million budget. Last week's other new release, Deception, fell way behind the pack and took in only $2.3 million to finish in tenth place. Here are the final numbers:

1. Baby Mama: $17.4 million
2. Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay: $14.9 million
3. The Forbidden Kingdom: $11.2 million
4. Forgetting Sarah Marshall: $11 million
5. Nim's Island: $4.5 million

Only two new releases this week, but one of them is a doozy.

Iron Man
What's It All About: At this point I doubt this film needs any introduction, but here goes. Based on the long running Marvel comic, Iron Man stars Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, a wealthy arms manufacturer (because an impoverished arms manufacturer would just be silly). When Stark is captured and forced to build a dangerous weapon, he instead makes a high tech suit of armor and uses it to escape. He further refines the suit and uses it to stop a conspiracy that threatens the world.
Why It Might Do Well: Well, we're talking one of the widest releases we've seen in awhile, a 90% fresh rating at Rottentomatoes.com, and some kickass trailers and clips that have been generating a lot of buzz. Also, we've got a lead actor with some serious star power, and a supporting cast that includes Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges and Gwyneth Paltrow. Obviously this is next week's number one flick, the question is just how much will it rake in?
Why It Might Not Do Well: If every single person involved with this film went on network television tomorrow and shot a puppy, people would still flock to this one.
Number of Theaters: 3,800
Prediction: $62 million

Made of Honor
What's It All About: When Tom's (Patrick Dempsey) best friend Hannah (Michelle Monaghan) leaves for a six week business trip he sees how empty his life is without her. He resolves to propose when she returns, but Hannah surprises Tom with the announcement of her engagement to someone else, and a request that he be her "maid" of honor.
Why It Might Do Well: This romantic comedy is different enough from Iron Man to snap up the remainder of the audience that's not into the super hero stuff.
Why It Might Not Do Well: The fact that this is the only other film being released the same weekend as what will probably be one of the biggest movies of the year seems to indicate a film the studio has little faith in.
Number of Theaters: 2,700
Prediction: $14 million

This seems like the most straightforward prediction we've had in a long while, which is a sure fire sign we're heading into the Summer blockbuster season. Here's how I see things working out:
1. Iron Man
2. Made of Honor
3. Baby Mama
4. Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay
5. Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Still no perfect scores this week, but our group average is up over last week. Here's how everyone did in our weekly box office prediction competition.
1. Ray: 13
1. Mario: 13
1. Brent Todd: 13
1. kevin: 13
2. Erin: 11
3. Matt: 9
3. matt: 9
3. AJ Wiley: 9
3. Chris: 9
4. cubitfox: 8
4. zach: 8
4. Mike: 6
4. Sam: 6
4. plinstrot: 6
5. Matthew: 4
5. I Eat Robots: 4
5. DarkAgair: 4
5. Aaron: 4
5. Awesomepants: 4
5. Prateek S: 4

Will the latest feature film from Marvel rule with an iron fist? Yeah, probably, but what about the rest of the top five? Join in on the fun. Post your predictions for the top five movies in the comments section below before 5:00PM Eastern Time on Friday. One point for every top five movie correctly named, two points for every correct placement, and one extra point for the top movie.

Have you watched the trailer for Made of Honor? Did you catch this casting bite? Yes, A Different World's Dwayne Wayne, also known as Kadeem Hardison, plays one of Patrick Dempsey's friends in the upcoming romcom. He's been showing up in a lot of the film's clips that have been circling the net, and every time I see them, I'm catapulted back in time.

But Kadeem's career was more than just the bespeckled Wayne. He had a part in I'm Gonna Git You Sucka, and also in one of my old-school favorites from childhood -- the television movie of The House of Dies Drear. He played Mac, part of the jerky Darrow clan, but also a young boy trying to befriend Thomas Small, who has just moved into the haunted, Underground Railroad house of Dies Drear.

Are there any other Drear fans out there? If not, head after the jump for a taste of A Different World, where Dwayne dances with his jersey tucked into his pants. Man, he was stylin'.

Just last month, we heard about a contest where one lucky couple would have the honor of being married at the premiere of Made of Honor. Well, that lucky couple has been picked, and you can see their smiling faces over to the right. Michelle Golightly and Shaun Bollinger of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania are going to get hitched in a super-fancy Monday wedding in the Big Apple on April 28, right at the premiere of the film.

It might seem like a weird idea, but think about it -- these guys get to have top-of-the-line professionals put together their day, and it won't break their wallets or bring on the usual, insane piles of debt! They get a first-class, all-expenses-paid trip to Manhattan, where super talented wedding people style them up, get them dressed, take their pictures, get their rings, make their cake, and do everything else that a wedding requires. And to top all that off -- Mary Hart from Entertainment Tonight is going to be the officiant -- it's so weird that I actually love the idea.

If you want to see this wildness for yourself, you can check out the webcast on Crackle.com, footage after the fact on ET the next night, or if you find yourself in the neighborhood, there's street space for people who want to check out the wedding and premiere -- it's all going down at the Ziegfeld on 54th.

I'm a big fan of original weddings that go at least slightly against the grain, so this whole scenario sounds like a hoot. But I wonder: what's the strangest, wackiest, or most original wedding you've ever witnessed, or been in? Share your stories below.

If you've recently gotten engaged and are making plans for a wedding, have I got news for you! The upcoming film Made of Honor, together with all-things-weddings website The Knot, are joining forces to bring you a Get Married at the Premiere contest. Made of Honor, in case you don't know, is about a sexy, successful guy (Patrick Dempsey) who realizes he's really in love with his best friend (Michelle Monaghan) when she leaves for six weeks to go on a business trip to Scotland.

He misses her so much he decides to ask her to marry him when she returns ... but she returns having fallen in love with a wealthy Scot, and asks him to be her "maid of honor" at her wedding. He agrees, but only to try to put a stop to things before it's too late. Sounds pretty much exactly like Julia Roberts' hit My Best Friend's Wedding, but if you like Dr. McDreamy, and you like rom-coms, it's probably right up your romantic alley.

Anyhow, here's what you do to enter the contest: just go to the website and submit a photo of you and your beloved, along with the story of the moment you realized you were meant to be together (pause here for a collective "Awwwwwww ... ").