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It had been one of those days—one that was so completely exhausting that I just needed a fluffy comedy to take my mind off the day’s headaches. So instead of going to see The Phantom of the Opera or Sideways, as had originally been the plan, my husband and I agreed on a brainless chick flick (I know…I’m a lucky woman).
In The Wedding Date, Debra Messing plays Kat Ellis, a woman who’s reluctantly headed to London for her little sister’s wedding extravaganza. Desperate to impress her family (and make her ex-fiancé, who also happens to be the best man, exceedingly jealous), Kat takes $6,000 out of her 401(k) to hire a male escort (Nick, played by Dermot Mulroney) to make the trip with her and pretend to be her new boyfriend.
It soon becomes very clear to Kat that Nick is a professional. He charms all the women and makes friends with all the men—and he knows exactly how to put Kat’s mind at ease.
In a reverse Pretty Woman kind of story, Kat and Nick experience the ups and downs that any relationship goes through (even paid ones) as they try to make it through the dinners and parties and events leading up to the Big Day.
Before I go any further in my review, I need to remind you that this is a chick flick. As with any film in this genre, you need to go into it with certain expectations—certain very low expectations. You need to expect a plot that’s neither enlightening nor thought-provoking. You need to expect sappiness. You need to expect a whole bunch of clichés. And you need to expect a theater full of women (my poor husband was one of about five guys in the theater).
That said, however, The Wedding Date was capable of putting a smile back on my face after an absolutely horrible day—and that says a lot. The story is cute and funny—in a cheesy kind of way. If you like Messing on Will and Grace, you’ll like her here—she plays Kat with Grace-like naiveté and neuroses. And while Mulroney was a bit starchy at times, he’s charming enough that you won’t care.
While it’s not Oscar material—nor is it destined to become a classic, must-see romantic comedy—it will make you laugh on a bad day. And that’s good enough for me.
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