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Filmmakers seem to be getting lazier and lazier when it comes to chick flicks. Lately, it’s all about rehashing old, overdone stories and using the flattest, most cliched characters.
Take, for instance, Made of Honor (the spelling of which I still don’t understand)—a chick flick that feels like it was cranked right out of the ol’ Script-o-maxx 5000. It starts with confirmed bachelor Tom (Dempsey), who has a different gorgeous girl for every night of the week.
Hannah (Michelle Monaghan) is Tom’s best friend. The two met ten years ago, in college (Note: Ten years ago, Patrick Dempsey was actually 32.), when he attempted to sleep with her roommate and ended up climbing into bed with Hannah instead. Since then, the playboy and the smart girl have been inseparable.
When Hannah’s job takes her to Scotland for six weeks, Tom suddenly realizes that he might actually love her—and he decides to tell her when she gets back. But by then it’s too late; she’s already met Mr. Perfect: Colin McMurray (Kevin McKidd), who’s both very perfect and very Scottish. He has an accent. He’s rich. He’s thoughtful. And did I mention he’s royalty?
So now Colin and Hannah are getting married—and she wants Tom to be her maid of honor. So while Tom’s busy planning showers and shopping for dresses, he’s also got to prove that he’s the right man for Hannah.
From the very beginning of Made of Honor, it’s pretty clear that absolutely no thought went into its making. The story is completely formulaic, and the jokes are obvious. Since most chick flicks fit into one of maybe three or four standard chick flick formulas, though, I could probably overlook that if the movie were filled with interesting characters. But it’s not.
The characters in Made of Honor are flat and stereotypical—and each one is more irritating than the last. Tom is The Womanizer—the rich playboy who refuses to let anyone into his heart (though he says, “I love you,” to every random dog he meets on the street). Then there’s The Best Friend. She’s cute but not gorgeous (a brunette, of course—not a blonde). She’s devoted, loving, and smart. And, finally, there’s The Perfect Guy—who, in this case, is so perfect that he’s completely ridiculous (he sings, plays the bagpipe flawlessly, and personally kills everything his family eats).
Almost everything about Made of Honor is painfully obvious. The characters are flat and fake. The story is stale and forced. And you’ll see every gag coming from a mile away. In the end, it’s little more than a feeble plan to cash in on the overwhelming popularity of Grey’s Anatomy’s Dr. McDreamy. But only the most blindly obsessive McDreamy fans will be able to stomach this lazy chick flick flop.
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