Tom (Patrick Dempsey) had one good idea in college. He invented the coffee collar, that cardboard ring that fits around a cup and keeps a customer’s hand from burning.
Today, Tom is a self-made (and self-absorbed) millionaire who spends his evenings with random bimbos and his days with best friend Hannah (Michelle Monaghan). Although they form the perfect pair, Tom doesn’t view Hannah as girlfriend material until she leaves Manhattan on a six-week business trip to Scotland. Like a lovesick pup, Tom fidgets and whines until his loved one returns. Too bad for him Hannah’s baggage includes a strapping Scottish fiancé (Kevin McKidd).
Much like Tom, the romantic comedy Made of Honor has one good idea, and here it is. Hannah asks Tom to be her maid of honour in a bit of a gender switch, giving the conniving Lothario two weeks – for some reason, weddings in tepid screenplays such as this always happen in two weeks – to disrupt the nuptials and win his dream
girl back.
Let’s acknowledge a few things right off. First, Dempsey is incredibly popular with the ladies. His female fan base has swelled thanks to his work as Dr McDreamy in the smash hit, Grey’s Anatomy. Based on the (unsolicited) feedback I received from female readers and co-workers, Dempsey is to women what Miley Cyrus is to teenage girls. If the two ever met in a movie, the film would potentially outgross Titanic.
But we also must acknowledge that Made of Honor has the artistic value of a paint-by-numbers portrait. It’s the cinematic equivalent of your favourite Starbucks drink. You know exactly what you are getting when you order it, and you won’t mind downing the all-too-familiar brew if this unchallenging brand of storytelling is your cup of tea.
The screenplay recycles tired clichés and director Paul Weiland (Leonard Part 6) contentedly settles on the easiest jokes (a gag involving a sassy grandmother and a glow-in-the-dark sex toy gets used three times!). At least Dempsey and Monaghan beam like 100-watt bulbs as they make the most of the formulaic material. Both are able to walk away from this with their honour intact.

Sean O’Connell