Three out of
Five stars
Running time:
101 mins
Essentially a reworking of My Best Friend's Wedding with the sexes reversed, this is an enjoyable romcom enlivened by strong performances from Dempsey and Monaghan.
What's it all about?
Patrick Dempsey stars as Tom, a successful businessman who lives a playboy lifestyle thanks to his invention of the cardboard sleeve for paper cups. His best friend is Hannah (Michelle Monaghan), who he's known since they were at university together and he accidentally tried to get off with her after a drunken mishap at a costume party.
When Hannah disappears off to Scotland on a six-week business trip, Tom realises that he's been in love with her all along and vows to propose when she gets back. However, he gets something of a shock when a) she announces she's engaged to Colin (Kevin McKidd), a handsome, wealthy Scotsman she met overseas and b) she asks him to be her maid of honour.
The Good
Patrick Dempsey is enjoying something of a revitalised career (he was big in the 1980s, you know) thanks to his role on Grey's Anatomy and he's superb here, managing to make Tom both likeable and funny, despite his womanising ways. He also has decent chemistry with Michelle Monaghan, who is essentially the Dermot Mulroney to Dempsey's Julia Roberts.
There's also strong comic support from Busy Philipps (as a fellow bridesmaid who's still angry with Tom for rejecting her after a brief fling), while Kevin McKidd does the best he can with the nice-guy-who-inevitably-gets-rejected-at-the-end part. There are some misfires though – for example, the usually funny Kevin Sussman gets no laughs at all as Tiny Shorts Guy, a hanger-on in Tom's basketball circle.
The Bad
You're never in any doubt as to how this will all end up, especially if you've seen My Best Friend's Wedding (though thankfully there's no excruciating sing-along this time). Similarly, the supposedly romantic finale is underwritten and doesn't quite convince.
Worth seeing?
Dempsey and Monaghan's sparky, likeable performances ensure that Made of Honour remains enjoyable throughout, though it's entirely predictable, even by romcom standards.