Month: October 2024

Today’s quick review: Just Married. Sarah (Brittany Murphy), a young woman from a wealthy family, defies her parents when she marries Tom (Ashton Kutcher), a small-time radio host with no class and no career prospects. But their love is put to the test during their honeymoon to Europe, where everything that can go wrong does.

Just Married is a romantic comedy about a newlywed couple whose marriage is nearly destroyed by a disastrous honeymoon. Ashton Kutcher and Brittany Murphy star as Tom and Sarah, two very different people who are brought together by love. Just Married employs the usual madcap comedy tricks, such as accidents, arguments, and misunderstandings. But although the premise works on paper, the story and the humor both miss the mark.

Just Married fails to sell Tom and Sarah as a couple. They have nothing in common, with different interests, expectations, and personalities. They argue constantly, they keep secrets from each other, and neither one displays any maturity. While some of the conflict is justified for the sake of comedy, it leaves the story little to work with. The only thing keeping Tom and Sarah together is passion, and even that comes across as forced.

This central problem weakens everything else the movie tries to do. Without the spark of love between Sarah and Tom, the audience has no real reason to want their relationship to work. The jokes are mediocre but could have been salvaged if the leads had better chemistry. And while the theme of love uniting people from different backgrounds is a classic one, the movie does not have a solid foundation to ignore it.

The result is a mediocre romantic comedy that only goes through the motions. Fans of Ashton Kutcher may get something out of Just Married, and anyone in the mood for light humor and marital arguments could do worse. But Just Married is missing the originality and the passion of its competition, making it an easy movie to skip.

For a sharper romantic comedy featuring Ashton Kutcher in an acrimonious marriage, try What Happens in Vegas. For another romantic comedy about a honeymoon gone wrong, try Honeymoon in Vegas or The Long, Long Trailer. For another comedy about a married couple on a nightmare trip, try The Out-of-Towners. For a crime comedy about Americans out of place in Europe, try Murder Mystery or Once Upon a Crime.

[5.5 out of 10 on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0305711/). I give it the same for weak chemistry and a flimsy plot.

Today’s quick review: Bride Wars. Ever since they were kids, Liv (Kate Hudson) and Emma (Anne Hathaway) have dreamed of getting married at the Plaza Hotel. Their dreams look like they are about to come true when their boyfriends (Steve Howey and Christ Pratt) propose within days of each other. But friendship turns to animosity when the wedding planner (Candice Bergen) accidentally books Liv and Emma’s weddings on the same day.

Bride Wars is a romantic comedy about two best friends who become bitter enemies when their dream weddings conflict with one another. Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway star as Liv and Emma, two very different women who don’t realize how much they need each other. In the months leading up to the big day, Liv and Emma try everything in their power to sabotage each other and make their own weddings as glamorous as they always dreamed.

Bride Wars is not high art, and it is not trying to be. The premise is contrived and relies on poor decision-making on both sides. But given its premise, the movie has a lot of fun. Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway are well-matched, the wedding sabotage is appropriately petty, and the movie even works in a pair of nice character arcs, where Liv has to learn to be less controlling and Emma has to learn to stand up for herself.

Bride Wars’ main failure is that it doesn’t leave enough time for its romantic relationships. Liv and Emma take center stage. Daniel (Steve Howey) and Fletcher (Chris Pratt) are afterthoughts. Ordinarily, this would be a reasonable choice for a movie about the brides, but the grooms have an important role to play later in the story, one that would have worked better with proper setup.

Bride Wars is a fun pick for anyone in the mood for some light bickering. The plot is a straightforward tale of a strained friendship, but the gags are pleasant, the cast is enthusiastic, and a few minor missteps do not hamper the movie too much. Fans of romantic comedies will get the most out of it, but anyone looking for a deep or insightful romance may want to steer clear.

For a comedy about the lead-up to a wedding from the perspective of the father, try The Week Of or either version of The Father of the Bride. For a comedy with a similar flavor involving a bride-to-be and her insufferable mother-in-law, try Monster-In-Law.

[5.5 out of 10 on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0901476/). I give it a 6.5 for breezy comedy without much substance.

Today’s quick review: The Sweetest Thing. Christina (Cameron Diaz), a party girl with a fear of commitment, begins to have unfamiliar feelings when she meets Peter (Thomas Jane) at a club. Urged on by her best friends Courtney (Christina Applegate) and Jane (Selma Blair), Christina takes a wild road trip to visit Peter at his brother Roger’s (Jason Bateman) wedding and tell him how she feels.

The Sweetest Thing is a raunchy romantic comedy starring Cameron Diaz. Packed with sex jokes and poor decision-making, The Sweetest Thing follows three party-loving friends as they navigate the pitfalls of casual dating. In spite of a talented cast and a low-stakes premise, the movie wastes its potential. Tasteless humor, weak character work, and an almost nonexistent plot make it a hard sell even for viewers who are interested.

The Sweetest Thing gambles on crude humor in a major way. Nearly every joke in the movie revolves around sex, and the handful that don’t are just as lowbrow. Even setting aside the content of the humor, the jokes have a low hit rate. The setups are contrived, the payoffs are uninspired, and many of the jokes only exist as filler. While The Sweetest Thing has a few funny ideas here and there, it never really hits its stride as a comedy.

The movie also misses with its characters. Christina, Courtney, and Jane are meant to come across as funny and spontaneous, but they cross the line into crass and inconsiderate. Normally, this would be fine for a raunchy comedy, but the characters are not likable enough to get away with it. The movie spends so little time treating them like people that there is no reason to side with them when the situation inevitably gets awkward.

The one redeeming quality of The Sweetest Thing is its cast. Cameron Diaz, Christina Applegate, and Selma Blair are fun, vivacious, and well-suited to their roles. If the script showed even a little more restraint, the trio could be the backbone of an excellent comedy. Instead, they are given jokes that are at best hit-or-miss and a story that barely bothers to go through the motions of romance.

The Sweetest Thing will have a niche for the right viewer. Its solid cast and explicit, over-the-top humor at least give it a distinct identity, and some audiences will appreciate what it has to offer. But the extremes it goes to will turn off most ordinary viewers, and the story and characters are not enough to make the jokes worthwhile. Approach with caution if you’re a fan of raunchy comedies, and steer clear otherwise.

For a better use of Cameron Diaz, try What Happens in Vegas or Knight and Day. For a raunchy comedy with a little more heart, try That’s My Boy. For one with similar problems, try Game Over, Man!. For a more romantic movie about a woman chasing after a man she barely knows, try Sleepless in Seattle.

[5.2 out of 10 on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0253867/). I give it a 4.5 for dodgy humor and a negligible plot.