Marriage is a sacred union between two people that lets them share their commitment to one another with those they hold dear. Or at least that's what it's supposed to be. With today's `trial marriages', you're just as likely to have spent a few hours getting to know your significant other and have your nuptials presided over by an Elvis impersonator with Jack Daniels as your best man. Even if the ceremony goes perfectly, there's always a 50/50 chance that you could become one of the jaded statistics that is dragged through a soul shattering divorce and doomed to join the ranks of the permanently emotionally scarred. Love is a wonderful thing.
After a mediocre time at his bachelor party, Paul Morse awakens to a nightmare naked beside him is a beautiful woman who isn't his fiancée, whose name is a mystery and he has no idea what happened. Wracked with guilt he debates whether or not he should tell the love of his life, but at the advice of his best friend decides to bury the incident and marry the woman of his dreams. Unfortunately Paul continues to bump into his temporary bedmate, and her infectious smile and carpe-diem approach lead him to call his straitlaced `safe' approach to life into question.
I'm accustomed to the persona that Jason Lee has cultivated in Kevin Smith films dark, brooding intellectual slackers who have little use for anyone else. In contrast, Paul is about as average as you can get - content to blend in with the background he is a yes man at work, in love and in life. Lee manages the transition well, with a palpable shy awkwardness that keeps Paul off balance yet believable. Playing Yin to Paul's Yang is Julia Stiles' Becky. Stiles, who shone in such films as `10 Things I Hate About You' and `o' has yet to find the role that will give her the exposure she deserves. She won't find it here. Stiles is effervescent as the quirky, unrestrained Becky and she maintains a bubbly enthusiasm that is infectious without becoming obnoxious. Unfortunately, she, like her fellow cast members, is confined by the limits of a weak script. The first two thirds of the film play well: the characters are engaging, the pacing is even and there are many funny scenes (the scene that inspired the title is hilarious). My friend and I also enjoyed playing `Spot the shot' (my apartment faces the back of the record store, ending months of speculations on my part regarding what they were filming ) as Vancouver once again stood in for Seattle. Unfortunately that can only hold one's attention for so long. The movie's momentum wanes in the final act, marked by stale, stilted dialogue, and a plot device - that is drawn out far too long that culminates in the shamelessly hijacked wedding sequence at the end of the film. A Tuesday night date movie or weekday video rental.
After a mediocre time at his bachelor party, Paul Morse awakens to a nightmare naked beside him is a beautiful woman who isn't his fiancée, whose name is a mystery and he has no idea what happened. Wracked with guilt he debates whether or not he should tell the love of his life, but at the advice of his best friend decides to bury the incident and marry the woman of his dreams. Unfortunately Paul continues to bump into his temporary bedmate, and her infectious smile and carpe-diem approach lead him to call his straitlaced `safe' approach to life into question.
I'm accustomed to the persona that Jason Lee has cultivated in Kevin Smith films dark, brooding intellectual slackers who have little use for anyone else. In contrast, Paul is about as average as you can get - content to blend in with the background he is a yes man at work, in love and in life. Lee manages the transition well, with a palpable shy awkwardness that keeps Paul off balance yet believable. Playing Yin to Paul's Yang is Julia Stiles' Becky. Stiles, who shone in such films as `10 Things I Hate About You' and `o' has yet to find the role that will give her the exposure she deserves. She won't find it here. Stiles is effervescent as the quirky, unrestrained Becky and she maintains a bubbly enthusiasm that is infectious without becoming obnoxious. Unfortunately, she, like her fellow cast members, is confined by the limits of a weak script. The first two thirds of the film play well: the characters are engaging, the pacing is even and there are many funny scenes (the scene that inspired the title is hilarious). My friend and I also enjoyed playing `Spot the shot' (my apartment faces the back of the record store, ending months of speculations on my part regarding what they were filming ) as Vancouver once again stood in for Seattle. Unfortunately that can only hold one's attention for so long. The movie's momentum wanes in the final act, marked by stale, stilted dialogue, and a plot device - that is drawn out far too long that culminates in the shamelessly hijacked wedding sequence at the end of the film. A Tuesday night date movie or weekday video rental.