The Wedding Pact (2014) User Reviews

Predictable and shallow

[djgenesis · 3/10 · 3 May 2014]

When I watched The Wedding Pact I knew from the start that it wouldn't be a blockbuster but I didn't think it would be so bad.

Truth be told, the lead actors actually seem quite talented and both Haylie and Chris gave a great overall performance considering the awful plot. They demonstrate good chemistry, seem experienced and show a lot of potential. Scott Michael on the other hand looks a bit unconvincing at times but, hey, this was not Shakespeare.

What I really disliked was the poor, predictable, boring and somewhat unintelligent scenario.

I do not know much about directing a movie but quite a few of the takes reminded me of amateur movie scenes. There are others. quite a few of them actually, which are unrelated to the plot and just exist as time fillers, which is fine, even the best movies have them, but they were so random and obvious I thought the director thinks that the viewer is unintelligent. This is what urged me to write this review.

There is no imagination in the storyline whatsoever; it just feels like it's a product of a 9 year old girl's summary of a single Archie's comic book of 15 pages.

Overall I would say that if you have an hour and a half to spend, better watch something else unless you're 10 and play with Barbie dolls.

What.?

[jaydwood1995 · 5/10 · 22 May 2014]

I went into this movie with some high expectations and was let down. I wasn't expecting a smash hit , maybe just a low key good movie.

From the first scene I was confused. I was trying to figure out of they went to a bad community college together or what. One good thing is that I did get attached to the main two characters early in the movie, they were good actors and had a strong chemistry within the two of them. The whole movie was being worked off a horrible script with clichés for days, unrealistic supporting characters with generic and corny personalities and a horrible dialog all together

The movie would have had potential if the script writer and the director weren't so bad. Halie Duff and Chris Soldevilla did a great job, but without them this movie would have been a complete waste of my time.

Laugh-out-loud bad

[olympicator · 5/10 · 29 June 2020]

Okay, this movie failed on several levels: originality, structure, acting, casting, photography. Those were the aspects that caught my eye. The first third was just plain boring and stupid. But as the movie progressed, it became increasingly over-the-top idiotic and I actually enjoyed it.

I recently watched "Love, Rosie" with Lily Collins and Sam Claflin, which really wasn't much better but it had nice production design and the two main characters had good chemistry, and overall everyone just looked pretty. That movie knew that it had nothing new to say, but it was at least attractive. "The Wedding Pact" failed at this completely (with the exception of Haylie Duff). Why did they cast a man in his forties to portray a college student and then the same character in his early thirties? Why did they give him the world's worse wig to make him look like a freshman? What was with the aging bed'n'breakfast hostess giving subtle signs of nymphomania? And certain scenes were framed and edited poorly, drawing attention to this or that detail that actually had nothing to do with the scene. I wouldn't label this movie as "ugly," but at times it looked painfully fatuous.

Then we had the scenes that popped out of nowhere, and/or went on too long. The scene where Mitch and Elizabeth talk about a hot dog buffet they attended in college, and Mitch actually spells out that three hot dogs are fewer than twenty-seven hot dogs. The scene where the girl in the tube top pops into Mitch's car and her boyfriend follows her, and Mitch acts like a relationship counselor (is that his job? what is his job??). The towel whipping duel. The "Heaven's Angels" cult. The mix-up with Elizabeth's address so that Mitch almost gets on a plane to Hawaii. The Coppola-esque scene between Jake and his rich, domineering father. Where were these scenes supposed to go? Some of them seemed like they just existed for the sake of one punchline, or one jump-scare, or just forced exposition to tell the audience how we are supposed to feel about a certain character.

I have seen worse acting, but there was not one performance here I would call "good." The story was about these two star-crossed lovers who are made for each other but keep missing each other, surprise, shock, surprise, shock. It touched all the time-worn bases: the moment of attraction, the realization that it's love, the painful inability to express that love, the determination to come together, the rekindling, the conflict, the breakup, the reconciliation. I know you know this already, I just cannot believe they still make movies that actually go through all of these ancient steps with so little variation. Even Jane Austen would ask people to switch it up a bit.

But I give this movie 5/10, because in the last third, I laughed out loud several times. After a certain point the script stopped trying to make sense, and events just happened whether they had any reason to or not. I will admit this movie also had a few legitimately funny moments. Kelly Perine was probably the best casting decision, although his character often had nothing to work with. And, I will say it again, Haylie Duff looked attractive. I could see some careful attention to her makeup and wardrobe; I wish they had given the same amount of attention to the photography, or the acting (or any sense of logic in the story itself, but we all know that's not going to happen).

I do look for more in a movie. But in a world where big-budget bad movies pander to an audience they can count on (i.e. "Disaster Movie," "The Emoji Movie"), this low-budget bad movie was inane in an amusing way.

The dullest movie I watched in a long time.

[camaway · 1/10 · 17 May 2014]

My wife is into romantic comedies and I end up watching lots of them. Some I tolerate, some I even enjoy. Well, not this one. This is without a doubt one of the most insipid movies I have watched in a long time.

Rarely one has the chance to see a movie without a single redeeming quality. Well this is the one: the acting is bad, the script is worse, the dialogue is so dull it's like watching a pair of goldfish staring at each other in an aquarium, the characters and their motivations are so two-dimensional and cliché you feel like you are watching cardboard cut-outs acting.

It's not the worst movie ever made, it's just bad and dull and I cannot honestly recommend it to anybody.

Horrible waste of time - go to acting school!!!

[Manchu2 · 1/10 · 26 July 2014]

This film had absolutely no storyline, no budget, no actors worth watching. The parts that were supposed to be funny just weren't - not only because of the bad jokes but also due to bad performances of all the actors. Acting wise, I felt like watching a porn movie just without the naked people. The dog was the best actor in the whole film. This review has to be at least 10 lines long to be submitted, and to be honest there is absolutely NOTHING left to say about this movie to fill up that space. But to give some examples: the way the characters met was completely random, the fake wig of the main character in his college outfit was just too obvious. The poor attempt to make the movie more 'artsy' by moving back and forth in time doesn't work, just seems like the editor was asleep himself while trying to edit this film. Maybe that's due to the extremely slow pace of this film in general and especially the first 15 minutes. Watch this movie only when you're into masochistic activities... can't wait for the sequel...

horrible in every way

[talsharden · 1/10 · 9 August 2014]

nonsensical, illogical, contrived, overacted, poorly written, and a complete waste of time. there is no basis in the real world involved with the making of this movie. the character interactions are absurd. the situations are beyond senseless. there is no character development at all. the dialogue is inane at best. racial stereotypes abound. follows the same rom com plot line you have seen a hundred times only badly acted. horrible in every way. worst of all, it's not funny. not even on a 'it's so bad it's funny unintentionally' way. do not watch this. The acting is bad, the plot is ridiculous, the characters are cliché. i have nothing good to say about this film.

A Romantic Comedy for all audiences

[larab69 · 21 February 2014]

What a refreshing change for my husband and me to sit down with our teenage daughter and what a romantic comedy that is free of gratuitous sex, nudity and foul language.

The story is simple, the characters genuine and it had a lot of appeal to the romantic mind of my 16 year old who completely believes in true love and happily ever after. Yes, the story is cliché but it recognizes it in a humorous way. Although my husband found it to be a bit juvenile, definitely more "made for TV", he agreed that is was a cute movie and applauded Chris Soldevilla's performance saying he was likable and could picture him on a sitcom. However, if not for the beautiful Angie Everhart he probably would not have watched it at all.

I felt the pairing of Haylie Duff and Chris Soldevilla as the main characters to be believable and everyone for the most part was well cast. Scott Michael Campbell as the fiancé did a great job at making you dislike him. In every movie there should be one person you love to hate and for me it was him. Great acting on his part.

I especially liked that this writer/director took a higher road and wrote from the heart instead of his privates. Of course there is enough sexual innuendo to keep things interesting but you can still watch it with kids and keep your morals in tact.

In my opinion, its a good movie for a girl's night and is completely appropriate for mother/daughter night, a sleepover party, a casual date or a group of ladies looking to chill with a glass of wine and a nice film. It offers a funny perspective of love from the man's point of view while appealing to a woman's romantic side.

Overall, I say grab some popcorn and a spot of the sofa and rent this movie

Don't expect anything

[baybars1089 · 2/10 · 8 February 2015]

Choosing the marriage partner is something that can tell a lot about a person. It would be best to get it all, a warm and generous personality, strong and honest character, loyalty, impressive intellect, a knock-out appearance, sophisticated mannerism and last, tolerable age difference, and last, but sadly not the least, financial security. The trouble is that it is winning a jack pot is near impossible most of the time. What happens when one needs to compromise? Well, like thousands of other pictures, this one deals with exactly that.

Now about the movie itself. The storyline is highly predictable, the characters are shallow and the parody on real life does not really work in this movie. So, the burning questions would be why bother watching it? If you feel mentally and physically exhausted, but do not feel like sleeping or surfing the net for latest gossip, this movie could do. Otherwise, it is a total waste of time. This could be said about most rom-coms though.

This review may sound evil, but sometimes the truth is evil.

[GetTheNak · 1/10 · 17 January 2020]

I'm a movie junkie, and I'd rather watch a movie of people watching paint dry than do the dishes or walk my dog, oh yeah, I have son I forget to feed when Gilligan's Island is on. In order to watch a movie that no one else will watch including the producers, actors and editors that make the movie, I require only one pathetic quality out of three. If the story/directing sucks and the acting/dialogue sucks, but the actors are good looking, I'll make it through the movie (nudity helps). If the story/directing sucks, the actors are ugly but the acting/dialog is good (nudity optional), I'll make it through the movie. If the story is good, but the acting/dialog sucks and the actors are ugly (nudity optional), i'll make it through the movie. Unfortunately this movie lacks all three of a single requirements to make it through even half the movie. The story/directing sucks, the acting/dialog sucks, (big time) and every single actor (male and female) are ugly (nudity would only make it much much worse). The only reason I made it 20 minutes through the movie is because I was writing this review while it was playing in the back ground. I realize suicide is a serious problem in this country and anyone considering suicide should seek professional counsel. I only hope everyone involved in this movie especially the actors, do not seek professional counsel, and take the leap, off the nearest high rise.

Light, Fluffy, OK

[cliff314 · 6/10 · 7 February 2014]

At the time of this writing, there is one other review giving the movie 10/10. Yikes! What we have here is a very light rom-com with good actors, a lot of clichés and some significant improbabilities in the story. However, it is inoffensive, it has high production values and looks very good, and there are a few chuckles along the way. You won't get any spoilers from me, but we all know how this will turn out.

If you go in expecting anything more than harmless light entertainment, you will be very disappointed. If, however, you are looking for 90 minutes of easy fluff that you could watch with your niece and your Gran, you are in business. Special commendation to Buddy the dog, played skillfully by Hooligan the dog.

Going through (e)motions

[kosmasp · 3/10 · 2 February 2015]

Never mind that you know where this will end before it even begins (it's not that hard to guess, but that's the genre and other genres have similar "fates" with predictions), but do mind, that the jokes do not work as good, the script is weak and the acting is matching all that (in a bad way).

The intentions are good of course and the movie tries to keep things interesting with flashbacks that are supposed to lighten up the mood or explain things, even if not necessary. Repeating a scene almost beat for beat, just from another characters perspective at the end does not help either (unless you have short time memory issues). Rather a waste of time than anything else then

an Amazing indie movie!

[crystalmcconnell897 · 10/10 · 12 October 2013]

I saw this film at the Louisville International Festival of Film and enjoyed it very much. Haylie Duff gives an honest performance that is assisted by a force of an amazing cast. Matt Berman's writing is spot on for a chick-flick written by a guy (from a man's point of view however).

I would advise this movie to any guy out there who is looking to watch a film with his wife or girlfriend and needs to enjoy the time at the movies himself. The film is dramatic, funny, (very comedic at moments) and overall heartwarming.

The script is nice in the most natural ways.

crappy, spoiler alert

[aseelabduljawad · 1/10 · 17 April 2017]

Major let down.

The story line+acting+choice of actors was horrible. The only reason I watched the movie in the first place was because I like Haylie Duff.

It's one of the worst movies ever made, Not only that but also most of the story line doesn't even make any sense, a guy coming back after 10 all of a sudden into her life. The jokes as well were very cheesy, I was waiting for it to get better it only got worse.

great film

[cjsima · 28 May 2014]

I really enjoyed this film. It's great to see a romantic comedy these days without lots of gratuitous hardcore sex scenes. This was funny, original, and wholesome entertainment for the whole family. I enjoyed Ben Bailey from cash cab as Mitch. The dialogue was excellent and includes lots of interesting details, such as how Mitch explains how he knows how to drive around Pasadena, CA because he has a GPS. (He's from Boston). I loved the extensive use of flashbacks with Mitch in a geri curl wig so you know it's in the past when mitch & hailey duff first met.

Jack was mean but performed well, I liked how at the end Rudy puts him in an armlock (he deserved it !!!!!!!!!!! hurt doggie - see below) Overall a great picture that has it all: funny black best friend, lots of music, voice-over narration to explicitly explain the story, cute doggy, nonstop 2009-era pop music, and surprise ending. 5 stars. "We're getting married!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Had potential which was not realized

[dmasursky · 2/10 · 8 November 2014]

This might be the worst movie I've ever seen. It comes across like someone's film school project. The idea is cute, but the script is awful, just packed with clichés and utterly predictable. The acting isn't bad, but the filmmaker gave them nothing to work with. I gave it 2 stars because I liked the use of flashbacks to catch the audience up on what happened, not just in college but in previous scenes. And the music was good. But otherwise, this is a real disappointment, and my standards are really not that high for romantic comedies - a couple of appealing leads and a smidge of cuteness, and I'm happy. This was painful to watch. And the message is simply awful. Jake is the most heinous individual imaginable - if Mitch really cared for her, how could he possibly let Elizabeth marry him? And how oblivious and stupid is Elizabeth that she can't see what kind of person Jake is? She tells Mitch she's marrying Jake because "he asked her" - what kind of lame reason is that for a modern woman about to get her social work degree? And the mom is the worst of all - she's willing to sell her lovely daughter to that repulsive man and his even worse father, just to keep her house? Get a job, you lazy cow - all she does is sit on the couch and watch TV all day. How did this movie get financed when there are a billion scripts in turnaround?

Cinema magic; Haylie Duff does it again

[bobchilders · 10/10 · 14 July 2016]

I think we all remember what our reaction was at the news that Haylie Duff would be starring in a romantic comedy opposite the multifaceted Chris Soldevilla: who the %$#! is Chris Soldevilla? All joking aside, of course we remember him from his stellar performance in the 2000 classic "Coyote Ugly" and eagerly anticipated his performance as Mitch in this film. We were not disappointed. Through forceful performances like this movie, Soldevilla has quietly built a reputation as a major player in the comedy genre, even as he has expanded his range in drama through such vehicles as "7 Minutes" (2014). We all eagerly anticipate future entries in the Soldevilla oeuvre.

But as flawless and nuanced as Soldevilla is in "The Wedding Pact," the real acting tour de force in this film comes from Haylie Duff. We all see in Duff the depth and range of a young Meryl Streep and the wit and witticisms of a youthful Joan Blondell. She doesn't disappoint in this outing. As Elizabeth, Duff has solidified her position as the grand dame of romantic comedies, rivaling the comedic talents of such actresses as Carole Lombard and Edna Purviance.

And who can forget Matt Berman, the wunderkind writer/producer who made this all possible. We all know him from the 2000 masterpiece "F.A.R.T.: The Movie," which the AMPAS shocking passed over in its nominations for a Best Director Oscar. Sam Mendes got lucky with "American Beauty" that year and we all know it. Travesties aside, the Academy will simply not be able to look the other way at Berman's brilliance in "The Wedding Pact" and maintain itself as a legitimate organization.

One cannot find a more scrumptrulescent outing than "The Wedding Pact." Watch and be amazed; talent like this doesn't come along often.

IMDb has its limits

[chrisc145 · 8/10 · 16 May 2015]

Overall bad reviews of a great little film. Just hits a juicy and original vibe. Each scene has its own unique angle - even if the plot point it is carrying is no big surprise but then who cares? a movie comes at you one scene at a time - and each scene is fun - kind of like Friends. And I really warm to the two main actors. Genuine gems and surprises to be found. Napoleon Dynamite is the pinnacle but this is at least climbing the right mountain. Chris Cook I need to say a bit more. Well let's look at the scene where Mitch is taking a wee and a random randy woman approaches him - it's just very fresh how this pans out - it reveals his true feelings for Elisabeth but in a slightly surreal way - then the woman's brother arrives and does something strange in the garden. The whipping post scene is another good'un. Do check this out and Watch Without Prejudice.