License to Wed

Plot synopsis:
Sadie Jones (Mandy Moore) has always longed to marry the man of her dreams in her family church. Though she has found her lifetime companion in Ben Murphy (John Krasinski), Sadie is distressed to learn that St. Augustine's has only one wedding slot available over the next two years, though after re-checking their planning book, they find that the wedding can be held in three weeks.
While Sadie and Ben do qualify for the slot, the church's eccentric minister, Reverend Frank (Robin Williams), will not wed the couple until they agree to attend his prenuptial course (shortened, due to the new date, from three months to three weeks). As their wedding date draws near, Sadie and Ben must now follow all of Reverend Frank's rules, attend his unusual classes, and complete a series of homework assignments designed specifically to irritate one another — in order to get past puppy love and ensure that their union will have a sound foundation.
In one part of the course, the couple has to care for twin "creepy robot" babies. They get on Ben's last nerve and he destroys one, to the horror of bystanders in a department store. To Ben's dismay, one of Frank's rules is no pre-marital sex. On behalf of Frank, his young assistant (Josh Flitter) breaks into the couple's house and bugs it. Thus, Frank and his assistant can listen to all conversations, though Frank does not let his assistant listen to the adult parts. Ben discovers the microphone/transmitter but does not tell Sadie, for fear she will accuse him of lying and planting the bug himself.
Problems gradually begin to develop between the couple due to the course. Ben begins an investigation into Frank, and eventually discovers that he was once married to a Maria Gonzalez. Shortly before the wedding, Sadie becomes reluctant to have the wedding, among other things because Ben has not prepared marriage vows as Frank instructed them to do, but instead drew a flip cartoon of a truck. Ben then confronts Frank over Maria Gonzalez, believing him to be a hypocrite. Frank reveals that the marriage was done to allow Maria, then an immigrant, and a member of Frank's congregation, to stay in the U.S. Upset that Ben would waste his time on a "stupid investigation", Sadie calls off the wedding. On Frank's advice, Sadie goes on vacation to Jamaica, their slated honeymoon destination.
Ben seeks advice from his friend Joel, who advises him to give up on Sadie, saying that there are other women like her out there. Ben however disagrees with this, and decides to go to Jamaica. Frank and his assistant travel there too. He attempts to call Sadie, but she refuses to listen. Her parents assure her that all marriages have problems, and her friend Carlisle tells her that Ben may just want someone who relies on him, allowing her to forgive Ben more easily. Ben writes his vows on the sands of the beach to impress Sadie and they reconcile, and Frank marries them there.

Tags: romantic, cute, entertaining

Review:
An overall average movie, nothing mind blowing, but also not impossible to watch.The movie is a little cliché at points and most of it you have seen before in whatever romantic comedy you decide to think of, but there are a few additions to this movie that made it enjoyable for me.As a huge fan of the TV show "The Office", I went to the theater the other night hoping that the movie would keep me as entertained as the small screen gem does.
However, the simple appearance of a couple of "Office" stars is enjoyable.The only real beef that I have with the movie overall is Robin Williams' sexed up priest character.
A priest becoming sexual isn't that far fetched in this day and age, but really, when your movie makes it look like a priest is hitting on a woman in his marriage counseling class in front of her soon to be husband, just rubs me the wrong way.License to Wed is neither terrible nor wonderful.
I'm not saying this to offend anyone, I just don't get how you could not laugh at least once in this film when it was just a cute romantic comedy that's better than most.Sadie and Ben are one happy couple, after only six months they feel that they are ready to tie the knot and get married.
Frank isn't going to give this couple an easy time though, he'll test them from Heaven to Hell to see if they are really ready for marriage and slowly the realize what might be wrong and different in their relationship.Now, I admit that some of the situations were predictable and unbelievable, but I think if you let go and just have fun, you'll find yourself laughing.
Needless to say, lightning rarely strikes twice when it comes to Hollywood happenings and "License to Wed" is no "Meet the Parents." Not by a long shot.Ben Murphy and Sadie Jones are a young Chicago couple who agree to undergo an intense pre-marital "training course" conducted by an obnoxious local reverend in exchange for being allowed to hold their nuptials at the church Sadie's dearly departed grandfather helped to build.
In no time flat, the laughter turns to frustration as we find ourselves wondering why Ben doesn't just tell the dear old Reverend to go take a hike - or worse - and then seek out some religious establishment with less stringent requirements for walking down the aisle.And let's face it, there's something more than a trifle off-putting and creepy about an unwed man-of-the-cloth running around with a young boy as his personal protégé and sidekick, planting listening devices in young couple's bedrooms.
Even for an alleged comic fantasy such as this one, that may be just a bridge farther than most people will be willing to go in the queasiness department.John Krasinski and Mandy Moore make an appealing enough couple, and it isn't really their fault that they've been handed a screenplay - written by no fewer than three writers, a sure sign of trouble - filled with cornball humor, heavy-handed slapstick and unappetizing secondary characters.
In the role of Reverend Frank, Robin Williams, all cutesy mannerisms and third-rate mugging, hits a new low in teeth-grinding unctuousness, although one likes to believe that, if director Ken Kwapis could have gotten the actor to dial back his performance even a little, this might have been at least a tolerable movie.
It tries to be a romantic comedy, and what little chemistry exists between the couple is ruined by Robin Williams trying to be funny while doing unfunny things.
Instead he comes off as a creepy, sadistic voyeur with a phony veneer of humor (and a minister having a prepubescent boy sidekick with him at apparently all times day and night is more than a little creepy in it's own right).There isn't a single funny joke in the film that's not in the trailer, not one.
There are a lot of gags that fall flat though.The whole thing made me miss the time when Robin Williams in a movie was a sign it was going to be a great film.In retrospect, I should have gone with my hunch and just walked out early, and saved myself the time..
The man is a menace, and the fact that nobody seems to realize it except for one character makes everyone in this movie come across as completely oblivious.Young lovers Ben Murphy (John Krasinski) and Sadie Jones (Mandy Moore) have just made plans to take their relationship to the next level and get married.
I do love the comedy in this film, Robin Williams really does make this movie!
A very common mistake between the producers from Hollywood is to think that a comedian who has been funny in the past,will always be funny in any circumstance.Robin Williams and his long list of crappy ''comedies'' are one of the most clear examples of that attitude.Williams is a good comedian and a magnificent actor but,when there is not a good screenplay,the movie will not be good.Williams needs a solid screenplay which has to work as a base of his personality.Good Morning Vietnam is the best example of what I just mentioned:on that movie,there was a brilliant screenplay and a good director who knew to mold the story to adapt to Williams' frenetic style.But,that was twenty years ago and,during the two following decades,we have seen this actor on a lot of comedies which seem to say:''It does not care if the script is bad...We have Robin Williams!''.License to Wed is one of that films and the worst movie in Williams' career(and I'm counting craps like Mrs.Doubtfire).License to Wed is so pathetic which cannot be called a movie...I would call it as a thing from the dust-bin.If you wanna see the jokes from this movie,go to Youtube(you will not laugh because all the jokes are crappy and worn-out)or,if you have insomnia problems,go to see this movie.The jokes from this movie do not have any grace and they have been seen on a lot of films.John Krasinki and Mandy Moore bring bad performances,while Williams' performance is really irritating.But,I do not wanna attack Williams.He did some wonderful performances on serious films(like in One Hour Photo or Good Will Hunting).The principal guilty is ''director'' Ken Kwapis(if what he did can be called directing a film)who did not know how to take advantage from Williams' enormous talent.License to Wed is,for the moment,the worst film of 2007 and one of the worst films from last years.This excrement called License to Wed should be destroyed..
When Ben Murphy (John Krasinski) and Sadie Jones (Mandy Moore) are corrailed into marriage prep course by Reverend Frank (Robin Williams), all hell breaks loose.Reverend Frank is a whacky, evangelical, over-baring, over-the-top, yet lovable, control freak.
My gut reaction is that because the Robin Williams character, Reverend Frank actually makes a lot of sense (in an over the top sort of way), many in our self involved, anything goes society will hate this film.Believe me, this is one funny film.
Mandy moore is underused as the female lead, Robin Williams is funnier than he has been in a while but the film really belongs to John Kransinski whom makes a handsome and involving leading man.
Catholic priest Robin Williams (!?) makes couple Mandy Moore and John Krasinski go through a crash course for those about to be married.
Mandy Moore and the guy from "The Office" (I won't attempt to spell his last name - but I like him!) are fine, but the writing, direction and, unfortunately, Robin Williams are so cheesy that it all turns out to be a monument of incredibly horrible cinema that I, for one, actually had to keep watching - just to see how much more awful it would get.
This film is about a couple taking a pre-marriage course run by a minister to see if they are ready to me married.It's a romantic comedy, and hence it follows a predictable formula of good-bad-good.
A guy who makes wedding preparation courses to see if people are ready to get marriedMaybe the kid is his sinful son or something like that.For Ben's (John Krasinski) bad luck, Sadie (Mandy Moore) wants to get married where their parents got married a long time ago; and that's Reverend Frank's church, so they have to do the course.
For our good luck, the Reverend is played by Robin Williams, with the charm only the best actor can put to a role as annoying as hisAnd if you think he's exaggerating in this film or that he is over the top; think again and watch "Man of the year".Besides the kid (Josh Flitter) and the Reverend, we find more annoying people that Ben and Sadie meet during the course.
Both scenes are made better by the leads Krasinski and Moore; and if Krasinski didn't have those expressions and Moore wasn't so natural and winning, we wouldn't even feel the romance.I must mention the wasted talent in the cast, actors who look like they are part of a big jokeChristine Taylor as Moore's sister, she does nothing; Peter Strauss as Moore's father does a bit more; Grace Zabriskie as Moore's grandma, I think she speaks four lines.
I rate this comedy 74% and I hope Robin Williams next movie is as good as this..
I liked this movie a little bit until the moment when the reverend gives 2 robot babies to the couple from that instant "License to Wed" is terrible.I have to say I liked the performance of Robim Williams and I liked all the characters of the movie too.
I would have liked to see more of the character played by Christine Taylor which I found very funny and interesting.The problem with "License to Wed" is that instead of being a romantic comedy movie is much more a comedy one, but like I said before since the robot babies part this movie stop being funny and there is not much left to see from then.I recommend to watch this movie if you are a Robin Williams fan, or if you are with your girlfriend and you catch it on TV, but stop watching it at the first moment you find it boring (the robot babies part) because from then on it gets only worse..
remember these kind of things wont happen in real life but these kind of movies gives us a good message ...if people like " reverend frank " does exist in this world (i don't wanna say that they must be priests and all) , then probably the number of breakups after marriages between men and women will go down ...
OK now this movie wasn't bad at all, I am a pretty big Robin Williams fan, I mean like I love Mrs. Doubtfire, RV, and a couple other of his movies and stand up specials too.
The movie takes the whole "Meet the Parents" formula (complete with uncomfortable encounters with the main girl's family), and does everything completely wrong.The romance in this film feels totally forced, and Mandy Moore and John Krazinski have zero chemistry.
I Know that the only purpose of this type of movies is to entertain and the idea was very good but I think it wasn't fully developed and surely it doesn't accomplished its goal, it has very few funny moments, I feel it like unbelievable and even corny specially at the ending.
There are some genuine comedic moments that only Robin Williams could do as well, such as the scene where he is playing a bible based version of Family Feud with his youth class.When Ben (John Krasinski) and Sadie (Mandy Moore) become engaged, they decide to be wed by the same minister, Reverend Frank (Robin Williams), that her parents were married by.
"License to Wed" presents a by the numbers romantic comedy about a couple who endure a gruelingly awkward preparation process in preparation for their marriage by an off the wall reverend played by Robin Williams.
Lead by Williams as well as Mandy Moore and John Krasinski, this film should have an easy time understanding what exactly it is and how to have fun with the audience.
LICENSE TO WED is a sophomoric and offensive "romantic comedy" that centers around Ben Murphy and Sadie Jones (THE OFFICE's John Krasinski and Mandy Moore), a recently engaged couple who, prior to taking their vows, agree to take a course on marriage being conducted by Jones family friend, Father Frank (Robin Williams), which includes things like classes on carrying the bridge across the thresh hold, role playing, animatronic babies, and blindfolded driving lessons.
He has a "marriage course" he wants them to take, which basically involves them doing a lot of foolish and in some cases dangerous things, like driving blindfolded while the other gives directions, or caring for 2 fake babies while they are supposed to be taking care of Ben's friend's actual children.I guess a rule of thumb is that whenever you find yourself in a comedy where the joke involves a fake baby making green poo, you're probably not in a very good film.The only thing that makes me give this 3 rather than 1 star is that I like the actors..
there is no chemistry between Mandy Moore and John Krasinski , and robin williams makes a ridiculous role as the reverend Frank.
It is hard to care about what happens to people you don't like.The big joke is the movie is Reverend Frank gets Sadie to drive a car blindfolded while Ben guides her while they narrowly avoid accident after accident.
The only thing that saves the movie from a 1/10 is that there were points where Robin Williams and Mandy Moore were off-screen, leaving John Krasinski to do a decent job in their absence.The movie is not only poorly written, but watching it is frustrating.
RW is as funny as ever, to be honest that is the only reason i rented this.I heard about the bad reviews, but films are not always going to be liked by everyone, if you like RW (Robin Williams) then what this movie, if you dislike soppy romantic titles that main character and his friend (DeRay) (John) is a blatant rip-off Scrubs JD (Ben) and Turk (Joel).Sure the writing could of been better, but you know what to expect when you watch this sort of movie.6/10.minus 4 stars for lackluster writing and John's one dimensional acting..
"License to wed" is a "comedy" about a couple ( Sadie, played by Mandy Moore, the singer/actor and Ben, played by John Krasinski, who's the Tim character in the American "The Office") who have decided to get married and consequently go through the local church to do a marriage prep course, a pre-requisite to getting married at the church.
John Krasinski did not do a good job playing his part.Mandy Moore was quite a good actress, although she wasn't able to bring forth her true feelings and emotions.Robin Williams has played a spectacular role once more, although I think there should've been a little less humor, since he is a reverend.A fantastic movie.
Some of the gags raise a few laughs, but the exaggerated characters and situations in this movie occasionally stray from humorous to mean spirited.Robin Williams, normally one my favorite actors both in serious and comedic roles, just isn't funny in this film, since the character isn't very likable.
The story seems as if it should be funny: an unorthodox marriage preparation course run by an unorthodox minister, who's played by Robin Williams (someone who - although his work isn't always to my taste - can nevertheless be pretty funny most of the time.) You settle in and expect some reasonable comedy.
However as painful as the drab plot, weak one-liners and characters needing reality checks were to watch, seeing Robin Williams struggle to try and make the best of what little he had to work with disheartened me, leaving only new comer John to try and bring any sort of comic relief into the film which he just barely succeeded in.
Robin Williams plays Reverend Frank, a church minister to wed Ben Murphy and Sadie Jones, played by John Krasinski (of, yeah, "The Office) and Mandy Moore, respectively, in three weeks.
The movie stars Mandy Moore, John Krasinski and the legend that is Robin Williams.
She wants her Reverend Frank (Robin Williams) to preside but the reverend wants them to go through a marriage course.Mandy Moore and John Krasinski make a perfectly vanilla plain cute couple.
LICENSE TO WED commits that terrible crime a comedy can commit by not being funny at all, but it also commits an even bigger sin by being utterly boring.The premise sounds bad enough as it is: Hopelessly in-love couple Ben (John Krasinski) and Sadie (Mandy Moore) want to get married.
Awakenings seems like an incredibly long time ago.The plot revolves around young couple Sadie and Ben getting engaged and attending a marriage preparation course, guided through by Reverend Frank (Williams).
The best part of the movie (well, the only good part) is when Robin Williams' character gets decked.
While License to Wed at times is quite funny, and Robin Williams still proves to be a great talent.
The actual lead couple of the movie played by Mandy Moore and John Krasinski are actually surprisingly good.
Had the sentimentality been kept to the final fifteen minutes this might be classed as a decent movie instead of the very average one it remains at the moment.License to Wed will do absolutely nothing for Robin Williams career and I really think its about time he found a piece of work that is actually funny rather than stuff like this.
As Sadie, she is a little too cutesy-wutsey for the part, but she has at least a couple moments where she demonstrates good comic timing.I've usually found that Robin Williams can do no wrong and this film is no exception.