License to Wed (2007)

License to Wed is a pretty good romantic comedy. I loved Mandy Moore and John Krasinski as the leads. And of course the late Robin Williams was great in his role as reverend Frank. I do love the comedy in this film, Robin Williams really does make this movie! I like how the script was written, it was comedic, romantic, and very sweet, it had moments of true heart, that was very refreshing to see. The characters in this movie do have good chemistry. No it's not the most original in the history of movies, but yes it is funny and kinda amusing. I'm not sure what the deal was with people from the office being in this movie, but like so many actors on the office appeared in here. But overall, this film was entertaining and warm hearted, no it was not perfect, yes, some scenes did drag a little, but all in all, it was a good time. 7/10.

Fmovies: Is it too much to expect even mild entertainment from a Robin Williams film. What happened to the comic genius behind 'Good Morning Vietnam'? The man who turned in a reliable dramatic performance in 'Good Will Hunting' is simply lackluster here. Mandy Moore and John Krasinski are a likable couple subjected to some humiliating 'jokes' by priest Williams. The film doesn't even give us enough time to get to know the young couple. This could have been a cute romantic comedy, but the barrage of juvenile material and creepy jokes make it unsuitable for just about all audiences. Avoid.

Overall 2/10

I'm going to say something that no one in License to Wed has the guts (or the brains) to say - Reverend Frank belongs behind bars. Frank is supposed to be a goofy and likable guy who grows on us despite his unorthodox methods toward couples coaching. Unfortunately, the movie goes to such extremes that we are not so much charmed by Frank, rather we are terrified by him. 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. It's always been Sadie's dream to be married at the family church with Reverend Frank (Robin Williams) doing the ceremony. Before they can get married, however, Frank forces the young lovers into a bizarre program where they will have to pass a series of tests to see if they are right for each other. Frank, along with his young student (Josh Flitter), sets up a series of challenges and simulations that are supposed to represent the difficulties that the couple will face in the future together. While it sounds reasonable enough in theory, the Reverend goes so far as to invading their private lives, even bugging Ben and Sadie's apartment with concealed recording equipment, letting him hear everything that happens when he's not around. Ben's patience with Frank's extreme program starts to wear thin, and the young couple start to contemplate if things are as compatible between them as they initially thought.

There's nothing really wrong with License to Wed whenever Reverend Frank is not on the screen. During those times, it's a perfectly ordinary romantic comedy that plays by the rules. Unfortunately, Frank is a major character, and the movie devotes too much time to him. He's an evil, manipulative man, and we're supposed to laugh at him, because he's played by Robin Williams, and he's constantly shooting off zippy one-liners. If this character had been played straight, I have no doubt believing his Reverend Frank would be right up there with his "deranged" performances in Insomnia and One Hour Photo. At one point, he has a 10-year-old kid break into the couple's apartment while they're away at a session, and conceal a wire tap in their home. The character of Frank comes across as someone who enjoys tormenting young couples who just want to get married, and is not below employing children to do his dirty work so that he remains off the hook. If this sounds like a jovial, comical character to you, I highly suggest counseling.

My question is why does nobody else in this movie but Ben realize just how evil this guy is? And when Ben discovers the wire tap, why doesn't he make a bigger deal about it? More importantly, why doesn't Sadie? When Ben finally does tell her about the hidden recording equipment, Sadie doesn't even react to this revelation, nor does she even act offended. Are we to believe this woman doesn't even care that this man has been violating their privacy? If I seem to be putting too much stock in one character, I can't help it. He is what makes this entire movie go wrong. The character hangs over the movie like a black shadow, and causes everyone to become incredibly stupid, because no one can admit to themselves that this man is wrong. Even Ben, who distrusts him from the moment he lays eyes on Frank, winds up liking the guy before the movi

License to Wed fmovies. "License to Wed" might as well have been called "Meet the Minister," since all the film does is to recycle the nightmare-before-marriage scenario from "Meet the Parents" - albeit with one crucial deviation. 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. To pass the course, the couple must agree to be abstinent until the wedding night, take care of two fully operational and anatomically correct mechanical infants, and undergo various forms of trauma that even Sigmund Freud himself would have trouble undoing after years of reparative analysis.

As a "Meet the Parents" wannabe, "License to Wed" stumbles right out of the starting gate in that one can imagine suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous humiliation and abuse in order to win the favor of a prospective spouse's PARENTS, but to go through all that just to placate her MINISTER? I don't think so. 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. As it is, though, "License to Wed" is a painful experience that you will have no trouble leaving stranded at the altar.

This movie was terrible.

I was more than a little tempted to just get up and walk out early in the movie, when it just wasn't funny. I thought maybe it would pick up and really get going soon, it didn't. 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.

My friend and I were so excited to see this movie when we saw the trailer to License to Wed, it looked like a fun comedy. But when we heard all the bad reviews, we were a bit hesitant, but we figured that we still wanted to see it and why not? I don't get all the horrible reviews on IMDb, yeah, there were a few things wrong with the movie, but it seemed like nobody really wanted to enjoy this film. 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. But Sadie's wishes are to be married in the church her parents got married in and their family minister, Frank. 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. This movie was all in good fun; I loved the scene where they have to find out what having kids was like. Those little mechanical babies were so ugly and scary, but so funny! I expected a fun and cute movie and that's what I got with License to Wed, so don't trust the IMDb reviews, just go and have fun!

6/10