Genre: Romance/Comedy
Director: Paul Weiland
Cast: Patrick Dempsey, Michelle Monaghan, Kevin McKidd, Kathleen Quinlan, Sydney Pollack
RunTime: 1 hr 41 mins
Released By: Columbia TriStar
Rating: PG
Official Website: http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/madeofhonor/

Opening Day: 15 May 2008

Synopsis:

For Tom (Patrick Dempsey), life is good: he's sexy, successful, has great luck with the ladies, and knows he can always rely on Hannah (Michelle Monaghan), his delightful best friend and the one constant in his life. It's the perfect setup until Hannah goes overseas to Scotland on a six-week business trip... and Tom is stunned to realize how empty his life is without her. He resolves that when she gets back, he'll ask Hannah to marry him – but is floored when he learns that she has become engaged to a handsome and wealthy Scotsman and plans to move overseas. When Hannah asks Tom to be her "maid" of honor, he reluctantly agrees to fill the role... but only so he can attempt to woo Hannah and stop the wedding before it's too late.

Movie Review:

There is always a trend where an actor gets his big break on a hit television series and then crosses over to the big screen to take on leading roles. Patrick Dempsey is another addition to this trend. Following the footsteps of his “Grey’s Anatomy” co-star Katherine Heigl, he has now starred in two hit films: last year’s “Enchanted” and this year’s “Made of Honour”.

Dempsey plays the role of Tom, a womanizer since his college days without any care in his world, except for his father (Sydney Pollack) and his schoolmate/best friend Hannah (Michelle Monaghan). After ten years since they knew each other, Tom finally realizes that Hannah is the one for him, but she still treats Tom as a friend. Furthermore, knowing Tom’s habit of flirting around, she doesn’t think too highly of him as a life partner. Just when Tom decides to declare his feelings, Hannah drops a bombshell that she is marrying Colin (Kevin McKidd), a Scottish duke she met during her business trip to Scotland. To add insult to injury, Hannah chooses Tom to be her maid of honour for her wedding. This is when Tom seizes the chance to get close to her so that he can steal the bride, so to speak.

The selling point of this film is the novelty of having a man being appointed as a maid of honour, and what a novelty it has to be to sustain interest in the film for about 100 minutes. Fortunately, this is not the only pulling factor for the film. Patrick Dempsey and Michelle Monaghan have great chemistry as a couple, ensuring that viewers would want to see them together when the end credits roll. The supporting characters are a pleasure to watch as well, from Hannah’s group of bridesmaids to the equally womanizing Tom’s father who is into his sixth marriage. The ones who stand out for me are Tom’s basketball buddies, who never fail to amuse every time they are onscreen.

The jokes in the movie are of the light-hearted sort, but there is one that leaves a lasting impression because of its sexual innuendo. Just keep a lookout shortly after the opening sequence when Tom visits Hannah at the art gallery. Another running joke is on Hannah’s grandmother, whose liking for accessories makes anything seem fashionable.

Still, this film is not without flaws. We are supposed to be convinced that Tom tends to fool around, but Patrick Dempsey is just not sly enough and seems too nice a guy to fit that description. The character of Colin is so two-dimensional that we don’t get to know him more than the fact that he is a gentleman. Also, as with other typical romantic comedies, a character’s wrongdoing is conveniently dismissed and forgotten for the sake of a satisfactory ending.

It was reported that “Made of Honour” is released currently as a competitive move to “Iron Man” in the way that it caters to a different audience who are not into superheroes. I would say that if you are not into superheroes but romantic comedies instead, you will enjoy watching “Made of Honour”, especially if you are a fan of Patrick Dempsey or Michelle Monaghan.

Movie Rating:

(“Made of Honour” has the delightful pairing of Patrick Dempsey and Michelle Monaghan to thank for lifting the film above mediocrity since it’s not made of perfection)

Review by Tan Heng Hau