I must admit that I have seen my fair share of romantic movies and/or movie that are considered “chick flicks.”
Because of Valentine’s Day, I decided to this movie a chance. However, with my stereotyping of the movie, I also found myself quite shocked and surprised at how much I enjoyed The Wedding Date.
Usually with romantic-comedies it takes a little bit before the actually meet of the love interests. However with Wedding Date it is a different story.
The story starts off right away and keeps the audience in their seats by making them laugh and teasing them by almost revealing something, but pulls you back. Normally I get annoyed with this gimmick, but I found that it was keeping me in my seat and I loved it.
The Wedding Date stars Debra Messing in a role unlike her Grace character in Will and Grace, as Kat. She is invited to her half-sister’s wedding, where her ex-fianc is the best man.
Wanting to make her ex miserable, Kat hires an escort, Nick, for the wedding, played by Dermot Mulroney. The movie essentially begins with Kat already having called the escort and is on her way to the airport. A nice upbeat beginning to a story I expected to be slow at first.
From here the story follows Kat and Nick and her journey to overcome the sudden break-up of her fianc and the sudden interest they have in each other, that goes beyond business.
Both characters grow emotional and as people, which is one of the keys to this movie. You feel the characters growing closer.
Soon Kat realizes that she may have feelings for Nick while at the same time Nick is feeling the same way.
The supporting cast of her friend and family fits perfectly with the movie. It is first shown with how Kat’s family puts her in the spotlight, sometimes to Kat’s embarrassment.
Her bratty, “pay attention to me” half-sister is played by Amy Adams, who was in Catch Me If You Can. Her soon-to-be-husband is played by Jack Davenport better known as Captain Norrington in Pirates of the Caribbean.
Then there is Kat’s ex-fianc Jeffery, acted by Jeremy Sheffield. When ever the audience sees him, there is a certain mystery about him. The mystery of why he suddenly called it off with Kat.
The best and supportive of the secondary characters is Kat’s stepfather, Victor. His insight and wisdom and love for Kat are very fatherly.
The characters play well off each other and the story is decent. The rise of Kat is the main focus of the movie. While most movies only focus little bits and expect us to believe characters have changed, you can see the changes and then the finally the full transformation in Wedding Date.
The secret of how they broke up is a nice twist that most may not see coming.
While, yes they may seem like a “chick flick,” I found myself surprised at how much I really enjoyed it. The snapping story, the well-rounded character development and a well put together cast is what really made this movie something different.
This is a good date movie and should be considered for Valentine’s Day.
The Wedding Date is now playing at Carmike 14 in Johnson City and Tinseltown USA in Bristol.

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