When I first saw the trailer for Licence To Wed, I was horrified.  The plot looked ridiculous and the jokes were terrible.  I dreaded having to sit through the whole movie.  After putting it off for a couple of weeks, I went along to my nearest cinema and decided to face the music.  Was it as bad as I thought?  The answer is yes.

            Sadie (Moore) and Ben (Krasinski) are a young, happy couple who are looking to get married.  When selecting a church for the ceremony, Sadie asks that it be held at St Augustine’s, a small church in her home town.  The pastor in charge is Reverend Frank (Williams).  He tells Sadie and Ben that the church is booked solid for the next two years but a recent cancellation has created an opening in three weeks time.  It’ll be rushed but they agree to do it.

            It’s a condition of Reverend Frank that all couples go through a marriage preparation course.  It is designed to show just how difficult a marriage can be.  He tells Sadie and Ben that if they refuse to take the course, he won’t perform the ceremony.  It is at this point where the film goes off the rail, down the cliff face and into an endless abyss.

            I think the marriage preparation course is supposed to provide the film’s humour but it is actually quite scary.  Reverend Frank tells them they cannot have sex before the honeymoon and to ensure this is the case, he gets a young kid to break into their house and plant listening devices.  In a trust building exercise, Reverend Frank gets Sadie to drive blindfolded down a busy street whilst Ben gives directions.  Both acts are clearly illegal but I guess the screenwriters don’t care too much since this is supposed to be a light-hearted “comedy”.  Would it be that hard to come up with some more realistic material???

            What bugged me most of all were the bizarre bunch of supporting characters.  Sadie’s father seemed very disapproving of Ben.  I’m not sure why and it’s never really explained.  Sadie’s sister has recently been through a divorce and her cries for attention go unnoticed.  Are they ignoring her for some reason?  Sadie’s best friend is a guy named Carlisle who pops in and out of the story from time to time.  His intentions are never explained – why isn’t he interested in someone as attractive as Sadie?

            Robin Williams has now made three comedy stinkers in the past 18 months – RV, Man Of The Year and Licence To Wed.  Who is picking his scripts?  He could really use a decent role.  The same goes for Mandy Moore.  The weakest member of the cast would be John Krasinski as Ben.  Pretty much all he does is scrunch up his face and look shocked.  It’s ironic since his facial expressions largely mirrored mine as I sat squirming in my seat.

            What a waste.