Wedding Wars

Wedding Wars
John Stamos, Eric Dane, Bonnie Sommerville
James Brolin, Sean Maher
Originally Broadcast on A&E
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment 2007
88 minutes

John Stamos plays it pretty straight as a gay wedding planner in Wedding Wars, an A&E romantic comedy now on DVD.

It would be easy to quip that living with the Olsen twins for more than five years is what made Stamos go gay but Wedding Wars is a charming, fast-paced, smart little comedy so I’ll stay away from bad jokes.

The premise of this DVD is Ben Grandy (the somewhat stiff Eric Dane) the speech writer for the governor of Maine (played by Nova Scotia) is getting married to the governor’s daughter. He hires his brother Shel (Stamos) to plan the wedding.

All goes well until the governor (James Brolin, of Barbara Streisand fame) makes an anti gay marriage speech written by Ben. Shel gets annoyed, goes on strike, and the entire gay community goes on strike along with him.

What I especially enjoyed about Wedding Wars is this is a smart if lightweight romantic comedy. The premise is interesting but it really works because it is set up so smoothly with the scenes where Shell is taking the bride to be around to the different people associated with weddings (flowers, hair, etc).

The story also does not believe in wasting a lot of time explaining things until even the dumbest of the dumb will get the point and this makes for a very entertaining comedy experience.

What is especially funny about this comedy DVD is how the gay strike movement picks up steam. I found that particular aspect of the story very original and funny.

There are also some funny writing surprises in Wedding Wars, “No, the governor won’t be attending your anti-immigration rally. If people from Vermont want to move to Maine putting up a fence won’t stop them. I know they’re annoying, but we need the syrup.”

I was less impressed with the Norma Gay joke but overall, and though the use of a very revolving camera for the scene where Ben is on the cell phones to solve an emergency will make some viewers nauseous, the writing and directing here is very much above the usual made for TV movie fare and original.

If you are looking for a movie that will change a viewer’s opinion on gay marriage, Wedding Wars is not that movie.

If, on the other hand, you are looking for a fun, entertaining, somewhat lightweight movie on the topic that keeps the usual clichés in the closet, stays away from the easy or obvious stuff, and provides some good, honest laughs this DVD is a solid bet.

Wedding Wars with John Stamos will not change the world but will definitely entertain.

 

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