Romantic comedy dusts off all the cliches in 'Made of Honor'

"Made of Honor" starts with a party in which a man masquerading as Bill Clinton is scouting around for Monica and gets a rude awakening when he runs into Hillary.

Given the time of release, it's sorta funny. This, though, is the last edgy moment in a movie that would more appropriately be called "Made Before."

There have been dozens of "wedding romantic comedies" in which someone rushes in at the last minute to stop the wedding before the leading lady marries the wrong guy. Just before "I do," there's that triumphant moment when she doesn't.

"Made of Honor" is essentially the same movie as 1997's "My Best Friend's Wedding," but with a gender switch. Patrick Dempsey has the unlikely assignment of replacing Julia Roberts.

Hey sets out to break up the wedding of Michelle Monaghan, who has been his best friend for 10 years. He suddenly realizes he loves her and she's about to get away forever by marrying someone else. Blessed with beautiful Scottish scenery and a few comedic moments, the film also is cursed with numerous cliches of the genre.

So, is this a crime? Some people want romances to be familiar rather than fiery. Some people even love the comfort of cliches. A number of these people, through the years, have bought tickets to see this same movie. "Made of Honor" arrives largely condemned for being a copy cat when, actually, the targeted audience may not care that the plot is old hat.

The studio is gambling that women may choose to go see Dempsey rather than "Iron Man," the summer season's first special-effects blockbuster, which opened Friday.

Dempsey is coming off a hit TV run as Dr. Derek Shepherd on "Grey's Anatomy" and the hit movie "Enchanted." His work is cut out for him here, because many women in the audience may not consider Tom, the guy he plays, such a catch. He's a New York playboy who never sleeps with the same woman two nights in a row and never calls a girl within 24 hours of meeting her. Commitment is not his game.

When his pal Hannah (Monaghan) takes a six-week job as an art restorer in Scotland, she comes back engaged to Colin (Kevin McKidd). He's Mr. Perfect. He's a duke with four castles,. He can dunk a basketball. He's athletic enough to top poor Tom in just about every competition.

Not knowing that Tom was on the verge of committing to her, she asks him to be her "maid of honor." To be near the wedding, and sabotage it, he agrees. This opens the way for a number of rather lame sexual reversal situations, but also some funny scenes in which he plots with his basketball-playing friends.

Everyone goes to Scotland where there are bagpipes and kilts and Colin's stuffy mom, who thinks this pesky American girl is not worthy of her son.

There is never any doubt how this is going to end.

Dempsey shows an ability to wink at the camera in a way that suggests he knows better. He also has a vulnerable, bumbling side that may allow the guys in the audience to tolerate him. On top of "Enchantment," but perhaps in spite of "Made of Honor," he will have a movie career after "Grey's Anatomy."

Mal Vincent, (757) 446-2347, mal.vincent@pilotonline.com