Southern Belle 1:

"The Wedding Date" is not a great film, but is likable and possibly a step above the usual romantic comedy fare. Debra Messing is Kat Ellis, a successful career woman who, because of her bad luck with men, feels inadequate. She is so insecure, in fact, that she scans the personal ads to find an escort to hire to accompany her to her sister's (Amy Adams) wedding in London. This film is fairly formulaic with the expected turns along the way, but the turns are occasionally amusing. Messing is engaging, but her performance is overshadowed at times by the supporting cast - particularly Holland Taylor as her outspoken mother, Bunny. Dermot Mulroney does an acceptable job as the handsome escort, Nick Mercer, but never really shines. Amy Adams is cute as the spoiled, soon-to-be-bride, but I particularly loved Jeremy Sheffield as Jeffrey, Kat's ex-fiance. His good looks stole the show. This film is not original enough to be new and not dumb enough to be horrible, but it's one of those films you have to be in the "rom-com" mood to enjoy. If that describes you, then give it a try. 07-12-09

ykf 483620:

This film is awful. This film is awful. This film is awful. I was always told that if you mean something, you should say it three times. So, this film is awful. I really mean it. The Wedding Date attempts to tell the story of a down on her luck lady hiring a male escort to accompany her to her sister's wedding where her ex-fiance is the best man. There are many problems with this film. It's not funny. there's no likable characters. Dermont Mulroney has forgotten how to act. But perhaps the biggest problem was that there was no first act to this film. The film starts and our lead has already hired a male escort... pretty big jump. For the first fifteen minutes you feel like you're playing catch up with these characters. We're never properly introduced to our two leads and so it's hard to really care about anything they do. An even bigger problem with this film is that it somehow forgets to film the romance between Messing and Mulroney. Those scenes are just not there. And couple that with the fact that it seems they have no chemistry at all and you have a big hurdle for a romantic comedy. This film is not worth watching. Ever. I don't recommend it to anyone.

ToxicDon:

Formulaic? Yes. Enjoyable just the same. There was an obvious chemistry between Messing and Mulroney. Even though you can figure out how it is going to end, the ride getting there is fun with a bit of whimsy, joviality and sadness as landmarks to point the way to a satisfying movie experience. Nice way to spend the evening with the one you love.

itp 1591997:

Watching this I kept having the feeling that I was merely watching a Will and Grace episode, where Grace goes to London. What a mess, and it just gets messier when she hires a male escort to accompany her. Debra Messing does little for the Character who never gets over her insecurities to face her family. The relationship between the male escort and her had no basis, and then the Sister came into the picture and I just found myself wishing that Will would show up.

robowriter:

Determined to attend her ditzy stepsister's wedding in England on the arm of a beau to show up her ex-boyfriend, Debra Messing hires Dermot Mulroney, a hunky male escort, at the eleventh hour for $6,000 from her retirement fund. Whether they're awkwardly seeking common ground or pretending to be in love, Messing and Mulroney have a nice chemistry together. Amy Adams is the self-absorbed airhead who's set to wed a mook who is even more oblivious of others' emotions (which helps during an altar-cation when his best man counsels, "Now is not the time to figure things out"). So the groom is the last to learn of a premarital secret that's been chewing through the bride's family for years. We catch glimpses of the relationship shared by Debra's and Amy's characters since they were little girls (until sundered by dueling boyfriends) and Dermot's self-confidence serves him well in shuttle diplomacy of sorts. (Debra says he's a therapist she met at a Knicks game but his real career skills are not that different.) The numerous deleted scenes were right to be excised, except the last one, which I found moving. The movie has a few mildly interesting character roles (including Holland Taylor as Debra's mother and Sarah Parish as the bawdy Brit girl who steals all her scenes). The movie is cleaner than it could have been but wears its tawdriness proudly; I won't go into details (nor does the parental warning that says "iffy for age 15+") but suffice it to say the cast includes strippers. Tellingly, the movie's best and most representative lines are "The best sex is make-up sex" and "I'd rather fight with you than have sex with anyone else." (How's that for romantic?) As a result, the movie's many positives are so tilted by unnecessary sexual negatives that I regrettably can't give it 4 stars, only 3.5 stars. (5-23-10)

79c3c281a2:

Actors: 5 Stars. Script/Editing: maybe 2, on a generous day. Debra Messing *should* be a huge movie star, she's fantastic here.

JM 1631250:

I can't believe anyone would bankroll a film based on the premise that a character played by Debra Messing has to hire an escort in order to avoid being dateless to a wedding. I'd skip my own wedding in order to be her date to a bad romantic comedy, even this one.

krn 1163078:

I have to say that I found this movie funny, and at the same time lacking. I am not bothered by the fact that the plot was fairly predictable. After all, how many ways can a story like this be told? It did what it was supposed to do. At the end of day I can tell you that I never have to see this flick again - BUT, it was certainly a decent movie to watch.

Matthew McQuilkin, Seattle WA:

The one thing that impressed me about The Wedding Date was how much I hated it. This is no easy feat, as I tend to have an uncommonly open mind and can usually find redeeming qualities in just about anything I see. But by the end of this one, it was so bad, I was exhausted. I thought about making the effort to come up with redeeming qualities, but I just didn't have the energy. There is nothing to like about this film. Worst of all is the premise itself, in which Kat (Debra Messing) hires Nick (Dermot Mulroney), a male escort, to accompany her at her sister's wedding so she won't be coming alone after a recent breakup -- with, naturally, the best man. It should come as no surprise that Nick eventually (if "eventually" can be used accurately within the space of two days) falls for Kat, gives up his profession, and they end up together in the end, full refund included. What should come as a surprise is how awkward and clumsy the story is, even for a premise so utterly ridiculous, and how on God's green earth this script got green-lit to begin with. The film is seriously painful to sit through. America's enemies could use it as a torture device. This film should be reported to the Department of Homeland Security. F