On the Big Board |
| Position |
Staff |
In Brief |
| 191/214 |
Max Braden |
Lame, by the numbers romantic comedy, but Isla Fisher is very cute. |
Sweet Isla Fisher. North American audiences fell in love with her special brand of crazy in 2005's surprise $200 million blockbuster, Wedding Crashers.
Vile Michael Ian Black. Fans of the NBC television series, Ed, grew to despise him for his work as Phil Stubbs, the impossibly annoying bowling alley employee.
Already forgotten Jason Biggs. The star of the American Pie franchise has bungled his career with misstep after misstep. Do you remember Loser? Boys and Girls? Prozac Nation? Saving Silverman? Anything Else? Of course you don't. Nobody does. He's persona non grata since American Wedding's release almost four years ago.
What do these three people have in common? Black has written a slapstick romantic comedy, and he has somehow tricked/brainwashed Fisher into playing one of the leads. Biggs, presumably surprised to hear his phone ring after all this time, couldn't say yes fast enough. How often does he get to be in a movie that doesn't co-star Christina Ricci, anyway? Never mind, that joke doesn't make sense since we already established you don't remember Prozac Nation or Anything Else.
The premise is another contrived Hollywood meet-cute story. A down on the dumps romantic (Biggs) tells his buddies that he is frustrated over his struggles in past relationships. They dare him to take a chance by proposing to their waitress (Fisher). When he does, magic occurs and the duo find themselves falling in love.
While this is not the most memorable plot in recent memory, there is cause of optimism. Black's work on The State proves that he is more than capable of making even the lamest sounding bit funny. With a talent such as Fisher and a straight man on the level of Jason Biggs (you try dry-humping a pie without cracking up - err, on second thought, please don't), Black is armed with more talent than most first time directors are blessed with having.
Wedding Daze (then known as Pleasure of Your Company) was a popular movie at the Toronto Film Festival, causing MGM to acquire its rights, change the title and slot it for a fall release. Before you get your hopes up too much, however, it bears noting that Variety describes the film thusly: "A gratingly laborious romantic comedy that plays like a post-everything episode of "Love, American Style," pic will find little company beyond desperate vidstore hounds." (David Mumpower/BOP)
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