‘LOVE, WEDDING, MARRIAGE’ (2011): A MANDY MOORE ROMANCE

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I don’t remember what ad or website made the sell that Love Wedding Marriage is something I had to see. But its leading lady also made it more interesting, plus the plot did sound adorable. Since I am a sucker for any romantic comedy, seeing this was inevitable.

Love, Wedding, Marriage (2011) Film Review

Real-life is a happily-ever-after for the always starry-eyed Ava (Mandy Moore). Her wonderful boyfriend of two years proposes, and now today, she’s saying “I do” to her best friend. As a marriage counselor, Ava cannot help but “counsel” everyone else’s problems because she sees failures every day. But the people she looks to as an example for a solid marriage is her parents (James Brolin, Jane Seymour). Married for thirty years, her family is a happy one that includes her flighty baby sister, Shelby (Jessica Szhor).

Unexpectedly, Ava’s fairy tale with husband Charlie (Kellan Lutz) is cut short when her mother informs her daughters that she wants a divorce. This as the result of an affair their father had twenty-five years ago. This news sends Ava’s world into a tailspin and she becomes obsessed with helping her parents, even at the risk of harming her new marriage.

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This little independent film is super cute and super sappy but what’s more, it has a really sweet heart. The movie starts out with a flowery proposal and ends on an equally adorable scene; and I really like that this sequence is produced like a home video. The film does take on unrealistic expectations through Ava’s view of relationships. There is some truth to finding a fairy tale in real life, but there are also imperfections and every day, two people have to work at their relationship. Ava’s biggest issue is facing this truth. Fortunately, as all good movies should teach their character, she does. And, I like this about the film. Writers administer a perfect balance of fairy tale happiness and yet, the characters grasp reality. love wedding marriage

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The acting is really quite good. Believe it or not, I think this is Mandy Moore at her best; while I haven’t seen everything she’s been in, I think she does well in this. She and Kellan have good chemistry and seeing them interact is sweet. It might not express everything in the best of ways, but the movie demonstrates that a marriage is worth fighting for. The writer’s seem to say that it’s a sacred union and it should be treated and recognized as such. If there is a flaw in these good intentions, it also mildly advocates for cheating. The fact that her father had an extra-marital affair plants a tiny seed of doubt in Ava about Charlie, and I think in this regard, the film lumps all men in the same boat. I don’t agree with that.

By the end of this comedy, I laughed a lot. The script is good, and I like how the director (who happens to be Dermot Mulroney) stages each scene. Bottom line: the movie is quirky and not without its flaws, but for an entertaining night’s worth of fun, this little gem is entertaining. Even though some of its approaches have flaws, and fails a principle or two of its three-word title, the movie still deserves a look.

Content: there is quite a lot of talk about sex – mainly between married couples. References are made to an extra-marital affair and a child that resulted from it. Some profanity and/or abuse of God’s name may be used. There is a staged suicide and a night out drinking that also includes a strip club. The film is PG-13.