Prior to Matthew “Matt” McConaughey’s pre-Oscar winning career in acclaimed works such as “Dallas Buyers Club,” “Mud,” True Detective’s first season and my one of my all-time favorite movies, “Interstellar,” (one of my favorite films) he starred in a string of critical flops linked to the romantic comedy (rom-com for short) genre “like How to Lose a Guy In 10 Days,” “Failure to Launch,” “Fool’s Gold” & “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past.” One movie in particular is related to his then stale career co-starring future Razzie award-winning actress/singer Jennifer Lopez (J.Lo for short) in “The Wedding Planner.”
Released in 2001 around the same time her studio album titled, “J. Lo” came out. It received negative reviews from critics and made enough money at the box office. Recently, Matt’s latest film is “White Boy Rick” which came out in September 14, 2018 and his next project “Serenity” (has nothing to do with “serenity now” from Seinfeld) reuniting with his Interstellar co-star, Anne Hathaway is set to be released on October 19, 2018. Don’t forget to mark your calendars folks! If you’re a fan of J.Lo, her upcoming movie “Second Act” is coming out on November 21, 2018 around the same time as “Ralph Breaks the Internet” & “Creed II.”
In response to both J-Lo & Matt’s upcoming projects, I’ve decided to look back at The Wedding Planner. I’m gonna come clean y’all, my mom introduced me to both J.Lo & Matt with this rom-com. I enjoyed it as a kid, now that I’m older, let’s see if it still holds up.
This review contains SPOILERS. If you’ve never seen this movie, read at your own risk.
Beautiful & Ugly Elements
Beautiful: Jennifer Lopez & Matthew McConaughey both did a solid job for their performances.
Chemistry between J-Lo & Matt’s characters’ Mary & Steve felt normal.
Other Cast Members such as Judy Greer (known for playing the best friend in almost every movie) & Bridgette Wilson (Sonya Blad4 from Mortal Kombat) did an ok job for their performances.
Fred Willard (Ron Burgundy’s boss) makes a cameo appearance as a dance instructor.
Funny Moments managed to give me a few chuckles.
Cinematography didn’t suffer from any technical difficulties throughout.
Mary’s business partner Penny, mentioned something about a “dark tower.” Both Judy Greer & Matthew McConaughey went on to participate in separate Stephen King film adaptations. Judy co-starred in the 2013 remake of “Carrie.” While Matt portrayed Roland Deschain’s archenemy, Randall Flagg in “The Dark Tower.”
The best part of the movie is when someone sings a high note causing a horse to run away from annoyance. I’m giving it Bonus Points for making me laugh so hard. If I had a girlfriend who’s singing Ariana Grande or Justin Bieber’s music, I would definitely run for my life!
J.Lo’s song, “Love Don’t Cost a Thing” plays during the end credits. Really catchy tune.
Ugly: Besides the Opening Scene, we barely get to see Mary’s job as a Wedding Planner. Turns out to be another generic romantic comedy, rather than focusing on her job.
A doll “match dissolves” to a nervous looking woman with wide eyeballs. What I just witnessed, indicates how dumb this movie’s gonna stink like J-Lo’s clogged toilet. What’s next, a peach “match dissolves” to Momma June’s nasty derrière?!
Before Steve’s revealed to be Mary’s client’s fiancé, why did he almost kiss Mary? I’ll assume he possibly has a split personality like Gollum from “The Lord of the Rings Trilogy.”
When Mary accidentally got her shoe stuck in a manhole plate, a dumpster rolls towards her. She removes her shoe and proceeds to retrieve it while the dumpster keeps moving. Nobody acts like that in real life, other than J.Lo making poor career choices. That’s it, I have to Double Down this con for breaking my Suspension of Disbelief!
The conflict between Mary & Steve felt contrived such as their first encounter. If Mary never tried to get her shoe stuck, the plot would’ve never existed in the first place.
Other than Mary’s father who told her he and her mother had an arranged marriage, her “tragic backstory” reveals the reason why she lives alone is because her fiancé cheated on her. Hear me out ladies, it takes time to get over a break-up for just a couple of days and then find another man. Mary doesn’t realize there’s plenty of men in the world, she’s cuckoo for Coca Puffs! Kingpin from Charlie Cox’s “Daredevil” had a troubled backstory than her!
The Third Act was predictable. We all know they’re gonna be together in the end. I hate a “we’re done cliche” in rom-coms.
The Final Verdict: D, FOR DUMBFOUNDED!
The Wedding Planner is a misfire suffering from being way too predictable since the beginning, middle & end. As a kid, I liked it, now that I’m an adult, I fully understand why it was a stinker due to the fact several critics pointed out negative aspects. Makes perfect sense to me. If I were you, skip this stinker.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 