If everyone were honest all the time, then there would be no such thing as romantic comedies.  This is yet another factor in this subgenre’s predictability.  Part of the formula for these movies seems to be that if people are open about who they actually are, then they would not get others to like them.  With this in mind, the main character has to go through a series of zany trials in order to discover who they are, which typically coincides with a realization that they have loved fill-in-the-blank romantic interest the entire time.  I cannot say why God allowed us to be dishonest outside of giving us free will.  In this sense, lying is an affront to Him who created us.  There will be a judgement for all of us, and the degree to which we told the truth will be a part of our assessment.  Before I disappear down a philosophical and religious rabbit hole, please know that I am trying to come up with a unique way of describing yet another romantic comedy, this one called The Wedding Date (2006).  It is okay, and being mostly set in London, that had some appeal for me.  My instinct from watching the preview was to focus on the male protagonist, a male escort named Nick Mercer (Dermot Mulroney).  Such a “profession” is one of deceit, though is there more to his story?  Read on to find out.

Speaking of reading, Kat Ellis (Debra Messing) is looking through the newspaper classifieds for The Wedding Date.  She is about to leave for her half-sister’s, Amy Ellis (Amy Adams), wedding in London, England, and Kat wants somebody to show up the best man to be, Jeffrey (Jeremy Sheffield).  The reason for Kat’s vindictiveness is because Jeffrey had once been her fiancé, and she has never gotten over being dumped at the altar.  As such, she resorts to hiring a successful escort, Nick, a man who wrote about his experiences in The New York Times Magazine.  Before leaving her apartment, she sends the plane ticket to him by courier.  Hence, they do not meet until they are taking their seats before the flight.  He is handsome and she tries to keep her composure while he is all suave professionalism.  He maintains this demeanor as they arrive at the welcoming reception and she immediately begins panicking over the questions about this mystery man. Jeffrey is also at the party, but is stopped from making any declarations to Kat by Nick’s presence.  Her plan seems to be working, though, as his interest appears to be growing out of jealousy.  Following the gathering, Kat and Nick are taken to her parents’ house, Bunny (Holland Taylor) and Victor Ellis (Peter Egan).  Kat is surprised to be allowed to sleep in the same bedroom as Nick, which only adds to the spiciness of their relationship.  He does warn, though, that any, er . . . extracurricular activities would have to be agreed upon and paid for in advance.  At least she responds by saying that she finds such a concept “morally repugnant,” though it still comes off as a thoughtless comment given his job.  The next activities on the wedding agenda are the hen and stag parties.  For us Americans, that means, respectively, the bachelorette and bachelor parties.  Both soirees involve a lot of alcohol consumption.  At one point, Amy turns to her older sibling and expresses some doubt that she can go through with getting married.  There appears to be something deeper there, but the moment quickly devolves back to more revelry.  Simultaneously, Jeffrey is trying to admit to Edward Fletcher-Wooten (Jack Davenport), the groom, some secret that he cannot get out of his mouth.  The evenings end with everyone stumbling back to their respective lodgings.  Once Kat returns home, she acts on her impulse to have sex with Nick.  In the morning, she cannot remember it happening, but the wad of cash in her wallet suggests her intention.  He is somewhat put off with these developments, but is nonetheless falling for her.  With that, it is on to the country manor house in which the rest of the ceremonies are to take place.  At a picnic the day before, it looks as if Kat and Nick are getting to Jeffrey, but once again Jeffrey is prevented from saying anything by Kat seeking out Nick’s attention.  The person who is absent is Amy, and Nick finds her and Jeffrey as they are talking about the big secret that has been hinted at for the past couple of days.  The reason Jeffrey had left Kat is because he began sleeping with Amy, and he is still in love with the bride.  For now, Nick agrees to keep the matter to himself, but later at dinner, Jeffrey finally corners Kat to tell her the truth.  She is shocked by the revelation, and it shows in her face as she returns to the other guests.  This is not how Amy had intended for this to come out, so when she sees Kat taking comfort with Nick, Amy blames Nick for not admitting what he knows.  Feeling betrayed, Kat runs off.  Nick follows, but she rebuffs his attempts at soothing.  She tries to put a smile on her and carry on, but it is Victor that will not let her daughter’s pain stand.  Finding her just before the wedding, he mentions an article he had read about relationships in The New York Times Magazine about relationships.  In other words, he knows who Nick is, and with dad’s endorsement, Kat tracks down Nick.  As it turns out, he had decided to not leave, but found Edward chasing Jeffrey down the road after Edward finally learns what had happened.  With that, Nick replaces Jeffrey as the best man and everyone lives happily ever after.

It is always good when something called The Wedding Date can have a happily ever after.  As a Catholic, I pray that nobody has to endure the shenanigans that you see in the movie.  At the same time, I realize that is not always possible, and in fact is sadly more prevalent in modern culture.  I would say that this is farfetched, but who knows?  The real point is that any situation is manageable with God and forgiveness.  You see the reconciliation of two sisters who had been lying to each other for years, and that is a blessing.  What is perhaps most ironic is that the most honest character in the story is also the one who gets paid to be dishonest, that being Nick.  There may be some smart alecks among you will point out that prostitution is in the Bible, so how can it be bad?  There is the obvious issue of pre-marital sex, or extra-marital affairs if it is spouses engaging in such activity.  However, in a more general sense, it is the untruthfulness that is the more “morally repugnant” concept, as Kat put it.  God gives us sex as a unitive act with Him, and not seeing it in that context as endowed by marriage makes it a lie.  Nonetheless, Nick has an interesting moment when he asks Victor for dad’s permission to date Kat.  It is an old-fashioned thing to do, and not entirely necessary, but a traditional part of Christian courtship.  Fathers are meant to be protectors of their daughters’ virtue, even if modern society makes such endeavors increasingly difficult.  In this vein, they act as a surrogate for God Himself.  At any rate, even if it is late since Victor seems to know everything going on between Kat and Nick, it is appreciated by this Catholic reviewer.

And now you know about The Wedding Date.  As I said, there is a lot of lying involved, and that makes it little different from any other romantic comedy.  The subject matter is redeemed somewhat by Nick turning away from his life as an escort.  Otherwise, you have seen this movie even if you have not seen it.