License To Wed (2007)

License To Wed is one of those slightly offbeat comedies that Robin Williams can add his brand of humor to, and take a decent film and elevate it a notch better. It also stars Mandy Moore and John Krasinski.

We've all heard that the divorce rate in the US is a dismal 50%. Moore plays Sadie Jones, and Krasinski is Ben Murphy. They're two twenty somethings that clearly are in love, and are ready to make a lifelong commitment to each other. The Jones family has a particular Reverend Frank that is to perform the ceremony. The only issue is that Reverend Frank puts his betrothed couples through a series of tests to insure that the marriage will not end up in the divorced half when it is all said and done.

The problem is that these tests are more extreme than any pre-Cana course, and is more akin to a cardiac exercise stress test. The good Reverend takes this to the extreme, and is not above using anything to make sure they are right for each other. He even organizes antagonistic and ridiculous free association games, or takes it a level further and goes so far as to bug the couple's bedroom, and makes an uninvited house call in the middle of the night.

Through all of this, it takes an actor like Robin Williams to keep the totally ridiculous from spinning off into space somewhere, and grounded somewhere on this planet. It's his gift, and although at times I wish he would make more serious films, few can pull off a role like this and make it work as well as he can. With that said, License to Wed held my attention, and was fun in a whimsical and less than realistic way. In other words, decent entertainment which is always a welcome addition.

Overall Grade: B+

Reviewed by Jonas