License to Wed (2007) Robin Williams, John Krasinki, Mandy Moore

License to Wed is not Robin Williams shining hour.

As a huge Robin Williams fan I was very disappointed in License to Wed. I think Williams talent is wasted in this film.

Beleaguered Ben Murphy (John Krasinki) and his fiancée, Sadie Jones (Mandy Moore) have different ideas concerning their wedding ceremony location. Ben wants to get married in the Caribbean, Sadie wants to get married in the same small town and same church her parents were wed 30 years ago. He relents, thus starts their nightmare to the alter. The two must first meet with Reverend Frank (Robin Williams) an unconventional and very hip man of cloth. At one point, the Reverend tries to heal a bloody nose with a laying on of hands and repeating the words from an M.C Hammer song. Any couple who wants their nuptials performed by the Reverend must pass his rigorous and outrageous three-week training course.

One of the training course rules is no sex before the honeymoon. This does not sit well with Ben since he and Sadie live together and sleep in the same bed. However, the “no sex” rule soon becomes the least of the couples worries. The idiotic training course is quickly derailing their wedding plans, and causing them rethink for their feelings for each other. How about trusting your fiancé to shout directions while you drive blindfolded. Or attending a workshop to learn how to carry the bride across the threshold? Perhaps the worst of the gimmicks are the robot twin infants who make “pooping” noises, with special scent and blue poop to add to the realism. The Reverend goes to extreme lengths, including bugging the couples bedroom, to make sure they are following his training course rules. For some reason the words, “disturbing” and “creepy” come to mind when I think of Robin Williams character. I cannot put my finger on it, but the Reverend made me uncomfortable.

Reverend Frank’s young apprentice (Josh Flitter), whose name is never mentioned, is supposed to be precocious (I think), instead, he comes off as an incredibly annoying child. Josh Flitter portrayed Corky in the 2007 Nancy Drew film and Stewart in Big Momma’s House 2. Between Reverend Frank and the child, the couple is harassed ad nauseam. What should have been a funny film feels a bit mean-spirited. To be fair there are some funny moments in License to Wed but not enough to bring it up to Robin Williams usual high standard.

Also in the cast are Eric Christian Olsen, Christine Taylor, Peter Strauss and Roxanne Hart.

Rated PG-13