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The poster for Robin Williams' latest "comedy" and this still of he as the Priest from hell with his creepy toady almost says it all
License to Annoy:
License to Wed
7-6-07 "Knight Thoughts" web exclusive
By Richard Knight, Jr.
License to Wed
7-6-07 "Knight Thoughts" web exclusive
By Richard Knight, Jr.
40 minutes into License to Wed, the latest "comedy" vehicle from Robin Williams I hadn't laughed once. Not a titter. Not that I
expected to given the movie's premise: a young couple, Sadie and Ben (Mandy Moore and John Krasinkski) decide to wed but
before going down the aisle, Sadie gets Ben to agree to enroll in a rigorous marriage preparatory course presided over by Reverend
Frank (Williams). From the outset Williams is presented as one of those "Hey I'm hip, I'm cool" kind of "with it" priests (this one
tosses out remarks on bisexuality, etc.) that make me want to run for the nearest exit. Far from being funny, the
passive-aggressive personality traits of the character were so pronounced from the get go that they sent off alarms for me from
Williams' introduction. Then, once the poor schlub Ben agrees to Sadie's also passive-aggressive tactics the real "fun" begins.
Reverend Frank and his dark eyed little altar boy/mascot (Josh Flitter) proceed to purposely make life hell for Ben and Sadie, going
so far as to break into their apartment and bug their conversations. Criminal behavior aside, considering the ongoing scandals
within the Catholic church, the kid's adoration of the priest (which he expresses over and over again) and the priest's tacit
acknowledgement of it isn't just creepy, it's unbelievable that anyone would think this grist for the comedic mill. But apparently, this
stuff passed someone's muster but why torture poor film critics like myself not to mention an unsuspecting audience?
There's a lot more offensive stuff in License to Wed but you get the picture. If you don't, I'll just add my own personal coup de
grace: I found the movie so completely without redeeming qualities that I did something I've not done in over three years of film
reviewing. I walked out of the screening. I almost made it to the end (20 minutes shy of the credits which I figured out after
checking the movie's running time) but somehow couldn't find the stamina to stick it out. I can't really say why - after all, I
somehow slogged through all of Hard Candy, The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things, and a lot of other dreck. Maybe the offense of a
comedy so unfunny as License to Wed was the deciding factor. I can't really say. All I know is that I followed protocol - I phoned up
my editor and asked permission to leave the screening (after explaining my actions). He gave his okay. I didn't review the film in
my regular column but I wanted to at least make note of a movie so bad it caused me to walk out (and it doesn't offer a smidgen of
camp relief either). So noted.
expected to given the movie's premise: a young couple, Sadie and Ben (Mandy Moore and John Krasinkski) decide to wed but
before going down the aisle, Sadie gets Ben to agree to enroll in a rigorous marriage preparatory course presided over by Reverend
Frank (Williams). From the outset Williams is presented as one of those "Hey I'm hip, I'm cool" kind of "with it" priests (this one
tosses out remarks on bisexuality, etc.) that make me want to run for the nearest exit. Far from being funny, the
passive-aggressive personality traits of the character were so pronounced from the get go that they sent off alarms for me from
Williams' introduction. Then, once the poor schlub Ben agrees to Sadie's also passive-aggressive tactics the real "fun" begins.
Reverend Frank and his dark eyed little altar boy/mascot (Josh Flitter) proceed to purposely make life hell for Ben and Sadie, going
so far as to break into their apartment and bug their conversations. Criminal behavior aside, considering the ongoing scandals
within the Catholic church, the kid's adoration of the priest (which he expresses over and over again) and the priest's tacit
acknowledgement of it isn't just creepy, it's unbelievable that anyone would think this grist for the comedic mill. But apparently, this
stuff passed someone's muster but why torture poor film critics like myself not to mention an unsuspecting audience?
There's a lot more offensive stuff in License to Wed but you get the picture. If you don't, I'll just add my own personal coup de
grace: I found the movie so completely without redeeming qualities that I did something I've not done in over three years of film
reviewing. I walked out of the screening. I almost made it to the end (20 minutes shy of the credits which I figured out after
checking the movie's running time) but somehow couldn't find the stamina to stick it out. I can't really say why - after all, I
somehow slogged through all of Hard Candy, The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things, and a lot of other dreck. Maybe the offense of a
comedy so unfunny as License to Wed was the deciding factor. I can't really say. All I know is that I followed protocol - I phoned up
my editor and asked permission to leave the screening (after explaining my actions). He gave his okay. I didn't review the film in
my regular column but I wanted to at least make note of a movie so bad it caused me to walk out (and it doesn't offer a smidgen of
camp relief either). So noted.
