Single Kat Ellis (Debra Messing) is about to attend her younger sister's wedding where the man who broke her heart not too long ago is going to be the best man. She must have a date and male escort Nick (Dermot Mulroney) is her solution. The situation develops into more of a problem, though, when the pair starts falling in love.

CRITIQUE

Some films get a critical consensus on their release - either positive or negative - that stays with them. Other films need a little time and hindsight to settle into a more accurate view of how well it works. The Wedding Date is this type of film. Inevitable comparisons to Pretty Woman weren't entirely fair to a film perhaps best suited to home viewing. Not to mention that the romantic comedy is not an easy genre to do really well. The Wedding Date reveals its subtly convincing romance in good acting and a memorable soundtrack.

Even a die-hard romantic comedy fan like me would say this isn't a great film, but it is also undeniable that it improves on second viewing. The comedy hogs the spotlight when you first see it and it falls short at moments. But watching the film again allows for the romance to take more of the focus and this is a good thing. Messing and Mulroney's chemistry is so much of the low-key variety that it takes another watch to see it outside the big scenes. This becomes even more apparent when you consider that these are characters who literally just met. Comedic things like the wild cousin and a silly chase lose their grating quality and the dramatic plot point that comes about 3/4's of the way through the film feels more realistic somehow (though not perfect - does it really have to rain?)

The other thing going for this film is efficiency. Though listed as lasting an hour and thirty minutes, the credits start to roll at about an hour and nineteen minutes. This may be one of the few films where keeping one of the deleted scenes might have been a good idea. This quality reveals itself in other ways, too. The love scene is a romantic couple of minutes with a good song and bit of slow motion at the end, suggesting the rest of what we don't see.

The characterizations the actors bring to the film are more apparent, too. Dermot Mulroney is perfectly cast and Nick's qualities of being a man's man and a person who is intuitively perceptive about what people need. Debra Messing's usual endearing neuroses are put on the back burner following that plot point I mentioned and touches of a melancholy strength appears. The leads are the two most important things in a romantic comedy and this pair is a good one for The Wedding Date.

THE VIDEO

The usual anamorphic widescreen presentation is good. Is it me or do the English locations and the colors of the costumes like the bridesmaid dresses stand out more on DVD?

THE AUDIO

The great songs on the soundtrack, many from silky-voiced crooner Michael Buble, sound that way thanks to Dolby Digital 5.1 of course. A Spanish language track and English and Spanish subtitles are available, too.

THE EXTRAS

Deleted Scenes: There are about nine in all, and only a few are actually extended scenes. A couple of the new scenes, such as the scene where Kat explains to the girls at the bachelor party the rules of pub golf, would have probably have improved the film if included. Otherwise, there is not much here.

Audio Commentary: Messing provides a track that is quite interesting and reveals some nice stuff about the filming and the story. She talks about the weather during the end wedding scene and keeps mentioning the small budget. Best of all is what she tells us about what else was cut out. For example, after mentioning a scene that is included in the deleted scenes here, she tells of another one that we don't see anywhere in which Nick sees Kat's ex Jeffrey kiss her and then Nick and Kat argue. It’s a good listen.

A Date With Debra: A nice, less than ten minute featurette in which Messing gives an interview revealing some things like the fact that Mulroney didn't wear the modesty patch for the memorable nude scene. A bit is repetition from the commentary, but still worth a watch.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The Wedding Date is served well on the small screen, which helps emphasize the romance through the performances and some production values in this DVD presentation. A few good bonus features make it worth buying for romantic comedy fans and probably worth a rental for others. Messing and Mulroney are the draws so given them a watch.