Made of Honor

Made of Honor (Made of Honour in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, and Australia) is a 2008 American romantic comedy film directed by Paul Weiland and written by Adam Sztykiel, Deborah Kaplan, and Harry Elfont. The film stars Patrick Dempsey, Michelle Monaghan, and Sydney Pollack, in his final screen appearance prior to his death less than a month after the film's release.

Not to be confused with Maid of honor.
Made of Honor
Promotional poster
Directed byPaul Weiland
Screenplay by
Story byAdam Sztykiel
Produced byNeal H. Moritz
Starring
CinematographyTony Pierce-Roberts
Edited byRichard Marks
Music byRupert Gregson-Williams
Production
companies
Distributed bySony Pictures Releasing
Release date
  • May 2, 2008 (2008-05-02)
Running time
101 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$40 million[1]
Box office$106.4 million[1]

The plot follows a lifelong playboy who falls in love with his best friend, only to have her get engaged and ask him to be her maid of honor. It was released by Columbia Pictures in the United States on May 2, 2008. The film garnered negative reviews from critics who criticized the formulaic humor and script, but grossed $106.4 million worldwide against a $40 million budget making it a box office success.

Plot

On Halloween night 1998 admist his senior year at Cornell University, Tom Bailey, Jr., dressed as Bill Clinton, enters the dark dorm room of Monica, his pre-arranged date. Thinking Monica is in the bed, he climbs in and she maces him with perfume.

It was actually Monica's geeky roommate, Hannah. They flirt but he insults her. When Hannah and Tom return to the dorm room, a drunken Monica is there waiting, but he doesn't stay.

Ten years later, Tom is now wealthy in NYC as his "coffee collar" invention pays him a dime every time one is used. Hannah, also in the city, has stayed best friends with him ever since that night in college. Tom continues to sleep with a different girl every week, while Hannah stays single, focusing on her career at the MET.

Tom takes Hannah to his father's sixth wedding. They share an intimate moment when they dance, however, Tom still thinks of her as his best friend.

Hannah has a 6-week-work trip to Scotland. Tom realizes that, being with a different woman week after week isn't fulfilling when he can't see Hannah. Realizing he has feelings for Hannah, Tom decides to tell her when she returns.

Hannah does not come back alone; she brings Colin, a wealthy Scottish Duke, as her fiancé. Asking Tom to be her maid of honor he accepts. He does so to spend time with Hannah, convince her to stop the wedding and win her heart.

As Hannah's maid of honor, Tom is introduced to the three bridesmaids. One is Melissa, Hannah's cousin and an ex, whose heart he broke and is now upset that she isn't the maid of honor. Melissa sabotages the bridal shower by tricking him into inviting a sex toy salesman as a party entertainer.

Believing it was Tom's idea, Hannah gets upset and almost fires Tom, but thanks to his friends' How To Be A Perfect M-O-H 101 course, he wins her trust back. Taking her shopping, he impresses her with a plate-juggling performance. Hannah enjoys it, but reveals she is moving to Scotland after the wedding.

Tom, almost accepting defeat, continues being a responsible M-O-H by traveling to Scotland with Hannah. After their arrival at Eilean Donan Castle, he meets Colin's family. They have a variant of the Highland Games, in which the groom competes to prove himself worthy of his bride. Tom also participates, hoping to defeat Colin, but he loses in the last round.

At the rehearsal dinner, Colin's family proudly tells Hannah (who opposes to the killing and eating of animals) that every plate of meat on the table is from animals that Colin killed. Later that night, Tom offers to help go over her vows. As he starts to tell her his feelings, the other bridesmaids interrupt, dragging Hannah to her bachelorette party.

Hannah has to give every man in the pub a peck for a coin (Scottish tradition), including Tom. When it is his turn, without anyone looking, he passionately kisses her, and she kisses back.

Afterwards, Hannah goes to Tom's room to discuss the kiss but sees Melissa trying to seduce him. Seeing Hannah at the door, he pushes Melissa off and runs after her. Hannah refuses to let Tom into her room and she tells him she is still marrying Colin the next day. The distressed Tom gives up being the M-O-H as he cannot bear to watch them marry.

As he is leaving the next morning, Tom has a change of heart and turns back. Finding the only ferry unavailable, he borrows a horse to ride to the ceremony. As he is riding up to the church doors, the horse stops, sending him flying through the chapel doors and interrupting the wedding.

Hannah rushes to Tom's side and he declares his love. She realizes she loves Tom back and kisses him passionately, calling off the wedding and apologizing to Colin, who punches Tom in the face.

Tom and Hannah go back to New York together, getting married on a rooftop under the stars and live happily ever after.

Cast

Production

The filming schedule was 26 days to accommodate Patrick Dempsey's commitments to Grey's Anatomy. Dempsey was part of the project before the director was chosen and agreed to Weiland after seeing an early cut of his coming-of-age film Sixty-Six.[2] The scene where Dempsey juggles plates was not in the script and was added on the day.[3][2]

Eilean Donan castle, famously the home of Connor MacLeod in the Highlander film, was used for exterior shots of one of the McMurray family homes.[4][5]

Release

Made of Honor was originally rated R for "some sex-related material", but was later rated PG-13 for "sexual content and language".[6] In Australia, it is rated M. In Sweden, the Swedish National Board of Film Censors rated the uncut version as suitable for all ages.[7]

In the UK the British Board of Film Certification (BBFC) rated it a 12 for "Moderate Language and Sex References".[8] When released on DVD, it was rated 12 for "Strong Sex References".[9]

Reception

Box office

In its opening weekend, the film grossed $15.5 million in 2,729 theaters in the United States and Canada, averaging $5,679 per theater, and ranking #2 at the box office behind Iron Man.[1] It grossed a total of $46 million in North American and $60 million internationally, for a total worldwide gross of $106 million, against its $40 million budget.[1]

Made of Honor was released on DVD and Blu-ray on September 16, 2008.[10]

Critical response

Made of Honor received negative reviews from critics, and was called a gender swapped version of My Best Friend's Wedding.[11][12][13][14] On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 16% approval rating based on 126 reviews, with an average rating of 4.1/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Sharp performances by Patrick Dempsey and Michelle Monaghan can't save this forgettable, formulaic chick flick from its comic failings."[15] On Metacritic, the film holds a weighted average score of 37 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[16] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "B+" on scale of A to F.[17]

Keith Phipps of The A.V. Club gave the film an overall C grade, giving credit to the performances of Pollack and Monaghan for being surprisingly good in a by-the-numbers romantic story alongside Dempsey displaying "plastic sincerity" in his role, saying: "It's telling that he's followed by a string of sidekicks apparently created to make him less bland by comparison."[11] The New York Times' Stephen Holden commended the punch-up of the script for adding "tart satirical flavors to a cotton-candy formula" and the screen presence of both Dempsey and Monaghan, highlighting the latter for giving "enough sweetness to satisfy the cotton-candy addicts."[12] Barbara Vancheri of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette praised the utilization of the "picturesque, romantic" Scotland setting and the cast's willingness to perform, despite devolving into slapstick comedy and tacking on a 1940s film ending. She concluded by explaining its release alongside Iron Man saying: "Made of Honor is made to order for women or couples looking for an alternative to the comic-book adaptation and for a romcom with such obvious and memorable film forebears, it's still breezy fun."[18]

Elizabeth Weitzman from the New York Daily News gave credit to Dempsey for his comedic timing over material containing "snickering emasculation" and director Paul Weiland for his "brisk pace" direction over "a lazy script from three screenwriters who take the low road every time." She concluded that: "The cinematic equivalent of a cookie-cutter wedding, Made of Honor ultimately feels a little depressing."[13] Philip Marchand of the Toronto Star noted how the film's content contains "numerous references to insecure masculinity", saying that: "It's often a problem to determine when a movie is satirizing characters from a superior height and when it's sharing the mental level of those characters."[19] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian said about the film beyond its "gibberish" title: "Everything else about it is plasticky and nonsensical with no one behaving like a real carbon-based life-form. Monaghan's charm is stifled, and a classy cameo from Sydney Pollack as Dempsey's scapegrace dad goes for nothing. A film to leave at the altar."[14] Ed Gonzalez from Slant Magazine called the film "soul-crushingly predictable", lamenting the misuse of Pollack's "ostensible prestige" only for it to be diminished by Kevin Sussman's character, unfunny sex jokes, an irritating soundtrack and defamation of Scottish people.[20]

The film was nominated for Choice Movie - Bromantic Comedy at the 2008 Teen Choice Awards, but ultimately lost to What Happens in Vegas.[21]

References
  1. "Made of Honor (2008)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  2. Caroline Siede (2020-04-10). "When Romance Met Comedy: I can't stop watching Made Of Honor". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  3. Rebecca Thomas (28 April 2008). "Talking Shop: Patrick Dempsey". BBC.
  4. Clodgah Finn (10 September 2016). "The real stories behind the Hollywood backdrops". Irish Examiner. Eilean Donan castle is most famous for its appearance in Highlander.
  5. "Made of Honor Filming Locations in Scotland (+ Map!)". Almost Ginger. 22 February 2021.
  6. Brevet, Brad (April 9, 2008). "Latest MPAA Ratings: #100". Rope of Silicon. Archived from the original on February 14, 2009. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
  7. "Swedish National Board of Filmcensors". July 24, 2008. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved July 24, 2008.
  8. "MADE OF HONOR rated 12A by the BBFC". BBFC.co.uk. April 21, 2008. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
  10. "Made of Honor DVD Release Date September 16, 2008". DVDs Release Dates. Archived from the original on March 1, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  11. Phipps, Keith (May 1, 2008). "Made of Honor · Film Review". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  12. Holden, Stephen (May 2, 2008). "My Best Friend's Big Fat (Shouldn't Happen) Scottish Wedding". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 7, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  13. Weitzman, Elizabeth (June 3, 2008). "'Made of Honor' is wedding tale with a familiar ring". New York Daily News. Tribune Publishing. Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  14. Bradshaw, Peter (May 2, 2008). "Made of Honour". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on November 30, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  15. "Made of Honor (2008)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  16. "Made of Honor Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on August 30, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  17. Joshua Rich (May 6, 2008). "Update: Iron Man opened with $98.6 mil". Entertainment Weekly. a merely okay B+ CinemaScore grade, so don't expect the film to hold up particularly well
  18. Vancheri, Barbara (May 2, 2008). "Movie Review: 'Made of Honor'". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Block Communications. Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  19. Marchand, Philip (May 2, 2008). "'Made of Honor': Not made in heaven". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on November 24, 2020. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  20. Gonzalez, Ed (April 29, 2008). "Review: Made of Honor". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on September 28, 2020. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  21. "2008 Teen Choice Awards winners and nominees". Los Angeles Times. June 17, 2008. Archived from the original on September 12, 2008. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
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