Licence to Wed

Robin Williams is a priest who ruins a happy couple’s relationship – and does his best to ruin this romantic comedy. Sadie (Mandy Moore) and Ben (John Krasinski) are a pleasant, if familiar couple: he goofy and well-meaning, she the friendly girl next door. They plan to marry in three weeks and mistakenly sign up for Reverend Frank’s pre-nuptial course. His purpose is to drive a wedge between the couple to make sure they can weather the storms: a cynical premise and one that’s totally unengaging. There’s no doubting that Sadie and Ben will unite in the end, and Reverend Frank’s laboured schemes provide a tiresome obstacle. He’s a smug control freak who bugs their apartment, bans them from sex and even forces Sadie to drive blindfolded. Most of his schemes are illegal, and Williams is annoying. And yet the film hails Frank as some kind of hero. Sharp comedy writing gives rise to some laugh-out-loud scenes, making this a sporadically funny watch, but the plot is so wrong-footed it beggars belief.