MADE OF HONOUR

"Tom, will you be my maid of honour?"

For ten years Tom's (Dempsey) best friend Hannah (Monaghan) had been the one constant woman in his life. As he bed hopped from one beautiful woman to another, inventing rules that would never allow anyone to really get close to him, he knew that his college friend would always be there for him. When Hannah goes to Scotland on business however, Tom realises that she might just be more than just a best friend and decides to tell her how he feels when she returns but what he doesn't account for is that Hannah has been swept off her feet by Scottish nobleman Colin McMurray (McKidd) and the couple are going to get married and his best friend has an unusual request, that Tom be her maid of honour.

For many a movie, the best man has played a pivotal role at many a wedding but what if the best man became the maid of honour?

In modern times and modern movies, it is not uncommon for a man and women to be best friends but as Harry said to Sally back in 1989 this is impossible because one of them will inevitably fall in love with the other one. 'Made of Honour' takes this premise and tries to run with it but unfortunately forget to inject some laughs into the proceedings.

The premise tries to put a little twist on the usual wedding movie. Here instead of a best man we have a male maid of honour, as Hannah's best friend happens to be a man, Tom. Of course Tom is a philanderer, jumping from one bed to another but when Hannah returns from a job in Scotland with a fiancé, Tom realises that he love her and must do anything to stop the wedding, even becoming her maid of honour. While this might not be the most original premise, it does seem like it would be good enough to provide some laugher but instead all with have is cliché and a stereotypical look at a Scottish family.

This is a shame because the cast is good. Michelle Monaghan is finally getting the big screen recognition she deserves by getting another starring role and she is as charming as ever. As Hannah, she is a believeable love interest and you can understand why Tom and Colin would fall for her. The same cannot be said for Patrick Dempsey's character Tom. Here is a man who uses women, sleeping with them and then clearing out, harking back to the 70s before the advent of HIV. We are supposed to think that this character deserves Hannah and back his quest to win her from Colin, while still pretending to be his friend. Patrick Dempsey is a likable actor but even he can't make Tom a character that you would like to win the day. Kevin McKidd, a true Scotsman, has to pander to the Hollywood version of Scotland when an actor of his calibre (just watch the hit HBO TV show 'Rome') deserves a lot more.

'Made of Honour' is saved simply by the presence of Michelle Monaghan. Without her, this film has little going for it because of its lack of real laughs and a protagonist that you really want to triumph.