DVD Review: 'License to Wed'

I tried to watch "License to Wed," the Robin Williams comedy that recently arrived on DVD. I figured it would be nice to review a modern, mainstream movie for a change, and this one would tie into the whole Robin Williams Guilty Pleasure confession I made last week. (There's still time, by the way, to enter the Guilty Pleasures contest - and I've sweetened the pot with a second big prize. See the attached story for details.)

But "License to Wed" was too much. There was plenty of guilt but absolutely no pleasure.

Here's the plot, to spare the agony of renting the movie yourself: A pair of young lovebirds, Ben and Sadie (Jon Krasinski, aka Jim from "The Office," and Mandy Moore) decide to tie the knot. Sadie insists they get married by Rev. Frank (Williams, unfortunately). That means going through Rev. Frank's marriage boot camp - and that's where the movie goes horribly, horribly wrong.

Rev. Frank, to put it bluntly, is a creep. He's a bully, an egomaniac, and he has an unhealthy obsession with Sadie, whom he's apparently known since she was born.

His so-called "marriage training" is really an excuse to put Ben through all sorts of abuse, physical and psychological, in the guise of making sure he's ready to get married.

Any sane person would bail on this course right away (and maybe call the police), but not Ben. He just takes it because, if he didn't, there wouldn't be a movie.

I know. It's supposed to be a comedy. It's supposed to be funny. And that's the problem. Maybe - maybe - if "License to Wed" were a horror movie, with Williams reprising his creepy role from "One Hour Photo," it would work. But the truth is, Rev. Frank is the most disturbing character Williams has ever played. The attempts at laughter only add to the unpleasantness.

OK, to be honest, I hated about half this movie. I bailed at the 40-minute mark, just when lovable Rev. Frank was encouraging Ben and his in-laws to play some word association. (Now there's an original comedy gambit!) Maybe the movie turned itself around in the next 50 minutes and became funny, but I doubt it.

I don't award stars to DVDs I review, but if I did, "License to Wed" would get four black holes. On a scale of one to 10, it would get negative infinity. For a letter grade, it would get a Z-minus. And if I rated up by thumbs up or thumbs down, it would get two thumbs pointed downward, then chopped off and thrown to the bottom of an abandoned mine shaft.

As an alternative viewing tip, I recommend any other movie ever made.

Will Pfeifer writes about new DVDs on Tuesdays and older ones on Sundays. Contact him at 815-987-1244 or wpfeifer@rrstar.com. Some DVDs out today:

"Amazing Grace"

"Close Encounters of the Third Kind" Ultimate Edition

"Gilmore Girls" Season 7

"It's a Wonderful Life"

"La Vie En Rose"

"Ocean's 13"

"Paris Je T'Aime "

"Princess Bride" (20th Anniversary edition)

"Shrek The Third"

"The Young Ones"

And CDs:

"Now That's What I Call Music, Vol. 26"

Ja Rule, "The Mirror"

Alicia Keys, "As I Am"

Nelly, "Brass Knuckles"

Duran Duran, "Red Carpet Massacre"

The Killers, "Sawdust"

The Hives, "Black And White Album"

Queensryche, "Take Cover"

Seal, "System"

Sources: Daviddvd.com, tophitsonline.com