February 14, 2005
LICENSE TO WED
Screenplay by Kim Barker
Synopsis by Brian Aldrich
Timid substitute teacher BEN MURPHY finds himself assigned to the girls’ gymnastics class at Boston’s Brookline Prep School. On his first day with the class, the students completely walk all over him. Ben’s florist girlfriend SADIE JONES has obtained the Carlisle Hotel account. Ben becomes jealous of rich and handsome CEO CRAIG CARLISE, fearing Craig has designs on Sadie. Ben and Sadie become engaged. They planned to get married in Hawaii, but after GRANDMA JONES made them feel guilty, they agreed to get married in their local church St. Augustine’s. Ben and Sadie go to the church to arrange the plans. They meet REVEREND FRANK, a high-spirited, eccentric minister, who informs them of the marriage preparatory program they must take before he can approve their marriage and the use of the church. He warns them the program will be difficult. After Ben and Sarah agree, Frank explains the enormous amount of detailed personal and financial background information they must provide him.
Filling out the application form and gathering all the information turns out to be an arduous task, but Ben and Sadie get the job done and show up for their first counseling meeting. Frank’s unorthodox methods of preparing couples for marriage appears outrageous to them and they consider pleading with her family to change the venue and stop their counseling with Frank. But when Frank charms the Jones family, they are stuck taking the class. Frank uses a phony emergency to get Ben and Sadie out of their jobs to meet with him. He takes them to a hospital where NURSE BORMAN shows them the horrors of childbirth and illustrates the responsibilities of being parents. The program begins to affect Ben and Sadie’s relationship. Sadie becomes disturbed at the new things she’s learning about her fiancé. Frank and his ubiquitous assistant, CHOIR BOY, sneak into Ben’s apartment and find his porno stash. In Sadie’s apartment, they find out she spends a lot of money on expensive shoes. Frank shows up at Ben’s bachelor party and motivates him to let loose. Ben gets drunk, spends half of his savings on booze and wakes up on the Jones’ front lawn in a cheerleader outfit. Frank also sends male strippers to Sadie’s party despite her agreement with Ben not to have strippers at either party. Furious Sadie begins to have doubts about their marriage. She goes to the Carlisle resort to work with Craig. Frank and Choir Boy discuss Craig’s virtues in front of Ben. Jealous Ben heads off to the resort to plead his case with Sadie. She is too busy to talk with him, but Frank advises him to keep trying. Eventually, Ben makes a fool of himself in front of Sadie, Craig and her clients. Ben and Sadie make up. When Craig invites them to a shooting range, he shows off his excellence and superiority to Ben. When he teaches Sadie how to shoot, he gets a little too close to her for Ben’s comfort. With Frank’s prodding, Ben makes a public scene and accuses Craig of trying to seduce his fiancée. Sadie loses the account and calls off the wedding. She even burns her wedding dress and plans to go off to Hawaii with her roommate KAREN.
Ben is devastated. After explaining how his course serves to illustrate the difficulties of marriage, Frank gives Ben a pep talk and explains how Ben has learned to stand up himself. When Ben goes back to gym class, he takes control and earns the students’ respect. Ben decides to go ahead with the wedding and trick Sadie into showing up at the church. With the assistance of his students, Frank and Choir Boy, Ben arranges the wedding. Sadie is tricked into showing up at the church and succumbs to Ben’s honest proposal.
Summary Criticism: Similar to the “Meet the Parents” franchise, this domestic comedy proves to be quite humorous. The script is well-crafted and the characters are sympathetic.
License To Wed (2007) - imdb
License To Wed (2007) - wiki
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