Made of Honor Parent Guide

The old saying, “You snooze, you loose” has definite application in the life of Tom (Patrick Dempsey). His first meeting with Hannah (Michelle Monaghan) was anything but spectacular—he was expecting a different woman to be in the bed he was jumping into. Now, ten years and who knows how many beds later, Hannah, working as a contract artist in New York City, is relegated to being Tom’s Sunday girl, best friend and possibly the only female he relates to on a non-sexual basis. She told him that fateful night a decade earlier when she kicked him out of the sack that she would never sleep with him. And she appears to be one of the few women in the Big Apple who has never taken a bite.

Not surprisingly, as is often the case in the movies, Hannah’s IQ took a nosedive with the passing of time. Now her eyes are beginning to twinkle when she spends time with the hypersexual bachelor. Even Tom’s pick up basketball buddies can see the young lady is yearning for more than a chat over coffee, and they suggest that perhaps it’s time for their thirty-something teammate to move Hannah off the back burner and kindle a real relationship.

To help his heart grow even fonder, the screenwriters (who have penned the cinematic classics Josie and the Pussycats and The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas) ship Hannah off to Scotland on a work assignment for six-weeks. The absence works, and by the time she returns Tom is ready to almost commit for the first time in his life (his prowling instincts still aren’t quite ready to handle marriage).

However, it turns out Hannah has found more than bagpipes and haggis in the lush countryside. Bringing home Colin (Kevin McKidd), a wealthy man with a zest for life and a small castle for every season of the year, it seems there is only one position left for Tom in Hannah’s life—to be her maid of honor at the wedding which is planned a mere fortnight away.

At first reluctant to accept, Tom’s friends convince the heartbroken Casanova the only way he can steal the bride is by becoming her right hand woman. With the ulterior motive firmly in mind, he determines to be the best MOH the world has ever seen, and begins a dizzying circuit of luncheons, selecting china patterns, and arranging dresses for the bridesmaids (one of whom he has previously bedded… of course).

Somehow, from the perspective of the audience, it’s hard to believe a man who books his partners according to days of the week, can—in a mere eight weeks—be ready to love only one woman. It is also a little incredulous that Hannah, a supposedly intelligent woman, could possibly expect high fidelity from a lowbrow like this guy. Nor does the watching get any easier as the script wades through crude anatomical terms, crass terms for sex, innuendo and word plays along with the single use of a sexual expletive. Descriptive talk about male genitals and sexual positions are heard in addition to visual depictions of guys in a shower room (a brief, blurred view from the rear is shown) and a desperate, underwear-clad woman sitting atop a clothed man from whom she is demanding sex.

This unnecessary content tarnishes a few truly funny moments offered in the predictable film, like when the pathetic hero tries to get his head around the fact his girl is marrying someone else (his surprise accidentally levels a waiter with a stack of dishes—twice), as well as his blunderings due to his lack of knowledge about all things wedding. Unfortunately, even the hoped for positive change that comes from Tom’s illuminating heart-to-heart chat with his six-times divorced father, is dimmed by the constant portrayal of characters who are not made of honor.

Beyond the movie ratings: What parents need to know about Made of Honor...

Originally rated R by the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America), this movie was re-rated PG-13 after some careful trimming. Even so, there is plenty of sexual content including verbal innuendo, rude terms for anatomy and phrases with sexual double-meanings. The principal male character enthusiastically brags about having a different woman every night of the week, which he has been doing for years without any consequence. Many women are also seen begging for his attention—one is shown wearing only underwear while demanding he has sex with her. On three occasions a couple in shown in bed, but without sexual activity. In a shower room, many topless men are shown as well as a few brief, blurred views of the backside of some naked male bodies. Language consists of moderate and mild profanities, terms of deity and a single sexual expletive, along with teasing using derogatory terms. A woman sprays a man with a substance because she thinks he is trying to rape her. A man punches another man. Many characters drink, sometimes to the point of drunkenness, and a few background characters are seen smoking.

About author

Rod Gustafson

Rod Gustafson has worked in various media industries since 1977. He founded Parent Previews in 1993, and today continues to write and broadcast the reviews in newspapers, on radio and (of course) on the Internet. His efforts also include writing and researching media in all its forms and observing how it effects society and culture. He and his wife Donna have four children.