Dir: Michael Ian Black

Starring: Jason Biggs, Isla Fisher, Joe Pantoliano

There is somewhat of a requirement in the film industry to churn out manufactured formula-abiding films for the sake of fulfilling their annual quota. So, not-so-much to compete with Spiderman 3, Fantastic Four 2, Shrek the Third or Pirates of the Carribean 3, we are presented with Wedding Daze which, by the look of it, appears to replicate just about every American teen/romantic comedy made in the last ten years (even as far as the red and white themed poster).

In Wedding Daze, Jason Biggs (American Pie) stars as Anderson who, after his girlfriend dies of a fatal heart attack immediately after he proposes to her, never wants to love another person ever again. Meanwhile, Isla Fisher (Home & Away, Wedding Crashers) is Katie, trapped in a relationship she doesn’t want to be in. So, when the pair meet in a diner, he jokingly proposes and she accepts. The plot is actually quite interesting but not spectacularly original.

Biggs has an excellent comic timing and is perfectly suited to the role of the normal guy who gets himself into unfortunate situations, although it is effectively the same role he always plays. It was refreshing to see a change in format; the love interest had exactly the same character traits as him, rather than be perfect in every way - which is usually the case.  Fisher is more than capable of playing that role.

The modern feel-good soundtrack combined with some good dialogue to produce some genuinely enjoyable moments. In one particular scene as Katie is attempting to seduce him, Anderson mistakenly spits out toothpaste in her eye.

However, it is the supporting characters that really make or break films like these and, in Wedding Daze, they have long been broken…severely. It is not that the film is poorly cast; it is more that the roles are abysmally written. There are insignificant sub-plots involving unnecessary and, at times, tasteless characters.

The film weakly executes what was, initially, a nice premise with a lot of potential and becomes a watered-down, low budget version of Meet the Fockers.

It is certainly not memorable but I have seen much worse and, if you want to fill the void between the blockbusters, you might want to give it a chance. It is much better than The Break-Up, and the Fisher/Biggs pairing is much more entertaining.

For every Lock, Stock and Snatch there is a Revolver, for every Casino Royale there is a Die Another Day and for every Meet The Parents there is, unfortunately, a Wedding Daze.

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