'Cause All Of The Stars Are Fading Away, Just Try Not To Worry, You'll See Them Someday, Take What You Need And Be On Your Way

--"Stop Crying Your Heart Out", Oasis

Dear Made of Honor,

I went in determined not to like you. Usually I'm such a pushover for romantic comedies that it would've been no big deal for me to walk in to see another one. However, I'd been let down by movies centering on best friends--one guy, one girl--who discover that they may have feelings for each other. Yes, When Harry Met Sally is still one of my favorite romantic comedies of all time, but even that I thought lacked a certain believability that those two could have ever really been friends. I don't know what it was. Maybe I thought the character of Harry was kind of grating or perhaps I thought Sally was just a mess. All I knew was that if these two were friends, they would've had had a lot more problems than whether or not they belonged with one another. It was a good movie, but I sincerely shied away from it being a portrayal of long-lasting friendship.

And don't even get me started on My Best Friend's Wedding. I have taken so much grief over that movie over the years that it's not even funny. However, the reason I dislike this movie isn't because I didn't buy into the depiction of friendship. Friendships abound and flourish in this movie. Not only did I believe that Julia Roberts and Dermot Mulroney could be friends, but I also thought the film did a great job in cluing us in that Julia and Rupert Everett could be friends. Hell, I even thought Julia and Cameron Diaz could have been friends. No, the reason I have a gripe against My Best Friend's Wedding is because the two people that are supposed to be together don't end up together. What kind of Hollywood ending is that? I can't even tell you how many friends I've known who've bitched over the same ending.

I'm not saying I have anything against Miss Diaz's character, but let's just say I can empathize with Miss Robert's plight. For her to go through all that effort and not come away with the prize at the end is absolutely crushing to a guy like me. She put in her time, she should be rewarded. That's my theory.

Which brings me to you, Made of Honor. I walked into the theaters, prepared to be crushed again because, honestly, you appeared to be a retread of the aforementioned Wedding except with the main characters flip-flopped. I thought, do I really want to see another story of two friends who've known each other half their lives NOT end up together? Do I want to put myself through such heartache again? At the outset my answer would have been no, but then other factors kept creeping in. One, I adore well-done romantic comedies and Nora had been texting me all week that I needed to see this film. Two, I've been a big fan of Michelle Monaghan ever since Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang and I've yet to be disappointed by her films. And three, I needed something to take my mind off Ilessa's impending graduation. So I went in yesterday, steeling myself to be utterly disappointed by an unromantic ending.

You know what, though? You turned my mind around. Not only do I think that Tom and Hannah make believable best friends, but all the small quirks and habits they share really reminded me how it's supposed to look like. The back-and-forth conversations, the private jokes, the unnoticeable-except-if-you're-looking-for-it shared habits--I identified with all of it. From the first few minutes of the movie I was hooked on that fact alone. You did a commendable job of showing a tried-and-true relationship between best friends.

Then you did me one better. You showed what it's like to come to the realization that one person may have feelings for the other and how difficult the choice to say something really is. You showed that in all its excruciating detail. You made me feel all the pain and discomfort associated with that deliberation. That's a special level of hell right there... and you took me right along to that hell. Congratulations.

But I think what I appreciated the most is that you ended the story correctly. Yeah, I know there are some individuals who will tell you that there is no "correct" ending. It's all about how you can tie the ending back to the premise, they will say. I don't buy that, though. I think there's a single ending that will satisfy the audience's romantic sensibilities. You may not think it's believable or that it's been done before. I think the reason it keeps working is because people keep wanting to see it. Nobody wants to walk out of a film wishing it could have ended differently and, for once, for this type of movie, I thought the movie ended on exactly the right note. You got it right; you got it so right.

So, yeah, I just wanted to write you a small letter thanking you for your time. I found you enjoyable, pleasant, and overwhelmingly cordial. You allowed me close to two hours of being able to believe in the power of friendship and love again. You showed me that, despite everything else, there's a good reason why we go through the big hassle of having close friends at all. I wanted you to know that because of you I came away with a smile for the first time this week.

And I also wanted you to know that when you do finally arrive on DVD, you're definitely going to be picked to be put into my collection.

You rock.

Yours Swimmingly,
mojo shivers


and stop crying your heart out

Post-Scriptum - I should have gone to Breanne's wedding.