Is John Krasinski Hollywood's secret weapon? Just as he stole comic
thunder in It's Complicated, so does he take this rom-com by storm —
and with the happy help of the underused-on-the-big-screen Steve Howey
(yes, the guy from “Reba”) who has finally landed a juicy part.
Together, these two secondary characters punch up this predictable
slice of wedding cake — joined by a perfectly cast Kate Hudson, an
actress who can use up all the oxygen in the room, but who puts that
to good use here as the outrageously self-absorbed bride-to-be. The
lovers are pleasant, if unexceptional: Ginnifer Goodwin, wholesome and
adorable in a young Sally Fields way, and TV actor Colin Egglesfield,
who has the plastic handsomeness of a TV Romeo (although in one scene
toward the end he resembles Montgomery Clift). There's a badminton
scene leading up to the climax that crackles with tension and makes
you wish the rest of the movie had that much energy. But it never lags
badly, keeps you unsure of how it will end, and even has a satisfying
touch of ambiguity. With all that in mind, back to Krasinski: so
funny, and so ultimately affecting, it's his performance alone that's
worth your borrowed time. — Jeff Schultz