Let me preface this blog with the advice that this movie is a waste of time. I went to see it with my husband and my mother in law and what looked like a mildly amusing romp in previews was actually a guide for all the things you shouldn’t do when getting ready to get married. First and foremost, the preface of the movie is that the boy meets girl, boy and girl date, boy and girl fall in love and move in together – boy proposes and girl wants to get married at her family church with the reverend Father Frank performing the ceremony.
It pretty much goes downhill from there. Father Frank is delighted to marry them, however – the couple will need to undergo his premarital preparation course. It’s important to recognize that the course is conducted by Father Frank and that it involves doing all kinds of things like getting them to say negative things about each other, teaching them about trust and faith in each other and more – but Frank bugs their apartment and puts them under surveillance.
The characters become more and more unlikeable throughout the film and you get a pretty clear picture that the bride has faith in everyone but the man she wants to marry and that’s an ugly truth that they need to confront head on.
The one good piece of advice the film offered was this small moment where Frank tells them that it’s very typical for newlyweds to use sex to repair their relationship – i.e. they have a fight and instead of trying to resolve the problem – they just have sex and white wash that they had a problem to begin with.
Frank’s right – that’s not a way to solve your problems because sex doesn’t make the problem go away, on the other hand – making love with your partner can make you more amenable and open to solving the problem, but that’s just my opinion. I think premarital education courses have their hearts in the right place – but this film is a guide to all the things NOT to do and when the best part of the film is seeing Robin William’s Father Frank getting punched in the face, and then you know it’s not that great.
What do you think about premarital education?