By Jae-Ha Kim
Amazon.com
July 21, 2007
Capitalizing on the charisma of John Stamos and Eric Dane, Wedding Wars is a romantic comedy with a political agenda–gay marriage. No, Stamos and Dane don’t play lovers, but rather estranged siblings.
Dane leaves behind his McSteamy persona from Grey’s Anatomy to portray Ben, a slightly uptight man who ends up hiring his gay brother Shel (Stamos) to be his wedding planner. The two seem to be getting along famously, but then politics enters the fray.
Ben is engaged to the governor’s daughter, and the governor (James Brolin) has taken a public stance against same sex marriage. Though his constituents seem to approve of his political agenda, Shel doesn’t. And he shows his displeasure by walking off the job.
Though the comedy gets a tad preachy about the inequalities gays face in society, Wedding Wars handles a serious subject in a funny and touching manner. The governor isn’t as homophobic as his politics would have you believe.
And the film gently addresses how the passive reluctance of politicians to say what they really feel, as opposed to what they think they should say, can hurt the people they serve.
Stamos, who has made a career for himself playing the onscreen object of female desire, offers a wonderful performance that is witty and likeable. Shel doesn’t go out of his way to tout his sexual orientation, but–unlike the governor, and to a lesser extent Ben–he also isn’t afraid of letting his true voice be heard.
