Made of Honor is a 2008 American romantic comedy film directed by Paul Weiland and written by Adam Sztykiel, Deborah Kaplan, and Harry Elfont. The film features actors Patrick Dempsey, Michelle Monaghan, and Sydney Pollack.

The story follows a man who enjoys dating many people as he falls in love with his best friend, but she becomes engaged to someone else. She asks him to be her maid of honor. The movie was released in the United States by Sony Pictures Releasing on May 2, 2008. Critics gave it mostly negative reviews, but the film earned $106.4 million worldwide.

Plot

On Halloween night in 1998, during his senior year at Cornell University, Tom Bailey Jr. dressed as Bill Clinton and entered the dark dorm room of Monica, his planned date. Thinking Monica was in the bed, he climbed in, but she sprayed him with perfume. It was actually Monica’s roommate, Hannah. They talked, but Tom said something unkind. Later, when Hannah and Tom returned to the room, a drunk Monica was waiting, but Tom left. Ten years later, Tom became rich in New York City because of his coffee collar invention, which earns him a dime each time it is used. Hannah, also in the city, remained Tom’s best friend. Tom continued to date a different woman every week, while Hannah stayed single and focused on her job at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Tom took Hannah to his father’s sixth wedding. They danced and shared a moment, but Tom still saw Hannah as a friend. After the wedding, Hannah told Tom she had a 6-week work trip to Scotland. Tom realized that dating different women each week was not fulfilling when he could not see Hannah. He decided to tell her he had feelings for her when she returned.

When Hannah returned, she brought Colin McMurray, a wealthy Scottish duke, as her fiancé. She asked Tom to be her maid of honor, and he agreed to spend time with her, try to stop the wedding, and win her heart. As Hannah’s maid of honor, Tom met the three bridesmaids. One was Melissa, Hannah’s cousin and a former girlfriend who was upset she was not chosen as a bridesmaid. Melissa tricked Tom into inviting Sharon, a sex toy saleswoman, to the bridal shower. Hannah was upset and almost fired Tom, but Tom used advice from his friends’ “How to Be a Perfect M-O-H 101” course to regain her trust. He impressed her with a plate-juggling performance during a shopping trip. Hannah said she would move to Scotland after the wedding.

Tom continued being a responsible maid of honor and traveled to Scotland with Hannah. At Eilean Donan Castle, he met Colin’s family. They held a different version of the Highland games, where the groom competed to prove himself worthy of his bride. Tom also participated, hoping to beat Colin but lost in the final round. At the rehearsal dinner, Colin’s family told Hannah that all the meat on the table came from animals Colin had killed. Hannah opposed eating animals. Later, Tom tried to help Hannah prepare her wedding vows but was interrupted by the bridesmaids, who took her to a bachelorette party.

At the party, Hannah had to give every man in the pub a peck for a coin, including Tom. When it was his turn, he kissed her secretly, and she kissed him back. Later, Hannah went to Tom’s room to talk about the kiss but found Melissa, drunk, trying to seduce him. Tom pushed Melissa away and ran after Hannah. Hannah refused to let Tom in and said she would marry Colin the next day. Heartbroken, Tom gave up being the maid of honor and decided to return home.

The next morning, Tom realized he had to stop the wedding. He told the driver to turn the car around. When the ferry was unavailable, he borrowed a horse to ride to the ceremony. As he approached the church, the horse stopped, throwing him through the chapel doors and interrupting the wedding. Hannah ran to him, and he told her he loved her. She realized she loved him too, kissed him, and called off the wedding, apologizing to Colin, who punched Tom. Tom and Hannah returned to New York and married on a rooftop under the stars, living happily ever after.

Production

The filming took 26 days to fit in Patrick Dempsey's other work on Grey's Anatomy. Dempsey joined the project before the director was chosen and decided to work with Paul Weiland after watching an early version of Weiland's coming-of-age film, Sixty-Six. The scene where Tom Bailey (Dempsey) juggles plates was not in the original script and was added during filming.

Eilean Donan Castle, where Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert) lived in the movie Highlander, was used for outside scenes showing one of the McMurray family homes.

Release

The movie Made of Honor had a special showing for celebrities at the Soho Hotel in London on April 21, 2008. It was released in the United States by Sony Pictures Releasing on May 2, 2008.

The film was made available on DVD and Blu-ray by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on September 16, 2008.

Reception

On its opening weekend, the film earned $15.5 million in 2,729 theaters across the United States and Canada, averaging about $5,679 per theater. It ranked second at the box office, behind the movie Iron Man. In total, the film earned $46 million in North America and $60 million internationally, reaching a worldwide total of $106 million. This amount was higher than its $40 million budget.

Made of Honor received negative reviews from critics, with some comparing it to a version of My Best Friend's Wedding with the genders swapped. On the website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 15% based on 124 reviews, with an average score of 4.1 out of 10. The site’s critics said, “Strong acting by Patrick Dempsey and Michelle Monaghan cannot fix the forgettable and unoriginal story or its weak humor.” On Metacritic, the film received a score of 37 out of 100 from 25 critics, indicating mostly negative reviews. Audiences who watched the film gave it a B+ rating on a scale from A to F.

Keith Phipps of The A.V. Club gave the film a C grade, noting that Patrick Dempsey and Michelle Monaghan performed well despite the story being predictable. He said Dempsey’s acting felt “plastic” and that the supporting characters were added to make him seem more interesting. Stephen Holden of The New York Times praised the script’s humor and the performances of Dempsey and Monaghan, especially Monaghan’s sweetness. Barbara Vancheri of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette highlighted the film’s use of Scotland’s romantic setting and the cast’s effort, though she noted the movie’s slapstick humor and ending borrowed from older films. She said the film was a good alternative to superhero movies for couples or women.

Elizabeth Weitzman of the New York Daily News said Dempsey’s timing was strong, but the script was weak and relied on jokes that mocked men. She called the film “depressing.” Philip Marchand of the Toronto Star noted the film’s focus on “insecure masculinity” and questioned whether it was making fun of characters or sharing their perspectives. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian said the film was “nonsensical” and criticized its unrealistic characters and poor use of Sydney Pollack’s acting. Ed Gonzalez of Slant Magazine called the film “predictable” and said it wasted Pollack’s reputation with unfunny jokes and a soundtrack that annoyed viewers.

The film was nominated for Choice Movie – Bromantic Comedy at the 2008 Teen Choice Awards but did not win, losing to What Happens in Vegas.