The Accidental Husband (2008)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

Griffin Dunne

Writers (WGA):

Mimi Hare (written by) &
Clare Naylor (written by) ...

Release Date:

27 March 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

Falling in love... even the expert is confused.

Plot:

When talk radio host Emma Lloyd advises one of her listeners to break up with her boyfriend, the jilted ex sets about getting his revenge.

Plot Keywords:

Pool Table | Church | Fireman | Drunk | Wedding

Cast

Uma Thurman	...	Dr. Emma Lloyd
Colin Firth	...	Richard Bratton
Jeffrey Dean Morgan	...	Patrick Sullivan
Sam Shepard	...	Wilder
Lindsay Sloane	...	Marcy
Justina Machado	...	Sofia
Keir Dullea	...	Karl Bollenbecker
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sherman Alpert	...	Book-signing party goer
Himad Beg	...	Indian
Devika Bhise	...	Chandini
James Thomas Bligh	...	Head Waiter
Jay Charan	...	Indian (voice)
Sarita Choudhury	...	Sunny
Hudson Cooper	...	Security Guard #2
Gary Cowling	...	Clerk
Joseph DeBona	...	Friend in Van
Kevin Dhaniram	...	Principal Dancer #4
Kelly Ebsary	...	Fan
Audrey Elizabeth Fafard	...	Cocktail Waitress
Santo Fazio	...	Security guard #1
Michael Ferreira	...	Cake Consultant
Ben Hauck	...	Probie
Zeke Hawkins	...	Katerina's Fiance
Sandhya Jain	...	Principal Dancer #1
Matthew Kehoe	...	Guy on Vespa
Kristina Klebe	...	Katerina Bollenbecker
Lindsey Kraft	...	Lauren
Ilana Levine	...	Autograph Seeker
Michael Mosley	...	Declin
Ajay Naidu	...	Deep
Pooja Narang	...	Principal Dancer #2
Adesola A. Osakalumi	...	Didier
Rob Pedini	...	Soccer Player
Thom Prin Jr.	...	Fireman #1
Sibtain Rahim	...	Principal Dancer #3
Isabella Rossellini	...	Mrs. Bollenbecker
Jeffrey Tedmori	...	Ajay
Uzimann	...	Wedding Guest
Raj Vasudeva	...	Deep's Guest
Andrew Waldinger	...	Wedding Guest

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some sexual content and brief strong language.

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Ireland:12A | Australia:PG | UK:12A | Netherlands:AL

Filming Locations:

Engine 312 - 22-63 35th Street, Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Blumhouse Productions

Quotes:

[from trailer]
Patrick: [with a mouth full of sample wedding cake] This cake is fantastic!
Emma: Shh. Please...
Patrick: You mix these two together, it tastes just like a ring-ding.
Emma: [Patrick shoves a fork of cake in her face] No. No, no.
Patrick: Ah!
Emma: No.
Patrick: Ah!
Emma: [she accepts the forkful of cake] it was yummy.
Patrick: It's super-duper.

Soundtrack:

THENALI(TAMIL)

An implausible waste of time and nothing more

Another trip to the pictures and another anodyne rom-com lined up for me by the Better Half. I don't know whether I'm starting to get sick of films like this or whether this film has some pretty serious flaws but however you look at it, this really felt like a large waste of time. Sure, Uma Thurman looks good and if that's all you look for in a movie then fine but those of us expecting witty dialogue, a feel-good romance filled with unpredictable twists and turns or even half-decent acting will have to look elsewhere as this feels as witless and uninspired as its title.

Thurman plays New York radio love doctor Emma Lloyd, engaged to be married to her publicist Richard (Colin Firth) and also about to launch her book whilst dispensing advice on all matters of the heart. Unfortunately for fire fighter Patrick Sullivan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), she manages to convince his girlfriend to call off their wedding. Seeking revenge for having his heart broken, Patrick hacks into the State department and registers himself as being married to Emma (as you do!), throwing her whole life out of sync. But as the prank backfires, Patrick and Emma forget their initial dislike of the other and are forced to confront the growing attraction between them.

Even forgetting the complete lack of plausibility, "The Accidental Husband" is a tiresome slog through every rom-com stereotype you can think of. Its absence of imagination, chemistry and genuine humour kill it from the off, meaning that this movie was never destined to be an absolute classic. Thurman, whilst looking a million dollars, comes across like some spoilt poor little rich kid, Firth is underused and woefully under-developed (why does he stress-eat, for example?) while Morgan is less like Brad Pitt and more like Brad Garrett - hardly ideal qualities for a romantic leading man. The movie has a few moments that raise a smile but never anything to make you choke on your popcorn with laughter or worse, nothing you haven't seen a million times before. Personally, the guy who deserves most credit is the guy nobody will remember when they leave the theatre - Ajay Naidu as Patrick's Indian friend Deep gets the best lines and the best scenes but he simply doesn't appear often enough to warrant the price of a cinema ticket.

I had reasonable hopes for this after spotting the trailer when I was dragged to see... I mean, when I went to watch "PS - I Love You" at the start of the year but I'm afraid "The Accidental Husband" is a long way short of even that. It's one-dimensional and about as dumb a movie as you're likely to see this year until "Meet The Spartans" is released. If you've not seen a rom-com for a while then maybe this might do the trick but quite frankly, there are much better films out there than this hair-brained nonsense. And even if rom-coms are your thing and you see them with frightening regularity (even if it's not through choice!), "The Accidental Husband" will be largely forgotten. Now, where's my receipt..?