The Best Man

OK, I admit it, I do quite like romantic comedies, there, I said it. Sure I still whinge when the wife wants to go to one. I do get credit for going though, which means I can then take her to the latest action or sci-fi blockbuster (which she actually quite likes as well mind). In reality though I actually like that feel-good feeling that only a good romantic comedy can give you. The nice guy gets the girl and the scumbag gets humiliated and dumped. For a couple of hours life is the way it should be.

Finding a romantic comedy that gives you plenty of belly laughs is a rare thing. I’d settle for regular chuckles throughout most of the time. The Best Man is definitely more the latter than the former, more chuckles than belly laughs. Written by Ed Roe and Stefan Schwartz, Ed brings writing experience from numerous British TV comedies (20 things to do before you’re 30, Teachers, Smack the Pony to name a few), whilst writer director Stefan has taken on both rolls in a movie before (Shooting Fish).

Here, Stefan teams up Stuart Townsend again (best known as Dorain Gray from The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Jez from Shooting Fish). Stuart plays Olly, single, and all round nice guy. The initial back story explains that as a child Olly and his best friend, Murray (Seth Green with a surprisingly good English accent) were inseparable. Olly went to University and Murray didn’t. Whilst there Olly made a new friend, James, and after a disastrous party which ends with Murray vomiting all over James, Olly and Murray drift apart.


At the end of University Olly, intent on being a writer, takes the first couple of chapters of his first book to a publisher. Half expecting rejection he’s amazed to be told that it’s brilliant and to be given a £50,000 advance. Instead of taking confidence from the faith of the publisher, it adds a pressure that completely dries up Olly’s inspiration and has quite major implications for his life, women no longer notice him, he becomes clumsy, Olly, in short, has lost his spark. When further work fails to materialise the publisher takes the money back and Olly is totally washed up. Chance encounter brings Olly and Murray, now an estate agent, back together. After crashing on Murray’s couch, Olly gets a job he hates and gets his life back in some sort of order.

A few years go by and out of the blue Olly here’s from James, who he hasn’t heard from since he moved to America. James is getting married and wants Olly to be his best man (hence the title of the film). James and his fiancé through an engagement party at which Olly meats, and instantly falls in love with, Sarah. Unfortunately Sarah, initially, doesn’t tell Olly that she’s James’s fiancé. On admitting his ‘love at first sight’ encounter with his best friend, Murray swears to help (he never could stand James and so relishes the chance to get him back). Murray’s version of help isn’t so much making James look good, as stitching James up good and proper.

James and Sarah met, and fell in love, under strange circumstances. Both were involved in a subway crash in New York and met in hospital. Whilst at University James had a reputation as a bit of a womaniser, but to Olly it looks like meeting Sarah has changed him and he believes that he really loves her. With Murray generally up to no good trying to sabotage James and Sarah’s relationship, Olly tries to do the decent thing and forget his love for Sarah and try and minimise the damage caused by Murray. Over time though, Sarah starts to realise that she doesn’t really know James all that well. Will the chemistry between Olly and Sarah win through? Has James truly turned over a new leaf or has Murray got him pegged? For these answers and more you’ll just have to watch the film.


In terms of originality, there’s not a whole lot of it here. We’ve seen most of the general themes in other films, but still it makes for a nice story. All the requisite scenes are here for a romantic comedy including the last minute dash to the church to disrupt the wedding (with a slight twist on the mode of transport). There are a few funny moments, but I have to say that it’s mostly full of romantic sentiment than comedy. The characters are nice and well acted, particularly by Stuart Townsend and Seth Green, who, as Murray, brings us most of the comedic moments with his outrages antics to break up a seemingly happy couple.

The picture is nice and clear and is a 1.85:1 widescreen anamorphic presentation. The sound is in full 5.1 dolby digital, although there isn’t really much in a romantic comedy to test a surround sound setup. In this single disc edition there isn’t too much in the way of extras, but there are interviews with the actors, mainly them all gushing about the script, their characters and how nice it was to work with each other, so not really worth watching. In addition to that though there is a ‘making of’ documentary that consists of someone with a handycam filming then as they film the film. There’s no voice over so no explanation of what’s going on or what they’re trying to show, a lot of the time you can’t make out what they’re saying and the microphone on said handycam wasn’t a good one!

In short, if you like romantic comedies then you’ll like this. If however, you get dragged by your other half and genuinely suffer through them then steer them clear of this in HMV or Blockbusters ‘cause there’s probably not enough comedy here to make it worth while.