Ray Pride

Fluff is tough.

Early reviews have thrashed "The Wedding Planner" for being a straightforward, old-fashioned, almost irony-free romantic comedy. A bad call, I think, as the innocence and earnestness of this tale of two fated lovers who are kept apart by chance has its own charm. Jennifer Lopez, amusing and charming, plays an overworked San Francisco wedding planner who, wouldn't you know, is alone in her own life. One of her most important upcoming events is for an equally type-A executive, Bridgette Wilson-Sampras. By chance Lopez is saved from a traffic accident by doctor Matthew McConaughey (a sweet, drawling star-charm turn). And who is he about to marry? Complications ensue, including an overextended subplot with an almost stalker-like Italian in love with Jennifer, and another great turn as Lopez's assistant by Judy Greer (the only saving grace in "What Women Want").

Effervescent choreographer-turned-director Adam Shankman says he blocked each and every instant. "Every scene in this movie is heavily staged. There is nothing random in terms of staging. But that's my background."

Describing how he shot several scenes that, unfortunately, are filled with plot points, he sums up by saying that he explained his approach to the actors like this: "First of all, it's a movie, and second, it's prettier. You see the movie, you'll see. I actually staged their sitting. It all gives just a little flourish. It ups the movie a little teeny bit. And that's definitely like old movies."

He found an easy transition between ten years of working on films to actually directing one. "You're working with bodies, so there's the whole psychology of it all. You're staging. You have to have a visual sensibility. There's a funny line in 'Torch Song,' where Joan Crawford calls her choreographer 'the dance director,' 'Gene, you're the dance director, you tell him what to do!' That's really-" A look of horror crosses Shankman's face. "Please don't say I quoted Joan Crawford! Um! I think they're very similar jobs. I don't know what people think of choreographers. Maybe as dancers with a little bit more money, that we all wear black turtlenecks."

So he didn't consider himself a novice. "It wasn't like I just got out of AFI. But the funniest thing was that the movie took almost three years after I got hired before it got made. During one of the years, the movie was supposed to get greenlit almost every week. I couldn't take a job, I was so scared I'd mess up the movie. I'd run out of money. Then out of nowhere, I got offered a movie from Universal, which I didn't do, which went on to be 'Bring It On.' I was going to take it. I wanted to work. I was really into it. I called my producer [his sister], and told her, 'I can't live like this anymore. I've run out of Zoloft!' I tell her I'm taking the job. Two minutes later, my phone rings. It's my mother. Calling me, 'You can't do this to your sister!' Which is how I wound up staying on 'Wedding Planner.' My sister tattled!"

Keeping lovers apart in the modern age is always difficult, less high concept than sly concept. "Sly concept! That's the name of my next feature! No, kidding." Still, the protracted development period helped the director and writers work to make the plot click. "Let me tell you, I don't recommend a romantic comedy as anyone's first feature. It's this exact thing. They're very hard, and I didn't realize how hard until afterwards. My naivete kept me in such bliss on this movie. I just blindly thought, it's all working out, it's great. The most important thing that happened that made the movie work, if the movie works for anyone, are two particular speeches. Those moments are really, really honest moments and the characters are forced to take a look at themselves. In this movie, there are no villains. The villains are their own personal foibles. They have to look inside themselves. The honesty of this movie is my favorite part of it."

As Hitchcock put it, audiences want a slice of cake, not a slice of life. "Exactly. I go to the movies so I can be in a movie. I don't want to see my life up there. The truth of the matter is, I go to see everything, but for this kind of material, I knew what I was making. This was not a piece of material you wanted to make into an edgy action thing with really heavy crazy camera techniques. Darren Aronofsky's 'Wedding Planner' would be a very interesting thing to see, but I, y'know, was trying to hearken to that Golden Age. I did it unashamedly. the movie's very innocent, I know that. But I love it for that sweetness. The world can use a little more optimism." (2001-01-25)

Also by Ray Pride

GUY STUFF
Guy Ritchie's speedy, sarcastic, often hilarious follow-up to "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels -- almost a remake, in fact -- glories in gaudy vernacular and crass acts performed by a goombah smorgasbord.
(2001-01-18)

CINE-MAGIC!
Collectors of their near-100 special edition DVDs may not know how much time and effort go into producing them, but the multi-supplemented discs bespeak a rare passion.
(2001-01-18)

KIDS IN TULSA
What matters most is Clark's sometimes artless lack of discernment: Perhaps we could never care about these speed-jacked no-hopers eking their last out of still-walking, young beautiful corpses, but he does.
(2001-01-11)

FIGURE IN THE MIRROR
Giuseppe Tornatore's "Malena" is a minor masterpiece on the tangled web of unrequited love.
(2001-01-04)

HUMANE TRAFFIC
(2001-01-04)

THE SEA OF EMOTIONS
(2000-12-21)

DON WAN
(2000-12-14)

SAME RIVER TWICE
(2000-12-07)

GREEK TO ME
(2000-11-30)

STILL LIFE
(2000-11-30)

GIMME PROVIDENCE
(2000-11-23)

THE MYSTERIES OF HISTORY
(2000-11-16)

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