Made of Honor

Starring: Patrick Dempsey, Michelle Monaghan, Sydney Pollack
Directed by: Paul Weiland (“City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly’s Gold”)
Written by: Adam Sztykiel (debut), Deborah Kaplan (“Josie and the Pussycats”), Harry Elfont (“Surviving Christmas”)

If anyone knows how to milk their status as a romantic lead it’s actor Patrick Dempsey. From his “McDreamy” reputation on TV’s “Grey’s Anatomy” to his all-around good-guy persona in films like “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Enchanted,” Dempsey is a far cry away from the nerdy lead he took in 1987’s “Can’t Buy Me Love.”

That film, at least, could be considered a sweet romantic comedy. In his new rom com, “Made of Honor,” the script makes about as much sense as the homonym in its title, which isn’t much.

Riddled with countless clichés (“You’re the perfect man, but not the perfect man for me.” Really? Is that all it takes to write a screenplay?) and some pointless and annoying dialogue, “Made of Honor” tells the story of Tom (Dempsey), a billionaire inventor who realizes he is in love with his best friend Hannah (Michelle Monaghan) just before she introduces him to her new fiancée.

When Hannah asks Tom to be her maid of honor for her wedding, Tom jumps at the chance, not because he is interested in picking out floral arrangements with her, but because he thinks he has a better chance of sabotaging the engagement by being closer to the future bride.

A hapless, hopeless romantic comedy, there is no real sense of friendship between Tom and Hannah right from the start. The trio of writers who offer this dud want us to believe that such a great, life-long friendship develops because they are able to do things like pick off each other’s food and guess what the other will order from the bakery. The premise and characterizations are so careless and irritating it’s a wonder how the director of Bill Cosby’s “Leonard 6” (considered by many as one of the worst movies ever made) got financing for something so dim-witted and poorly written.

If you want a great romantic comedy, flip the sexes around and revisit “My Best Friend’s Wedding.” Even Cameron Diaz’s sometimes earsplitting role in that isn’t as grating as Dempsey’s is in this.