Such a frustrating disappointment

Better Late Then Never

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Since I missed John Stamos' reportedly groundbreaking stage Master of Ceremonies in "Cabaret," it was great seeing his work in this romantic caper. The man does light fare well, has a nice singing voice, and reportedly dances, too.As Shel, Stamos sets the tone and carries this film along. What could have been a broad performance is toned down to a naturalistic style. He and Eric Dane as his brother, Ben, blend nicely, playing off one another with ease. The rest of the cast likewise does a good job.The tone of this film, from Jim Fall's direction to Mervyn Warren's score, is reminiscent of the earlier "In and Out." It was as though the latter film was studied carefully down to the last detail--which is a credit more to "In and Out" than "Wedding Wars." Some of the situations are a bit silly, like the one-man-banner-carrying Shel at night with no one around. However, both sides of the marriage issue get due attention and, in the end, the "compromise" (about loosing the battle yet winning the war) is palatable.The dance finale with gender-switching partners is cute (another throwback to "In and Out") and the happy ending works smoothly. All in all a pleasant TV comedy.Incidentally--as of 2012--there is a noticeable absence of press reviews for this film: only one external review on IMDb, and none on either Metacritic or Rotten Tomatoes. This is too good and professional a product to so ignore.

At first glance, one might think this is a purely gay movie. If you define a gay movie as the presence of gays and gay relationships, then it might be, as you define it. But actually it is more than that. Wedding wars is one heck of a wholesome and sensible film with a nice story, an excellent script, and a good direction and music.Wedding wars tells of the wedding of Ben and Maggie and the preparations attendant to it. While it may be said that the theme of the movie is all about wedding preparations, the film actually focused on politics and brother-to-brother relationships and how these affected the wedding plans.Ben and Shel are close brothers since childhood who drifted apart when Shel confessed that he is gay. Shel thereafter pursued a party-planning career and met his lover Ted who is an Assistant District Attorney at Maine. Ben, on the other hand, became the campaign manager for Governor Welling who is running for reelection at Maine. In this career he met the Governor's daughter, Maggie whom he is now marrying.In the course of their discussions about their impending wedding, Maggie suggested that Shel be their wedding planner. Despite Ben's hesitations, Maggie prevailed and so Ben visited his gay brother, Shel who, upon learning of Maggie's request, immediately accepted the responsibility. Everything about the wedding preparations is going well as the couple-to-be and Shel really starts bonding until the incumbent Governor Welling, who, ever since, did not oppose gay relationships, made a surprising political stand on television that he is supporting a constitutional amendment banning gay marriages – with a view to gaining popularity in time for his reelection bid. Incidentally, the author of that speech is none other than Ben. Shel, upon learning this, became so disgusted with his own brother that he declared a strike and picketed at the gate of the Governor's residence just two weeks before the wedding. "Why can he plan for Ben's wedding while Shel, on his part, can never ever make plans for his own wedding someday?" The characters of the story became divided as Maggie and her Mom practically sided with Shel understanding perfectly how he felt about Ben and Maggie's father.How far this situation will take all of them is the very meat of the story. Suffice to say that I admired the movie for its lack of pretenses. It is full of love, understanding, honesty, and a heart for others. Although the plot of the story is simple, the issues involved are of significant magnitude as it touched on political and social issues transcending beyond personal and familial matters. I really liked the way that wedding changed things for the characters

It is not trying to be a comedy, it is not a drama, John Stamos is Brilliant, Eric Dane is Wonderful, and James Brolin is Hysterical. The director, writer, producer and actors all need applause.We can never get middle America to accept Gay Marriage unless we show them that we are people too. All the Gay Pride Parades will not show middle America that Gay people are people with rights too.I have been a Radical Fairie and a Gay Rights Activist and now as a Democratic State Committee Person and a member of my Church, I am changing more peoples minds than any number of parades. I am proud member of the United Church of Christ. I believe that we need to show people that we are their next door neighbors, co-workers, cousins, aunts, uncles, bothers and sisters.

When I heard that John Stamos was going to be playing a gay man in a new A&E movie, I was a bit perplexed. Stamos normally plays the macho alpha male...could he play a convincing gay man. Yes...why yes he can! His performance as Shel, a party planner, is some of his best work, ever. He's sexy and vulnerable, funny and earnest all at once. It would be really easy for this movie to teeter over the line from slightly campy to really silly, but Stamos helps keep things in balance.Opposite Stamos is Eric Dane as Shel's brother, Ben. Ben is a rather uptight campaign manager for Maine's fictional Governor, Conrad Welling (played masterfully by James Brolin). Ben also happens to be engaged to the Governor's daughter, Maggie (played by Bonnie Somerville). While planning Ben and Maggie's wedding, he discovers that Ben wrote the Governor's speech in favor of constitutionally banning same-sex marriage. The resulting battle mirrors the real-life battles being waged over this issue, but is a lot funnier. It's cliché to say that this movie has a lot of "heart," but that's exactly what it has. A lot of that heart is provided by Sean Maher as Shel's boyfriend Ted, who isn't quite sure how he feels about the whole situation.Without belittling the issue of same-sex marriage, Wedding Wars is able to take a complex and controversial subject and looks at it with humor and warmth. Don't miss it!