Why you can trust GamesRadar+
Few headlining actresses have as many turkeys on their resumes as Jennifer Lopez, though that doesn't stop people turning out for her movies in ever increasing numbers. The same applies to her latest vehicle which, despite being a laboured rehash of My Best Friend's Wedding, still topped the US box-office charts for two weeks in 2001.
If you can swallow pop's pushiest diva as a lovelorn singlette who spends her days making brides' dreams come true and her nights alone with a TV dinner, you'll probably enjoy this debut pic from choreographer-turned-director Adam Shankman. But the novelty of seeing J-Lo play a character so at odds with her public persona is not enough to excuse the crashing predictability of the script or the cloying sentimentality.
It starts promisingly enough, introducing Mary (Lopez) as a control freak who can tell how long a marriage will last by the selection of wedding song and colour of the bridesmaids' dresses - she'll even stop the padre taking a leak if it interferes with her carefully laid plans. But no sooner has Lopez been shoved out of the path of a runaway dumpster by Matthew McConaughey's handsome medic Steve than the story hits autopilot, with the stars' road to the altar blocked by a series of transparent obstacles they have little trouble negotiating.
These include Steve's fiancée Fran (Pete Sampras' wife Bridgette) and Mary's admirer Massimo, played by Justin Chambers with a ludicrously thick Italian accent. Along the way, Shankman throws in a sizzling tango to showcase Lopez's dancing prowess and Kevin Pollak has a fleeting cameo as McConaughey's golfing buddy. But even with these mild diversions, there's enough here for you to find just cause or impediment why this movie should never have started shuffling down the aisle in the first place.
The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine.
As hit city-builder Manor Lords conquers Steam's top-sellers list, roguelike sensation Hades 2 jumps back up to the top of the wishlist chart
What does it mean when your Manor Lords Burgage plot level is too low?
Bloomsbury hint at something "very special" coming soon from Watchmen writer Alan Moore - and we think we know what it is