The Groomsmen [DVD]

This film is good. We're use to hearing the drippy and dreary, `am I going to marry him or not', women's point of view but here for a change is the male pov of pre-wedding issues.

It is a good upbeat film about a group of guys; some with problems, (like the gay guy who returned to face people he left), but essentially it's about the groom, (Edward Burns), and his forthcoming wedding night.

A nice pleasant film especially for a Saturday night in.

The good news is that this latest Ed Burns outing works, well sort of. The problem is that while the Groomsmen deals with some interesting issues regarding the boy/man psyche, most of the characters in this movie just aren't that interesting, even verging on the irritating. If you want to see a film that's feel-good and doesn't make you cringe, I'd stay away, as most of these men are suffering from a severe case of arrested development and ultimately come across as exasperating.

This group of guys, who at once, doubts their worth live almost completely with their emotions on their sleeves, wondering whether a gnawing pain will ever cease. They're led by Paulie (Ed Burns), who is planning to marry his pregnant girlfriend, Sue (Brittany Murphy). But his inattention to his bride-to-be makes her think that he's having second thoughts, or perhaps that he feels pressured for the unplanned pregnancy.

Paulie's brother, Jimbo (Donal Logue) is constantly losing his stack and has been in such a bad mood lately that Paulie is thinking of finding another groomsman to be best man. During the planning, an old friend T.C. (John Leguizamo) returns to the fold after a mysterious eight-year absence and lands quickly into a fight with Mike (Jay Mohr), who accuses him of stealing a presumably valuable baseball card.

T.C has a secret that he wants to share with his mates, which in this day and age seems a bit ludicrous to say the least. The only reasonably mature pal is Des (Matthew Lillard) who excuses his juvenile through his simplistic view of adulthood, which is having a wife, a home, and kids. The revelations aren't all that surprising and most of the story is made up of juvenile banter between the guys as they shout at each other down the street.

Jimbo's inattentions to his wife Julianna (Heather Burns) - for reasons that are explained later on - include drunken binges and trips to the local strip bar are covers for his shame and embarrassment. He even keeps a secret from his wife for far too long, when in the universal scheme of things, it really isn't that big a deal.

Mike, who lives with his dad despite his thirty-odd years and is his keeping a job he had since high school, cannot take "no" for an answer. He constantly stalks his ex-girlfriend so persistently that her tall, powerful brother takes physical action to put an end to the harassment. When the going gets tough all the men resort to childish and self-indulgent garage band jam sessions, which go on too long - although I suspect that's the point.

The acting is good, with all the guys really nailing this sort of brash, impetuous way of looking at life. The film looks as though it is set somewhere on Long Island - it's certainly upper-middle class, with virtually no traffic save for little boys on tricycles and lovely tree-lined streets. Admittedly, these are all working class guys and the expense setting doesn't really fit the characters.

There's obviously much room for women in Burns' movies - in fact in this film it's pretty much all about the guys. As a result - apart from a juicy Brittany Murphy - all his actresses tend to flounder helplessly, and the unfortunate few here are no exception.

On the other hand, each of his actors breathes amusing, often affecting life into overly familiar roles. These men offer their hesitant declarations on the golf course, work out conflicts during softball games and, to the last, feel most at home with each other. The Groomsmen is a seriously flawed film, with a lot of the incidences that really do stretch the realms of believability, yet it does show somewhat effectively how, for a lot of guys, the responsibilities that come adulthood are often unwelcome and unforeseen. Mike Leonard November 06.