The Wedding Planner is another one of those romantic comedies in which fate brings a couple together but where circumstances beyond their control hinder their burgeoning love. While this formula has been used successfully in such films as Sleepless in Seattle and Bridget Jones’s Diary (just to name a few), it is not quite so effective in this film. This is not to say that The Wedding Planner is a bad film; it just doesn’t bring anything particularly new to the table and is a rather uninspiring romantic comedy.

What this movie does have is a refreshing performance by Jennifer Lopez. She plays a successful wedding planner who organizes extravagant and exclusive weddings for the rich and the famous. However, she is less than successful when it comes to her own love life. In contrast to her professional life, her personal life consists mainly of a Scrabble club and spending time with her meddling father. Matthew McConaughey plays a charming doctor who literally falls into her life but then proceeds to complicate it immeasurably by becoming romantically involved with her.

There are some captivating moments between McConaughey and Lopez in this film, but they are few and, more often than not, less entertaining than you might expect. For instance, one scene in which McConaughey and Lopez tango while embroiled in an animated conversation should have been unforgettable, but it was only mildly amusing. There are several examples of scenes like this. The Wedding Planner would have been an even more ordinary film had it not been for Lopez’s performance. Although I would not put her in the same category as a Julia Roberts, she certainly has an easygoing charm about her that is instantly likeable. McConaughey is his usual amiable self, and he and Lopez definitely look good together, but there is often a lack of chemistry between them. Kathy Najimy has a very small, amusing role as Lopez’s boss. Alex Rocco and Justin Chambers as Lopez’s father and her suitor, respectably, are less memorable and sometimes seem out of place in their roles.

The audio presentation of this disc is disappointing. While there is good fidelity, there is little use of the surround channels for either ambience or aggressive split surround effects, and even the front stereo soundstage is not fully utilized. There is ample use of music in this film, but it sometimes seems to be mixed in the background of the soundtrack and is often set back in the soundstage. The music rarely takes hold of a scene and draws you into the film, as it should. For instance, there are some examples of well-recorded music at the very beginning and nearer to the end of the film, but in scenes such as those depicting Lopez’s home life, the music does not seem to integrate well with the rest of the soundtrack.

The video quality of The Wedding Planner is relatively sharp with very natural colors, but it sometimes suffers from a touch of softness and can be darker than normal. This leads to a slight loss of detail especially in darkened areas of the picture such as shadows. The extras provided with this disc are also disappointing. Included are two very short featurettes that seem tacked on, trailers from other films with the same stars and filmmakers, cast and crew filmographies, deleted scenes, and the obligatory director’s audio commentary track.