I don't think this movie did that well in the box office but I did get a chance to watch it last weekend and I liked it. The Wedding Planner is about a wedding planner, a job that I've never thought about but from what the movie implies it's a tough job. Anyway, Maria Fiore (Jennifer Lopez) is efficient and professional in her job, in charge of putting together big weddings, from the location to the food and decorations. She's great at her vocation and has a nice assistant, Penny Nicholson (Judy Greer), to use as a foil.

The Donolly's -- some sort of nouveau rich family -- daughter Francine is having a wedding, and it has to be the grandest wedding ever to show up all the old money people. Maria is going to land the account and pull it off too, and as a reward she wants to be made partner of the wedding planner company, whose current sole owner is Geri (Kathy Najimy in a small role). Complications arise as Maria's father, Salvatore (Alex Rocco), who is worried that his daughter will never get married, arranges a marriage for her with childhood companion Massimo (Justin Chambers).

This is definitely *not* what Maria wants. She wants the romance and love and fantasy that she's dreamed of since she was a little girl. So while she fends off Massimo (who goes from being a jerk to being a sympathetic character), Maria also has to deal with Francine (who dearly loves Eddie, her husband to be who we haven't met yet) and her eccentric parents (though this isn't played up enough) played by Charles Kimbrough and Joanna Gleason. Did I mention that this movie is set in San Francisco?

Enter Dr Steven Edison (Matthew McConaughey), a dashing children's doctor who saves Maria's life from a runaway dumpster. Penny invites Steve to a movie in the park (old movies projected on the wall of a building, I wonder if they do that in San Francisco) with Maria and her. Once there though she makes her excuses and leaves them alone. It's a magical night for the two with dancing and laughter. And of course it all comes crashing down the next day when Francine introduces Maria to her fiancee Eddie (apparently Francine is the only person who nicknamed Steve after his last name).

Oh no! Shock and dismay, to think that Maria has broken the cardinal rule by falling in love with the groom! But she's not really in love, no, not that! It was all a mistake, a lapse in judgement and she she can remain professional and detached and pretend as if nothing happened. Meanwhile Steve, being the guy, sees nothing wrong because nothing happened that night (they didn't even kiss), so why would Maria be upset?

The plot thickens as Francine has to go to the East Coast to seal a deal and leaves Steve with Maria to finalize the wedding arrangements. Meanwhile the Italian Stallion, Massimo just won't leave Maria alone. So while Maria and Steve sort out there feelings for each other, Massimo blunders about and Francine is kept clueless, we slowly arrive at the big wedding day and a final resolution.

As with any romantic comedy, it's not so much the plot as the execution and acting that is important. And this movie is executed well. Jennifer Lopez, not one of my favorite actresses, comes out vulnerable and lovely and you really feel for her. Matthew McConaughey's career just never took off even though he's a fine actor as seen in this movie. Everybody has their part in the movie and there are no real bad guys and unlike a lot of romantic movies, the bride doesn't end up heartbroken and left behind, because she's not portrayed as a bad person.

Not so much a pet peeve but an observation that in some movies where two people fall in love but one (or both) is already married or in a serious relationship, it has to be that it's a bad marriage or bad relationship. Not so much that even but that the fated one is married to someone mean and cruel, someone who deserves being left behind. Sure, it's one way to make it not seem like someone just broke a marriage or whatnot, but it's used too often. At least The Wedding Planner doesn't do that. Everyone is relatively happy in the end (and no, Francine and Massimo don't end up together, another movie cliche).