DVD After talk show host Emma advises a bride-to-be to dump her fire-fighter fiancé, he hatches a devilish plan for revenge and, without Emma's knowledge, marries her instead.
Details
Dr Emma Lloyd is a popular New York radio DJ whose sensible, practical advice is adored by women across the city. Off-air, her own life appears just as polished, with wedding plans to her dependable and debonair fiancé Richard progressing flawlessly. That is, until she applies for her marriage licence and discovers she is already married - and worse still, to a man she has never even met.
Unfortunately for the rebellious New York fire-fighter Patrick Sullivan, Emma's on-air advice was taken rather seriously by his fiancée Sophia, who promptly dumped him after calling the show for guidance. Humiliated in front of millions of listeners - not to mention his friends, who instantly gain fresh ammunition for mockery - Patrick decides revenge is in order. With the help of a conveniently tech-savvy friend, he hacks into the city's computer system and creates a wedding certificate. Just like that, Dr Emma Lloyd becomes the unsuspecting wife of Patrick Sullivan.
Given that being accidentally married to someone else just before your wedding is something of an inconvenience, Emma sets out to secure an annulment. Unfortunately, this requires Patrick's signature, and he has no intention of making things easy. Instead, he delays, gatecrashes events and generally ensures Emma's carefully curated life unravels in public. Naturally, as Hollywood dictates, irritation eventually turns to attraction, and Emma begins to question whether the sensible Richard is truly the man for her.
Picture & Sound
The picture is bright and colourful, with plenty of detail and respectable colour depth. Interior and exterior scenes are handled smoothly, and the more lavish wedding sequences are suitably rich and glossy. The above-average bit rate provides a clean image, albeit slightly grainy at times, but free from artefacting or edge enhancement. The transfer is spotless - which, given the film's age, is exactly what you would expect.
The 448Kbps Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, however, is another matter. Yes, this is a romantic comedy and no one is expecting explosions, but the near-complete absence of rear-channel activity had me double-checking whether my surround speakers were actually switched on. Dialogue is crisp and clear, but beyond that the soundtrack is flat and uninspired. Functional? Certainly. Memorable? Not remotely.
Menu & Extras
After sitting through trailers for the rather dubious-looking Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day and Hamlet 2, you're greeted by a static, silent menu. Momentum appear to have decided that the target audience would much rather admire the shoes and outfits than trouble themselves with supplementary features. As such, this disc contains absolutely no extras - and no, subtitles do not count. For a relatively recent release with recognisable names attached, this is a surprisingly bare-bones effort. Even a humble theatrical trailer would have been better than nothing.
With a Valentine's Day release clearly in mind, one might hope for a meaningful takeaway. Instead, you're left choosing between "don't marry someone you don't love" and "it's perfectly acceptable to hack government systems and stalk someone if romance is involved." Hollywood logic at its finest. I'm still not entirely sure whether I was meant to be charmed or alarmed, but either way, it's hardly ideal sofa-cuddling material.
Overall
The Accidental Husband feels like a cross between Sex and the City and Sleepless in Seattle, which makes the intended audience fairly obvious. The bigger question is whether anyone will actually care who ends up with whom. With the likes of the rather painful My Super Ex-Girlfriend already on her résumé, one has to wonder what criteria Uma Thurman is using when selecting scripts. Going from Kill Bill to this suggests either a remarkable sense of humour - or a remarkably forgiving agent.
There are countless rom-coms competing for attention, and this one struggles to justify its existence. By the closing credits I found it difficult to muster much affection for any of the characters. Perhaps this is one for those who enjoy lightweight escapism and attractive leads. For everyone else - particularly the menfolk clutching a contraband Yorkie bar - it may be wiser to steer clear. Even fans of Colin Firth or Jeffrey Dean Morgan should approach with caution.
Special features
- None
