Rom-Com Royalty and The Speak Now of it All

I could not go too long talking about rom-coms without bringing up the rom-com queen, the one who is considered to be the biggest romantic comedy actress of all time: Julia Roberts. I could list the movies she’s been in (maybe later), most of them being rom-coms. While not her best-known film, it set the standard for stopping weddings in favor of your true love. We have seen this in multiple films, tv shows and music videos. The trope came first in the form of The Graduate (1967), but My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997) showed the downside of an attempt to “save” your true love from their impending marriage. I have a lot of opinions on this one, so let’s dive into the movie that set the scene for similar films such as Made of Honor (2008) and Sweet Home Alabama (2002), even an episode of Grey’s Anatomy (do we think Patrick Dempsey is drawn to projects known for the “I object!” trope?)! This is: My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997).

What’s Going On?

Julianne Potter (Julia Roberts) is a well-known food critic, known by her friends as one not to be able to maintain a long-term relationship. When she considers the idea of marriage (rarely), she thinks of the marriage pact she set with her best friend, sports writer Michael O’Neal (Dermot Mulroney) in college. When they both turn 28 and are single, they will marry each other. Julianne turns 28 in a few weeks, so that part of her life will be complete… until Michael calls to tell her he is getting married in four days.

He invites her to the wedding, which she does, only with the intention of breaking up Michael and his bride in favor of her. When Julianne arrives, she is introduced to 20-year-old Kimmy Wallace (Cameron Diaz), Michael’s future wife who is not only eight years his junior, but comes from the family that owns the Chicago White Sox. Julianne is convinced that they are all wrong for each other, setting Michael up to realize they are not meant to be together.

Fail after fail occurs, with no success for Julianne’s mission. She even calls her gay best friend George (Rupert Everett) to help her in this endeavor, leading to what is now one of my favorite rom-com scenes. Normally, this would be the place where I reveal the ending. But in this case, we are left with a question of who will Michael choose: Kimmy or Julianne? Both are viable options for him, he just needs to make a choice. Due to the fact that this decision is typically more obvious, I have decided to leave it as a question so you can watch the movie for yourself.

My Personal Opinions

Boy, do I have opinions for this movie. We can start with the concerning nature of Michael’s relationship and potential marriage with Kimmy Wallace. When they get engaged, Michael is 28 and Kimmy is 20, a junior in college who has decided to drop out of college to travel across the country with Michael as he works. While she questions her decision throughout the movie, it is not ever solidified that she has chosen to stay in school. While I am a firm believer that women should do what they please, I am more turned off by the idea of a 28-year-old being interested in a college junior. I spent the majority of the movie cringing at the idea of this relationship.

The absolute best character in this movie is the only one that didn’t bother me in some way: George Downes. George is Julianne’s best friend (sorry Michael, but he blows you out of the water). George is the voice of reason, a role many best friends can relate to. He has some of my favorite lines in the movie and is responsible for my favorite scene. George tells Julianne how it is, the only one who is honest with her about her awful choice to disrupt Michael and Kimmy’s wedding. George asks Julianne a very poignant question in this movie, which I feel anyone should consider if they plan on having a “Speak Now” moment at their unrequited love’s wedding. He first asks her, “Do you really love him or is this about winning?” which hits hard for anyone who secretly still pouts when they lose a game of Monopoly. George is kind and hilarious, but he also has the good sense to be honest with his delusional friend.

Finally, we hit the Speak Now of it all. If you haven’t heard the song “Speak Now” by Taylor Swift, it fully encompasses the plot of this movie. As hilarious and entertaining as it is, the idea behind the movie is flawed. Julianne starts out barely thinking of Michael as anything other than a friend. Once she discovers he is getting married, she drops everything to go to said wedding to try to break up Michael and Kimmy. Rather than supporting her best friend, she takes every route not just to break them up, but to hurt Michael directly. She tries to begin arguments between the couple, she tries to get Michael fired and frame Kimmy, the list goes on. Julianne is hoping through all of her schemes, she will get her Speak Now moment, convincing Michael to leave Kimmy at the altar and marry her instead. The biggest issue I have with the thought behind this is the willingness to hurt Michael, even though she claims she loves him.

If you are a fan of Speak Now by Taylor Swift, wild hijinks and are willing to overlook Julianne’s behavior in order to “win” Michael, I would recommend My Best Friend’s Wedding. It is funny, it is entertaining, but it just is not my favorite rom-com. Julia Roberts does a great job playing the part of the main character we love to hate, and I will give credit to Dermot Mulroney and Julia Roberts, who have phenomenal chemistry together, but considering I was upset with most of the main characters throughout the movie, it wasn’t my favorite. If it’s already on your list, watch it and change my mind! You may have a different opinion than I do.

Favorite Scene

I don’t think my favorite scene could be questioned by anyone. It is such a funny moment in cinematic history that my dad requested I call him after watching this scene because it is his “favorite movie scene ever.” I introduce you to: George cultivating a gigantic sing-a-long in a restaurant, all while pretending to be Julianne’s fiancé to Kimmy’s family. Confusing? Yes. The scene on its own? Hilarious.

Julia Roberts, Never Change

After the reign of Meg Ryan as America’s Sweetheart and Queen of Rom-Coms, we had Julia Roberts. Roberts is known for her rom-coms and the biggest difference between her and Meg Ryan is Roberts embraced that title and starred in multiple rom-coms (all well-known) even leading up to present day. Roberts got her start in Mystic Pizza (1988), an indie rom-com, before her reign in mainstream films with Pretty Woman (1990), Notting Hill (1999) and Runaway Bride (1999). She began taking on roles playing a mother as the 2010s approached, starring in films such as Valentine’s Day (2010) and Wonder (2017). Most recently, Roberts starred in Ticket to Paradise (2022), her newest rom-com starring alongside George Clooney.

While this wasn’t my favorite rom-com of hers, Roberts is one of the reasons the romantic comedy genre stayed alive into the 2000s after the boom from other mainstream rom-coms wore off. Roberts was the face of the genre for over a decade, her lines still quoted frequently to this day. In a recent New York Times interview with George Clooney, Roberts discusses the lack of rom-coms in the present day and what it looks like to star in a rom-com at 54 (when many are used to the 25 year olds running that genre). Roberts will always be known for her rom-coms and I personally hope she never stops making them.

Playlist

Here is the newest playlist for My Best Friend’s Wedding. I obviously had to include some songs from Speak Now, I couldn't pass up the chance. This whole movie feels like a Taylor Swift movie, so there’s just a lot of her in general. Enjoy!

Where to Watch

My Best Friend’s Wedding is available to stream on Netflix and is also available for rent or purchase on YouTube, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.

A Meg Ryan Update!!!

Folks, I have to make an addition from my last blog post. I created an entire subsection discussing Meg Ryan’s departure from romantic comedies and Hollywood overall. But, an update I’m sure you are dying to know is: Meg Ryan is returning to rom-coms! She is starring alongside David Duchovny in What Happens Later, a new rom-com to come to the big screen later this year. Here is the trailer so you can plan to watch Meg Ryan’s return to the throne as America’s Sweetheart!

I will also be including a TV promo for the movie, where New York residents were asked about Ryan’s return to Hollywood. This was how I found out about this movie and speaks to the timelessness of Ryan’s filmography.