'The Wedding Date'

The romantic comedy "The Wedding Date" dithers along pleasantly enough until near the end, when it expects us to digest and emotionally connect to a season's worth of "7th Heaven"-type family problems in about 12 minutes.

Kat (Debra Messing) is going to London for the wedding of her half sister (Amy Adams), but there's a major obstacle she must overcome. Namely, the groom's best man, her ex (Jeremy Sheffield), who rudely and inexplicably dumped her a few years back. She's determined to show up with a better man than the best man, so he'll regret what he did for the rest of his life (and maybe beg her to come back to him).

Universal Studios 'The Wedding Date' C The verdict: Though more bridesmaid than bride in the ever-growing roster of wedding movies, it's still mildly appealing. Director: Clare Kilner Starring: Debra Messing and Dermot Mulroney Run time: 90 minutes Release date: Feb. 4, 2005 Rating: PG-13 for sexual content including dialogue See showtimes On the web Official movie site View the trailer   -- Trailers require Quicktime [an error occurred while processing this directive]

An available male in Manhattan (make that, an available male anywhere) is an elusive creature, so Kat hires a pro. For a mere $6,000 and the cost of a round-trip ticket, she can have the pleasure of luscious escort-for-hire Nick's (Dermot Mulroney) company for the entire wedding.

Mixing the new rules of sex with the old rules of romantic love, "The Wedding Date" may be less a date movie than a gal-pal flick (a gal-pal flick being considerably raunchier than a chick flick). Mulroney makes a fine fantasy figure, oozing sex, sensitivity and a manly sense of humor. And a hairstyle that's somehow vaguely '80s-ish, yet enhances his romance-novel cover-boy appeal.

In what could be called the Jennifer Anniston role, Messing is sprightly and adorably neurotic. I'm not a "Will & Grace" watcher, so I can't say if Kat is simply a variation on a theme, but I've always admired Messing's red hair on various red carpets, and it looks really great here.

Too bad the filmmakers felt compelled to give this sufficiently charming doodle some emotional heft by veering into "Four Weddings and a Funeral" territory. It only distracts you from "The Wedding Date's" own modest charms by reminding you how much better the earlier movie was.