Girl has just run out on her 3rd fiancé because she doesn't love him. She just really likes getting engaged and making her family plan and pay for weddings. She couldn't say no to this last proposal because it was in front of 50K people at a sporting event but walking out on him at their wedding in front of his entire family is so much better. (Are we supposed to like this chick?) Her childhood was wonderful, her parents are happily married, she's extremely close to her family, and she's never been screwed over by some guy...or anyone, really. We are given absolutely NO reason why she's so commitment phobic.
Guy is the lone, single dude among his group of poker buddies and has never had a serious relationship. So just for kicks, his buddies bet him his office space that he can't make a girl say yes to his marriage proposal by Christmas in 3 weeks. (Never seen this type of plot device before! I wonder what's going to happen?!) So Guy takes the ludicrous bet and immediately begins searching for the right girl to dupe. To the viewer's absolute shock, he picks the runaway bride. (Now we're supposed to be cheering for these two a-holes to fall in love, spurred on by the utter improbability of this entire situation.)
They soon bond over their love of slasher flicks and the fact that she volunteers at a dog shelter and he once had a dog when he was little. Although, neither of these well-employed professionals actually has a dog now even though they apparently love them so much. Perhaps her other fiancés didn't appreciate the nuanced portrayals of sexualized violence against women? Or maybe they volunteered at cat shelters? IDK. Love is hard, y'all!
But wait. It gets better. We are given a reason for HIS commitment phobia. Was it being put through his parents' messy divorce? Nope. Too easy. His selfish parents decided it was too difficult to put the DOG through a divorce, so they took him to the pound! (At least now we know that being an a-hole is hereditary.) Guy hasn't been able to get close to anyone since. He lost his dog so swore off all relationships with women forever. (Yep. Seems like a perfectly logical, sane reaction.)
Meanwhile, Girl's poor fiancé can't get the hint that he's been dumped and is still holding out hope that they can be together. Does she tell him to hit the curb because she doesn't love him? Of course not. She tells him that she's busy but "maybe next time, for sure."
Does her family tell her to stop being such an a-hole and not bankrupt them with her weddings or that she should try being single for once in her life? No. Because they're all a bunch of enablers and tell her that she just needs to find the right one! Her mother keeps scrapbooks of all her engagements, which she shows to potential fiancés when they come to the house! This makes Guy realize that she's even more special because she looks "pretty" in her wedding photos. (Maybe it's "twu wuv" because they both have a wedding gown fetish?) And the enabling mother tells Girl how much she likes this new guy...while the old guy is standing in the very next room. Then they sing a Christmas carol horribly off-key around the family piano, and Guy is totally not put off by Girl's ex-fiancés continually showing up out of the blue every time they're together. And besides, her getting engaged so many times must mean that she's so amazingly desirable! (Sweet Baby Jesus, everyone in this movie has been blessed with astounding reasoning skills.)
So Guy decides he should maybe be less of an a-hole and call off the bet because he suddenly realizes it might possibly be wrong to break someone's heart over a stupid bet involving office furniture. Also, "she's been through enough already." Because breaking hearts left and right was so hard on HER. "And it's not like she enjoyed it!"
The next day at the dog shelter, Girl is so overwhelmed by lust at watching Guy hand out a pet adoption pamphlet that she realizes he's the one and kisses him. So after one kiss, two weeks of non-courtship, and the fact that she walked out of her wedding less than a month ago, Girl's sister decides it would be awesome if she asked the guy to marry her! So, they immediately get engaged and start planning a 4th effing wedding, and her family is supportive and completely without reservation! Now she just has to tell her latest fiancé that she's replaced him with a new one. (Wouldn't it be sooo unexpected if she found out about the bet and felt all heartbroken and stuff for the first time in her life?)
Well wouldn't you know, that's exactly what happens! But how shall we get these two crazy love birds to realize they're meant to be? Adopt a dog from the shelter, of course! Crazy-Mom convinces Guy to show the Girl how mature and loving he is by planning a sneak-attack wedding behind her back. So the next day, he shows up at her house with a preacher, her family, and a dog and marries her in her living room literally seconds after re-proposing (as if this fixes everything) before anyone can think about what a terrible idea it is. Because we all know that once you're married, that's it! That means you love one another (even if you're screwed up, selfish, barely know one another) and will live happily-ever-after!
I think I broke my eyeballs from all the eye rolling I did watching this movie. It was nonsensical, toxic garbage written for people who think emotional abuse is romantic.
Guy is the lone, single dude among his group of poker buddies and has never had a serious relationship. So just for kicks, his buddies bet him his office space that he can't make a girl say yes to his marriage proposal by Christmas in 3 weeks. (Never seen this type of plot device before! I wonder what's going to happen?!) So Guy takes the ludicrous bet and immediately begins searching for the right girl to dupe. To the viewer's absolute shock, he picks the runaway bride. (Now we're supposed to be cheering for these two a-holes to fall in love, spurred on by the utter improbability of this entire situation.)
They soon bond over their love of slasher flicks and the fact that she volunteers at a dog shelter and he once had a dog when he was little. Although, neither of these well-employed professionals actually has a dog now even though they apparently love them so much. Perhaps her other fiancés didn't appreciate the nuanced portrayals of sexualized violence against women? Or maybe they volunteered at cat shelters? IDK. Love is hard, y'all!
But wait. It gets better. We are given a reason for HIS commitment phobia. Was it being put through his parents' messy divorce? Nope. Too easy. His selfish parents decided it was too difficult to put the DOG through a divorce, so they took him to the pound! (At least now we know that being an a-hole is hereditary.) Guy hasn't been able to get close to anyone since. He lost his dog so swore off all relationships with women forever. (Yep. Seems like a perfectly logical, sane reaction.)
Meanwhile, Girl's poor fiancé can't get the hint that he's been dumped and is still holding out hope that they can be together. Does she tell him to hit the curb because she doesn't love him? Of course not. She tells him that she's busy but "maybe next time, for sure."
Does her family tell her to stop being such an a-hole and not bankrupt them with her weddings or that she should try being single for once in her life? No. Because they're all a bunch of enablers and tell her that she just needs to find the right one! Her mother keeps scrapbooks of all her engagements, which she shows to potential fiancés when they come to the house! This makes Guy realize that she's even more special because she looks "pretty" in her wedding photos. (Maybe it's "twu wuv" because they both have a wedding gown fetish?) And the enabling mother tells Girl how much she likes this new guy...while the old guy is standing in the very next room. Then they sing a Christmas carol horribly off-key around the family piano, and Guy is totally not put off by Girl's ex-fiancés continually showing up out of the blue every time they're together. And besides, her getting engaged so many times must mean that she's so amazingly desirable! (Sweet Baby Jesus, everyone in this movie has been blessed with astounding reasoning skills.)
So Guy decides he should maybe be less of an a-hole and call off the bet because he suddenly realizes it might possibly be wrong to break someone's heart over a stupid bet involving office furniture. Also, "she's been through enough already." Because breaking hearts left and right was so hard on HER. "And it's not like she enjoyed it!"
The next day at the dog shelter, Girl is so overwhelmed by lust at watching Guy hand out a pet adoption pamphlet that she realizes he's the one and kisses him. So after one kiss, two weeks of non-courtship, and the fact that she walked out of her wedding less than a month ago, Girl's sister decides it would be awesome if she asked the guy to marry her! So, they immediately get engaged and start planning a 4th effing wedding, and her family is supportive and completely without reservation! Now she just has to tell her latest fiancé that she's replaced him with a new one. (Wouldn't it be sooo unexpected if she found out about the bet and felt all heartbroken and stuff for the first time in her life?)
Well wouldn't you know, that's exactly what happens! But how shall we get these two crazy love birds to realize they're meant to be? Adopt a dog from the shelter, of course! Crazy-Mom convinces Guy to show the Girl how mature and loving he is by planning a sneak-attack wedding behind her back. So the next day, he shows up at her house with a preacher, her family, and a dog and marries her in her living room literally seconds after re-proposing (as if this fixes everything) before anyone can think about what a terrible idea it is. Because we all know that once you're married, that's it! That means you love one another (even if you're screwed up, selfish, barely know one another) and will live happily-ever-after!
I think I broke my eyeballs from all the eye rolling I did watching this movie. It was nonsensical, toxic garbage written for people who think emotional abuse is romantic.