The romantic comedy genre usually proves a precarious balance between attempting to recapture the genuine passion, spark, and often hilarity of a budding romance while simultaneously doing so in a fashion unique from its many predecessors - more often than not with less than limited success. With that in mind, it still never fails to stupefy that in an industry of such excruciating rehashes, Hollywood can still churn out a film which exemplifies the above conventions and still manage to up the ante in terms of sheer lack of quality and coherence. Such a film is License to Wed, an alleged comedy in which one would be hard pressed to discern even a painstaking scrap of anything comedic, or any real merit whatsoever.<br /><br />Put generously, the film can be described as nothing more than an abysmal, painful re-treat of just about the worst possible amalgamation of romantic comedy clichés and failed slapstick gags which consistently fall flat. The entire plot can be summed up as essentially a pitiful attempt to bank of the success of Meet the Parents while throwing in the occasional crack at religion to no comedic effect whatsoever, as the relationship of engaged young lovers Ben (Krasinski) and Sadie (Moore) is put to the test by a series of gruelling relationship tests by a deranged priest (Williams) attempting to determine whether or not they are fit to be married in his church. But this one joke premise wears thin almost immediately, and with shoddy, uninspired directing and an embarrassingly hackneyed screenplay, complete with paper thin characters characters and a complete lack of originality in any shape or form, one is baffled by the concept of how the filmmakers could have ever expected this sordid mess to result as anything remotely enjoyable. Even on the comedy front the film fails miserably, as the slapstick schtick is painfully monotonous, and the excruciatingly heavy handed "moral" at the film's end is a wince-worthy throwback to early Disney films, let alone an allegedly "edgy" comedy - and the word is used here in the loosest of senses. <br /><br />Increasingly disenchanting is the sight of so many talented performers descending to such an excruciatingly embarrassing level. Continuing a pattern of painful sell-out performances, Robin Williams generates what can hardly be considered a performance as opposed to simply a slew of irritating, allegedly comedic mannerisms as the borderline psychotic minister - some of Williams' routine may have actually proved funny had he not exercised such pseudo-comedic tribe years ago in previous autopilot performances. The normally reliable John Krasinski (familiar to viewers of TV's "The Office") aims at endearing, but instead comes across as uncomfortable sour, saddled with a weak rehash of the typical Ben Stiller "uncomfortable boyfriend" role. While he escapes with more dignity than others concerned, it is still nothing less than a shame to see a promising upcoming talent reduced to such a point. Similarly, Mandy Moore seems to have never fully realized she was in fact on the set of a movie, as she seems firmly distant from the picture throughout, never once generating what could even be considered a facsimile of emotion. The non-existent chemistry between her and Krasinski makes for a rather redundant romance, as neither fails to captivate the audience or capture their sympathies in the slightest. Christine Taylor comes away the least shamefully as Moore's sardonic sister, but even she is given no real opportunity to generate laughs.<br /><br />A minute amount of charm generated by an otherwise syrupy climax is not enough this pitiful mistake from the dredges of banal commercial monotony. License to Wed alternates between being patronizing, astonishingly ignorant and just plain poorly made - in fact, anything but funny or charming, as it aimed to accomplish. While small glimmers of enjoyment might be discerned by viewers with non-existent expectations, those anticipating any more should avoid License to Wed like a rash, as it often boasts the same results: painful, persistent and never funny. <br /><br />-2/10