As Ava, a marriage counselor who’s newly married herself, Moore shines. As her husband, Charlie (Kellan Lutz, those damn “Twilight” movies), doesn’t; he’s as dull as his name is awkward. He doesn’t even look real. Anyway, their post-honeymoon bliss starts to wear off quickly as her parents (James Brolin and Jane Seymour) separate just shy of their 30-year anniversary.
With the help of her “sponging, slutty sister” (Jessica Szohr, “Piranha 3D”), Ava plots to get her parents back together before the party; poor Charlie feels ignored, even if he’s really not. Her machinations involve putting Brolin and Seymour in entirely embarrassing situations, such as making pig noises and jumping around (at the urging of wacko therapist Christopher Lloyd), and participate in team-building exercises run military-style by a megaphone-clutching Colleen Camp (a gifted comedic actress who is sad to see in her current state, and basically appearing as a punch line).
Predictable as you’d expect with everything easily resolved in 90 minutes or less, “Love Wedding Marriage” isn’t painful viewing — just completely average viewing. It proves that actor Dermot Mulroney, making his directorial debut, can make a rom-com as saccharine as anyone else in Hollywood. It proves Brolin has no business doing comedy. And once more, it proves Moore needs a better agent. —Rod Lott
