I am a bit surprised to learn several reviewers did not like "The Wedding Planner." However, they just did not "get" the way the plot is constructed, blending the plot of "Cinderella" in reverse and adding bits of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" by William Shakespeare. Very early in the film, Mary loses her shoe in a manhole grate and is rescued by Dr. Steve, just as Cinderella loses her shoe toward the end of the fairy tale and then has it replaced by the Prince. In both plots, there is the element of "love at first sight," something that charms every fan of romantic stories.
Soon Mary learns her "Prince" already is engaged to Fran, her most important client. Of course, this brings an element of disappointment as we want the neglected, down-trodden girl to get the "Prince" in the end, but how will this happen? Some reviewers accused Steve of cheating on his fiancee', but actually the engagement is proving to be lackluster and a mistake from the beginning because Steve and Fran want totally different things from life. Steve is a "people person" with altruistic values who unselfishly cares for and about his patients. Fran and her rich parents are "users" who invested in some sort of medical corporation, and they expect Steve to give up his medical practice to become their spokesman. Steve is totally unaware of this hidden agenda, and this adds to the tension as the viewer realizes Steve is about to be victimized.
Another element of the "Cinderella" plot is the ball, which takes the form of the ballroom dance lesson, led by Fred Willard, in which Mary and Steve dance together. Fran's indifference to her own wedding is shown when she devotes the dance lesson time to making a business call. This scene shows that Fran and her parents are all about money and using people to make more of it, whereas Steve and Mary are sincere, people-oriented individuals who know love is the greatest gift.
The elements of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" are the movie-in-the-park scenes which resemble the forest in Shakespeare's play. Furthermore, he elderly friends of Mary's father are like the sprites who encourage and confuse the two pairs of lovers in the play. At first, the two blonds (Fran and Steve) are a couple and the two brunets (Mary and Massiimo) are a couple, and then the switch takes place when Mary and Steve spend more time together. The reverse-switch takes place when Mary and Massimo briefly consider marriage, and then Mary realizes Steve is her true love after all.
The "Cinderella" plot in reverse comes to fulfillment in the later scenes of Mary at home with her father and his friends and when someone explains how Mary has been affected by her mother's death. In "Cinderella," this is told at the beginning and shortly after the "Once upon a time" opening line of the story.
I really cannot say enough about the beauty of this film in regard to the settings, wardrobes, romantic music, chemistry between the romantic leads, and the way it combines the two classic plots of "Cinderella" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream." I believe it truly is a gem of a film and always will be my favorite.
Soon Mary learns her "Prince" already is engaged to Fran, her most important client. Of course, this brings an element of disappointment as we want the neglected, down-trodden girl to get the "Prince" in the end, but how will this happen? Some reviewers accused Steve of cheating on his fiancee', but actually the engagement is proving to be lackluster and a mistake from the beginning because Steve and Fran want totally different things from life. Steve is a "people person" with altruistic values who unselfishly cares for and about his patients. Fran and her rich parents are "users" who invested in some sort of medical corporation, and they expect Steve to give up his medical practice to become their spokesman. Steve is totally unaware of this hidden agenda, and this adds to the tension as the viewer realizes Steve is about to be victimized.
Another element of the "Cinderella" plot is the ball, which takes the form of the ballroom dance lesson, led by Fred Willard, in which Mary and Steve dance together. Fran's indifference to her own wedding is shown when she devotes the dance lesson time to making a business call. This scene shows that Fran and her parents are all about money and using people to make more of it, whereas Steve and Mary are sincere, people-oriented individuals who know love is the greatest gift.
The elements of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" are the movie-in-the-park scenes which resemble the forest in Shakespeare's play. Furthermore, he elderly friends of Mary's father are like the sprites who encourage and confuse the two pairs of lovers in the play. At first, the two blonds (Fran and Steve) are a couple and the two brunets (Mary and Massiimo) are a couple, and then the switch takes place when Mary and Steve spend more time together. The reverse-switch takes place when Mary and Massimo briefly consider marriage, and then Mary realizes Steve is her true love after all.
The "Cinderella" plot in reverse comes to fulfillment in the later scenes of Mary at home with her father and his friends and when someone explains how Mary has been affected by her mother's death. In "Cinderella," this is told at the beginning and shortly after the "Once upon a time" opening line of the story.
I really cannot say enough about the beauty of this film in regard to the settings, wardrobes, romantic music, chemistry between the romantic leads, and the way it combines the two classic plots of "Cinderella" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream." I believe it truly is a gem of a film and always will be my favorite.