So I just got done watching License to Wed with Robin Williams. I know I'm a bit behind having just watching the movie but it is totally relevant for the monthly topic so I'm willing to let my cool factor take a hit so I can make a point.
If you haven't seen the movie it is about a couple that want to get married and the minister asked to perform the marriage insists on a very intense premarital counseling program. Robin Williams, who plays the minister, is pretty irreverent at times. There is one scene in particular in which he is "healing" someone that really pushed the boundaries, but honestly I laughed pretty hard the whole time I was thinking, "he is going to get struck by lightening for this."
The movie can be pretty irreverent, but the topic is so important. The way they get to the point is like a caricature of what reality should be. That is what Robin Williams really does anyways. The whole time I'm laughing so hard because I get it. I really understand how important these things are and I'm thinking, "what would happen if ministers took marriage this seriously?"
Can you believe it? It take Robin Williams being totally off the wall for me to think that ministers aren't really taking marriage seriously. I know some do. Personally I do. I have decided I am not doing any weddings unless I am satisfied with the premarital counseling that they couple has gone through. I went through it at my own request. I have read several books on the subject and considered quite a few different styles. I have my own program that I have meshed together so it will be in place when needed. I've even had to teach one class for a couple that got married last summer. My senior pastor asked me to do the class on finances because he felt the couple needed to sit in with someone closer to their age so they would be more able to relate.
One of the authors that I have read, the name slips my mind at this point and my books are at the church, takes 8 weeks and spends the first 4 weeks trying to get the couple to break up. Then if the couple survives he equips them to thrive in marriage the remaining weeks. That is a pretty cool idea and that's basically what they do in License to Wed. They say in some of the commentaries and such, yeah I'm the person they put that stuff in for, that they thought through what they do to this couple. The point is to basically give them 30 years of marriage in 3 weeks. That's a cool idea.
I don't know if I can say this is a must see movie. If you are ever offended by what Jon writes at SCL or what I write for that matter then this movie is definately not for you, but if you can laugh at yourself and get that sometimes we need to see what we look like through the world's eye then definately watch this movie. I told my wife if they had a burning ring of fire or explosion I would have run to the store right then and there. As it is I'll probably be watching for it to go on sale. Heck I'm thinking of keeping this movie for a couple of days to show one of the scenes to my Youth group. It will cost me antoehr dollar or two but it is so funny.
Have you seen this movie? What did you think?
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
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4 comments:
I actually didn't like this movie. It was too over the top and unrealistic for me. Which is ridiculous, because I like the Diehard movies, which aren't exactly realistic... but for some reason with this movie, I just couldn't suspend belief.
Though I would agree that most church's pre-marital counseling is subpar. Not sure how to make it better though...
I"ll agree that it was way over the top but I guess I appreciated it from the minister's side of things. I joked with my wife the whole time that I was taking notes and that we needed to do that. Also that I needed to train my kids to be my little henchmen.
I can behave during a movie but I prefer an interactive experience. I know how a movie is going to end so I rarely feel suspense or worry or involved with the movie otherwise. Lots of people don't care for that so I don't do it in theaters but at home all bets are off.
My wife and I tried to watch that movie a while back; we didn't make it all the way through.
We have Direct TV with the DVR thing, and I had it recorded, so I watched the rest of it later.
I knew how it was gonna end, but I still wanted to see it anyway. I didn't think it was all that funny, though. Considering the people in the movie (Robin Williams, Mandy Moore, and that guy from the office) it could have been a lot funnier.
It felt like they took two cliches, the male and female flaws, and over exaggerated them.
There were some decent "moral lessons" at the end of the movie, but still.
The little kid henchman/reverend-in-training was hilarious. He played it so serious, too.
I watched the movie awhile back. I was distracted, because I was at a friend's house and we were talking, but I liked what I did get to see. Over the top but funny.
When I got married the pastor put us in a room and had us watch a video. No follow up or talking after. And then he kept cancelling all the other appointments. It definitely wasn't enough to even begin to prepare us for marriage.
If I ever remarry (which is still doubtful at this point), I'll expect way more counseling than that. I know my current pastor does the whole "try to get them to break up" thing because he counseled my sister when she got married. It makes sense.
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