GETTING DOWN THE AISLE

“To get a driver’s license, you need hours and hours of classroom instruction, a learner’s permit, behind-the-wheel training, and so on. But, to get a marriage license, all you have to do is show up at the courthouse and pay. This gives the bride and groom much more time to focus on the truly important things, like finding the right venue, the best photographer, the hippest DJ...etc.,” director Ken Kwapis smiles. “Who cares if you end up in divorce court a year later as long as the wedding cake was to die for?”

In “License to Wed,” Ben Murphy and Sadie Jones are young, blissfully in love, and have the best intentions of spending the rest of their lives together. However, like many young couples, they have no idea what they’re getting into. Fortunately, Reverend Frank is here to help with his highly successful marriage prep course.

Producer Robert Simonds offers, “This is a very real-life situation. There are certain challenges of marriage that are common and unavoidable. Instead of dancing around them and hoping that everything just works out, a pre-marital exploration of these obstacles can increase the likelihood of a marriage staying together—and make for some pretty funny situations.”

Producer Nick Osborne says, “There’s been a recent surge in popularity of marriage prep classes, which teach couples how to communicate fairly, balance finances, keep the romance alive, etc. In our movie, Reverend Frank teaches the course, and he’s the kind of guy who’ll find the hot buttons in your relationship and push them until they fall off. It’s his attempt at curbing divorce by weeding out the bad couples.”

The story of “License to Wed” was inspired by a friend of co-screenwriter Kim Barker who was getting married and told her about a marriage prep course he was taking. Barker recalls, “There was a particular church where my friend and his fiancée wanted to get married, but before the minister of the church would marry them, he required that they pass his marriage prep course. Then my friend described the minister and how he seemed a little off because he was swearing a bit in their first meeting, which made me laugh.”

Following her creative instincts, Barker co-wrote a fictional story around an offbeat minister who takes his job a tad too seriously. “I’ve always been drawn to quirky individuals, especially those who aren’t afraid to do things their own way. I think most people exhibit a kind of obsessive-compulsive disorder in one way or another, and Reverend Frank is no exception. His obsession is creating happy, life-long unions...or at least preventing divorces.”

In selecting the right director for the project, Simonds notes, “The story has both simple comedic elements and complex emotional aspects at the same time. There’s a lot of physical comedy in the script, but we also wanted to provide the audience with a chance to be emotionally invested in the characters. Looking at his past projects, Ken Kwapis has a strong grasp of how to blend both comedy and emotion to great effect.”

Executive producer Kim Zubick affirms, “Ken has a great track record, and he can handle a wide range of material. Whether it is a film like ‘The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants’ or his work on ‘The Office,’ he knows how to make it work. What Reverend Frank does in this movie is very unusual; I don’t think many marriage prep courses are actually like this in real life—at least I hope not—but we are playing it as if it’s completely real. Ken was the perfect director to pull this off.”

Kwapis says he instantly connected with the themes in “License to Wed” when he read the script. “It amazes me that even half of all marriages last these days. Most people see marriage as a day at the beach. Reverend Frank shows us all the blood, sweat and tears that go into making them work. Our film is a cautionary tale for the young and affianced—don’t dive in unless you know you can swim.”

NEXT
THE WEDDING PARTY
The search for the right actor to don Reverend Frank’s collar didn’t take long. Producer Mike Medavoy notes, “When I read the script, I just knew that Robin Williams would be ideal for the role. In addition to being an incredibly funny actor and comedian, he’s such a passionate and compassionate person. While Reverend Frank puts Ben and Sadie through some really trying situations, at the core, likeability was a key component for building the character.”