Patrick Dempsey (aka ‘McDreamy’ of Grey’s Anatomy) stars as a real ladies man who avoids commitments like the plague and Michelle Monaghan play his gorgeous best friend in the romantic comedy Made of Honor. Tom (Dempsey) loves women and, of course, women love him, but he's comfortable with just being friends with Hannah (Monaghan). However when she takes off on a business trip to Scotland, Tom realizes that he really misses her. His romantic feelings for the woman he always considered just a friend start to surface but, as often happens in romantic comedies, his timing's not great. Hannah met someone special in Scotland (played by Rome star Kevin McKidd) and is ready to marry him and move overseas. Further complicating matters, she asks Tom to be her maid of honor…
Patrick Dempsey and Michelle Monaghan Press Conference
How do you see the perfect romantic comedy?
Patrick Dempsey: “Well, hopefully entertaining and romance. You know, I think that’s the key. What we really talked about initially was it was important that we had a connection and that people would go on the ride with us. That’s what you want in a romantic comedy, is to have two people that you want to see together and how do they overcome the obstacles that are in the way for that to happen.”
Do you have any favorite classic romantic comedies?
Patrick Dempsey: “I didn’t look at any contemporary movies. I looked at a lot of older movies, Cary Grant, that period. Screwball comedies of that era I think is what we were trying to do. And also, sort of the tone was a Working Title, Four Weddings and a Funeral or something like that. That was what we were trying to do. It’s hard because this is a genre that has been played out so much. How do you…you can’t reinvent the wheel, but hopefully want to make it entertaining and that people go along the ride. We kept inventing and working on the script throughout. Every day was something where we had to go in and say, ‘How do we make this fun? How do we find the joke in the scene?’ And the other thing we were really thinking about was, ‘How do we make this visually stimulating?’ So, it’s lush and pretty and we had a wonderful DP who did a great job with the look of the movie.”
Michelle Monaghan: “I think also what makes it unique from a lot of romantic comedies is that it’s kind of a romantic comedy for guys, is the way I kind of see it.”
Patrick Dempsey: “The male point of view.”
Michelle Monaghan: “A male point of view. Usually, the girl doesn’t get the guy. The girl has a broken heart. The girl goes to the girlfriends and they help mend the broken heart. So, I thought it was really refreshing, this take on it. My husband went to see it and he absolutely loved it, and I got really excited because typically guys always refer to romantic comedies as chick flicks and I’m excited, because I think guys will get taken to this by their girlfriends but I think they are going to walk out of the theater really entertained. Patrick has a unique ability to connect with guys - as well as women, for obvious reasons. I think he really appeals to guys as well. So, that is what sort of attracted me to the script.”
What was it like playing your characters 10 or 15 years younger?
Patrick Dempsey: “It was hard to go back. I hated that part. We were like, ‘Why do we have to do this?’”
Michelle Monaghan: “I did, too. We both hated it. We didn’t like it at all, actually.”
Patrick Dempsey: “I had no desire to go back to that period of my life.”
Michelle Monaghan: “Yeah, no, me either. I was so annoyed with myself. ‘You’re such a whinny little…’ I didn’t like it at all. I think it’s probably much easier to play older than it is to play younger.”
Patrick Dempsey: “I’d rather look forward down the road then have to go back down the road. We didn’t like that. Paul [Weiland, the director] is like, ‘It’s gonna be fun.’ And we were all like...’”
Michelle Monaghan: “And still, when I see it, I kind of cringe.”
Patrick Dempsey: “Me too. I can’t watch that part. I close my eyes. I just flash back to everything in my youth. So, thanks for bringing that question up.”
Why are people often so slow realizing they have something great?
Patrick Dempsey: “Oh, because they don’t see it. It’s like it’s in front of them and they take it for granted, I think. And then, it’s not till it’s gone that you realize how special it is.”
Is it a fear of commitment?
Patrick Dempsey: “Oh, in his particular case, certainly it’s because of the dynamic. The other thing we were working on was, ‘How do we keep these people apart? Obviously, why wouldn’t they have an affair earlier?’ But then we wouldn’t have a movie, so we had to stop that kind of questioning, you know, because then you just wouldn’t have a movie. But we were like, ‘What’s the deeper issue here?’ And I think the thing we really worked hard at developing is the relationship with the father. And you see the dynamic with the father really affects him and why he doesn’t believe in marriage because he’s not seeing one that is healthy. So, I think that was one of the reasons why he didn’t do it. Also because he was fulfilled on a friendship level and had his physicality and the sexual and that kind of thing in other relationships...”
Michelle Monaghan: “He had his cake and eat it too.”
Patrick Dempsey: “He was eating a lot of cake. (Laughing) But he just didn’t have the depth and the emotion that he has with this relationship.”
Page 2: Playing a Player, Physical Comedy, and Wearing a Kilt
