A review by JAMES SOUTHALL

A romantic comedy starring Debra Messing and Dermot Mulroney with all the standard stuff (ie falling in love with someone you weren't meant to) would seem to be the last place you'd expect to find a rejected score, but that's exactly what happened with The Wedding Date; but then, recent experience (such as Miss Congeniality 2) suggests that scores could be rejected in the unlikeliest of places.  Debbie Wiseman was the unlucky composer this time round and it's hard to imagine her not writing a decent score for this (dare I suggest that a romantic comedy is a pretty hard type of film for a seasoned film composer to do badly) but still, she went off and in came Blake Neely, better known as an orchestrator for the late Michael Kamen and others, and now seemingly part of what used to be known as Media Ventures, regularly orchestrating, conducting and providing additional music for the scores of Hans Zimmer.

The Wedding Date is one of his first solo efforts as a composer, and the results are quite impressive.  While I said that it is difficult to write a bad score in this genre, it's also pretty difficult to write a score that stands out and distinguishes itself.  Indeed, virtually all of them written since George Fenton's You've Got Mail a few years ago seem to take their cue from that score and this is no exception, but where it does rise itself above the level of the generic standard is that, unlike many other similar scores, it actually has an identifiable and memorable main theme, full of charm.

What you would expect is all here: prominent solos for flutes, inoffensive backing from a string orchestra, occasional lilting guitars and twinkly piano solos.  However predictable it is, it is still most attractive all the way from start to finish.  It's certainly not going to set the world alight but anyone fond of scores by Rachel Portman for films like these should find much to like because it's full of the same melodic charm and is just as good as her entries into the genre.  

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Tracks

1. Invitation to a Wedding (4:56)
2. Hello 3-B / Good Morning (1:59)
3. What You're Wearing (1:29)
4. On Board (:29)
5. Close Your Eyes (1:05)
6. On the Left, Right? (1:57)
7. Bloody Mary / Interested (1:28)
8. Discovery (1:57)
9. To the Wedding (:49)
10. It's Complicated (2:44)
11. Airport Transaction (1:36)
12. Big Bed in the Country (1:36)
13. Betrayal (2:16)
14. The Morning After (1:22)
15. Going to Get Him (2:24)
16. I'm Sorry / Best Man (2:28)
17. Willy Wide Wonder (aka That Bachelor Party Song) (1:28)