On Demand movie review - Do Us Part

Do Us Part *** (out of 5) Let’s open with some perspective. I’ve lived too many years and seen too many romcoms to be in the target demo for any more of them. I’ve gotten too annoyed by how long it takes for the lead couple to figure out what we all knew would happen while still in line at the ticket window. Too many failures to say the right thing at the right moment, or clear up misunderstandings that dragged out the inevitable for 90 minutes - or much longer if written by Judd Apatow.

When I saw the description of this one – an old girlfriend shows up on her college pal’s wedding day to finally declare her NON-platonic love for the guy - I wondered how could this measure up to Julia Roberts’ My Best Friend’s Wedding? It was possibly the last one I really enjoyed – and that was almost 30 years ago.

I can now report to being glad that I overcame my skepticism. This was truly well-written and efficiently directed by Reed Arnold, who also co-starred as the Best Man in his spare time. It’s even more impressive for being his debut wearing the first two hats, after a dozen, or so, acting credits.

Groom Ryan (Travis Laughlin), Best Man Mark (Arnold) and Rose (Kelly Russo) were besties all the way through college, about 10 years earlier. Ryan was in love with Rose, but too timid to say so; she had him firmly embedded in the accursed Friend Zone through a series of other boyfriends. They drifted apart after graduation, allowing Ryan the physical distance and emotional room to fall in love with Julia (Laura Elizabeth Delhauer).

The wedding is fixed in a lovely pastoral venue, with the sun shining brightly on those who are gathering for the festivities. Rose decides to show up uninvited, courage bolstered by a couple of drinks, to make her last-ditch pitch before Ryan made his vows. The movie covers events occurring about an hour before the ceremony is due to start, with a slew of flashbacks filling in backstories.

Arnold filled his pages with likable characters who had relatable flaws and impediments that brought them to that situation. No idiots or villains in sight, minimizing my aforesaid annoyance triggers. All the principal actors do quite well with their roles. Arnold wrote the juiciest part for himself, playing Mark as the perennial playboy who is still capable of truly caring for his friends and having some moments of surprising insight to share, considering the gadfly persona most of the world sees from him. The bride only gets limited screen time, but shines in one of the film’s most noteworthy scenes.

The comedy comes mainly from character development and dialog, with relatively little physical action, steering quite clear of madcap farce territory. And the ending makes sense without descending into the syrupy wrap-ups of so many others in the genre.

If this old curmudgeon could like it enough to bestow this rating, those of you who savor romcoms should enjoy it even more.

(Do Us Part previews in Los Angeles and becomes available On Demand as of 8/14/26).