Movie Review - The Accidental Husband

The Accidental Husband is a romantic comedy with Uma Thurman, Colin Firth and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. It was directed by Griffin Dunne and released in 2008. In the movie we see the Love Doctor Emma Loyd (Uma Thurman) preparing her own wedding. She has a radio show where she gives women advice on ‘Real Love’, and finding a reliable and sensible man. She has also recently published a book, called R.E.A.L. Love. She is set to marry Richard (Colin Firth), her publisher. But when she advises Sophia (Justina Machado) to call of her wedding, Sophia’s fiancé Patrick Sullivan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is set on giving the Love Doctor a piece of his mind and getting his revenge. His clever neighbour kid friend hacks into the government’s computers and legally marries Patrick and Emma, so Emma can’t marry Richard. Hen Emma finds out she goes a little crazy, but she thinks it’s just a computer glitch. Emma tries to contact Patrick to sort things out, but he is making it very hard for her to get the marriage annulled. Along the way she even starts to doubt what she preaches as the Love Doctor and her world slowly turns upside down.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan is great as Patrick Sullivan, the romantic guy who got dumped by his fiancé. Uma Thurman goes from very stiff and together, to clumsy and panicky, to finally loosening up a bit, in a bit of an awkward way. The transitions are not always fluent, and sometimes she can come off as a bit irritating. The chemistry between Morgan and Thurman is palpable though. And Colin Firth is great as Emma’s neurotic, emotional eater, but very dependable fiancé Richard. The British flair and awkward charm is ever present.

The story is somewhat predictable at times, but still good, and it makes for a pleasant to watch movie. The comedy is sometimes subtle and sometimes more obvious, like Uma Thurman hitting her head and falling over. The humour and the jokes are good though and never tacky or cheap. I thought it was a great comedy, and it does not pretend to be any more than just that. An easy, feel-good romantic comedy. So go get it now!