I have a lot to be thankful to Shane Black for. He’s written some of my favorite movie lines of all time. He not only got a movie starring Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer made (in 2005, no less) but also (somewhat) theatrically released, and it was fantastic. But perhaps his greatest contribution to cinema was getting the slinky, sexy Michelle Monaghan to be rather topless and irresistible for the aforementioned Val/Robert pic Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. It was an eye-opening debut for the lady in many ways, and I expected great things from her after that.
She landed the girlfriend role in the overhated M-I: III, but has been mostly unseen since. That’ll change this year where you can see her starring in the new Farrelly Brothers film The Heartbreak Kid along with Ben Affleck’s adaptation of the Dennis Lehane novel Gone, Baby, Gone. Now, she’s just upped her profile even further by landing a starring role in the romantic comedy Made of Honor.
It’s the story of a long-term friendship between characters played by Michelle and Patrick Dempsey. He’s a playa, and she’s not. And when she finally gets engaged, he magically realizes that loving monogamy is the way and tries to woo her away by agreeing to be her maid of honor…of sorts. I guess this sort of tripe is a rite of passage every young actress with intentions of a long career and marketability must pass. I say that should be done away with and the new rite of passage should be doing parts requiring nudity in Shane Black films.
Who’s with me?