Film

The Wedding Date

A woman hires a male escort to be her date at her sister's London wedding, hoping to make her ex jealous and save face. It's a breezy romantic comedy with genuine chemistry, witty banter, and that early-2000s formula of meet-cute through deception that somehow works. For anyone who loves a predictable but satisfying love story with charm to spare.

TMDb rating3.4

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like a brisk, bright romantic comedy where the laughs come from a woman making a bad plan with great conviction, and you don't mind the premise being a bit contrived.

Skip it if you need the romance to feel earned and the characters to have real depth, because this one keeps things sketched and light.

What it asks of you: At a brisk eighty-eight minutes, it keeps moving and rewards a willingness to swallow a farce-tinged setup and let the jokes land without much fuss.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Notting Hill1999

A woman and a man from different worlds fall for each other against the odds, with London as a beautiful backdrop and script that balances romance with genuine humour. The chemistry between leads and supporting cast is effortless.

But It's very much a 1990s romcom, which means it moves at a thoughtful pace and the plot beats are familiar. If you want high stakes or darkness, look elsewhere.

Notting Hill poster

Four Rooms1995

Dermot Mulroney again, same playful romantic energy, contained to a single night in a hotel. It's clever, occasionally raunchy, and the premise is just weird enough to keep you interested.

But It's an ensemble piece, so Mulroney is one of several leads. The tone is broader and less romantic than The Wedding Date.

Four Rooms poster

Forgetting Sarah Marshall2008

A woman at a wedding (sort of) where an ex shows up unexpectedly. It's got heart beneath the comedy, genuine laugh-out-loud moments, and characters you actually care about by the end.

But It's rawer and more raunchy than The Wedding Date. If you want something softer and more purely romantic, this swings harder.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Wedding Date

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Four Weddings and a Funeral1994

Both are about navigating weddings as unmarried people, using the event as the pressure cooker for romance. Both understand that weddings are mortifying, which is where the comedy lives.

The template for this entire genre—beautiful, funny, full of genuinely awkward social situations that feel real. Hugh Grant mumbling his way through romantic vulnerability changed everything. It's the film The Wedding Date is descended from.

But It's a British film from 1994, which means the pacing is leisurely and some of the jokes feel dated. If you need constant motion and modern sensibilities, it might feel slow.

Four Weddings and a Funeral poster
More like this (7)

27 Dresses2008

Jane Adams and James Marsden have genuine chemistry, the dialogue snaps, and there's something satisfying about watching someone finally stand up for themselves. Smart enough to keep you entertained.

But The premise of being a perpetual bridesmaid maid is a bit thin, and the movie knows it. You're watching for the banter and the slow-burn romance, not originality.

27 Dresses poster

Failure to Launch2006

Matthew McConaughey and Sarah Jessica Parker; he's a man-child, she's hired to get him to move out and grow up. It's warm, goofy, and they're both genuinely fun to watch riff off each other.

But The premise is creepy if you think about it—she's literally hired to manipulate him into changing—and the film never quite acknowledges this. Also very broad in its humour.

Failure to Launch poster

The Proposal2009

Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock with actual chemistry and comedic timing. A woman blackmails her assistant into a fake marriage. It's got warmth, character, and Bullock at her most likeable.

But The power dynamic (boss-assistant) is uncomfortable, and the film's treatment of it is pretty breezy. If you need your romance to feel entirely ethical, this won't work.

The Proposal poster

Wimbledon2004

A struggling tennis player falls for a rising champion at Wimbledon. It's got gorgeous cinematography, genuine sports stakes, and a lightness of touch that makes you root for the couple.

But The tennis subplot is fairly important, so if you don't care about the sport or the mechanics of the plot become frustrating, it drags. Also quite vanilla.

Wimbledon poster

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days2003

Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey, each trying to manipulate the other into breaking up. The banter is fast, the romantic tension builds nicely, and it's genuinely charming without ever taking itself seriously.

But It's aggressively lightweight. There's no substance underneath, and if you're looking for character development or a meaningful story, you won't find it.

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days poster

About a Boy2002

Both feature a person using deception to project a false image, only to discover that honesty and vulnerability are the only things that matter. The hired date/the fake mentee are just different masks for the same journey.

Hugh Grant again, but this time as a selfish, emotionally stunted man who's forced to grow up through connection. It's funny and sad in equal measure, with real stakes beneath the comedy. Grant's best role.

But It's not primarily a romance—it's about love and family in a much broader sense. If you're watching purely for the love story, it's secondary to everything else.

About a Boy poster

Breakfast at Tiffany's1961

Both are about someone constructing a false image to impress an audience, and discovering that the person falling for them is responding to the real thing underneath. The Wedding Date is Breakfast at Tiffany's in a wedding suit.

Audrey Hepburn as a woman reinventing herself, performing a version of who she thinks she should be. It's the DNA of every romantic comedy about masks and real selves. Gorgeously shot, funny, and genuinely moving.

But It's 1961, which means it's paced like a 1961 film, and some of the attitudes are dated in uncomfortable ways. The ending is also not what modern audiences expect from romance.

Breakfast at Tiffany's poster

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