Fear Itself (TV Series) In Sickness and in Health (2008) User Reviews

Disappointing Episode

[claudio_carvalho · 5/10 · 21 February 2015]

On the day of her wedding, the bride Samantha is celebrating with her maid of honors Ruthie and Kelly while dressing. Out of blue, Ruthie brings a note for Samantha and tells that a woman has delivered it of Father Chris that is deaf. Samantha reads the note that tells that "The person you are marrying is a serial killer". She does not show the note to Ruthie but asks her to show who gave the note but the woman has gone away. Ruthie feels that something is wrong and stares at Carlos with angry face. Along the night, Samantha is tense until the moment that the truth is disclosed.

"In Sickness and in Health" is a disappointing episode of "Fear Itself" since the confused plot point is sort of silly. The deception is greater based on the name of the director John Landis. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "In Sickness and in Health"

What the...

[imdb-12103 · 5/10 · 27 June 2008]

I will start by saying it was interesting to see Maggie Lawson and James Roday together in something other than Psych. And they weren't that bad. I was a little apprehensive at first, but they carried it well enough.

My big problem with this episode was the plot. As someone else mentioned in an earlier episode review it seemed rushed at the end. But the worst part was the the supposed twist. It made no sense.

SPOILERS

The plot is a woman (Lawson) marries a man (Roday). It is a quick affair and they don't know a lot about each other. At the wedding, a mysterious woman in a red scarf gives the priest a note. When the Lawson reads it, the letter says you are marrying a serial killer. She freaks, but still marries him. He continues to do things that makes her believe the note. This is where the Fear comes from.

Now this is where it doesn't make sense. At the end Roday is with Lawson in the church. She is scared and running. He eventually corners her in the confessional and they talk. He thought it was about a dinner he had with another woman while she was out of town.

The scene switches to her brother, who didn't go to the wedding, getting a message she left him about being scared, etc. As he is listening to it you can see dead bodies, heads in jars, etc.

Now back to them. Roday finishes the I didn't cheat, you'll show me the message when you are ready. She gets this absurd look and says oh the note was given to the wrong one. See, she is the serial killer with her brother, who was earlier dressed in drag as the mysterious woman.

While the twist was meant to be clever, it ended up being stupid. If she was a serial killer, why in the world would she be afraid of marrying one? Or why would she believe that the one she chose to marry so fast would also be one? It just didn't make any sense.

Why this, John Landis?

[Mynx73 · 6/10 · 3 July 2008]

1st of all, this series is a weak substitution for Masters of Horror. I believe you can make a great short horror film without graphic violence and cursing, but the episodes so far has been bad. I'll admit there are some laugh out loud moments in this episode, which I expect from Landis. The random close ups on the religious icons are funny & there are a few character flaws that are great. However, (within the 1st 5 mins.) I made what I thought was the worst guess about the ending & was correct. The lead up to the twist doesn't work, because it tries too hard to force you down the wrong path. It ended up being a cheesy, '80's-like bit of entertainment.

Oh My God! John Landis directed this horrible mess!

[butch-81 · 1/10 · 27 June 2008]

The wonderful director who brought us "Animal House", "The Blues Brothers" and "The Twilight Zone" among many other movie icons has fallen to the depths of the worst '70s television thrillers. The majority of his staff were obviously too impressed with his previous successes to see how bad this was going; and none of the unimpressed had the courage to warn him.

The stars of the movie were four plastic mannequins depicting Christ and other iconic figures that were shown over and over again in unrealistic dark rooms with ridiculous spotlighting and a silly attempt at a dark soundtrack.

Who who gets married in a dark Church? I had to turn off every light in the house just to see a low-tech transparent skull kiss the bride and go on to chase her from dark room to dark room until 8:59 when Landis springs a ridiculous twist that will never make sense.

At the last moment It is revealed that "she" is the serial killer; not her new husband who was depicted as a maniac with inappropriate rage and two unnecessary twin uncles who raised their eyebrows every time the new husband spoke. The final 10 seconds will never make sense when presented with the previous 59 minute setup.

The repetitive close-ups of plastic mannequins made me groan each time it happened; and it happened too many times. There was nothing authentic about this story and the ending cheats the viewer in the worst way. Even the worst episode of "Murder, She Wrote" is more satisfying.

If the series can limp through a full year they would do good to leave this one out of a Season One compilation DVD.

Weakest So Far

[don_gilbert · 2/10 · 27 June 2008]

The twist at the end ruined what was already a mediocre episode. This is the weakest of the episodes of Fear Itself so far. The script is poorly thought out. The end twist does not fit with the rest of the story. The build-up to the end is poor, and I totally agree with the previous comment about the lighting being too dark for a wedding--my thoughts exactly.

Wouldn't the bride have just torn up the letter? Maybe she would still want to find out who the woman in the red scarf is, but why would she act so strange and be fearful of the groom? If she knew she was the killer, would she really run away from him? Because of John Landis, I was expecting something good, but I was left disappointed. A twist can be good thing if it is clever. This one wasn't.

Mediocre plot, horrible ending.

[lvytn · 2/10 · 16 February 2012]

It's bizarre how the last 5 minutes or so completely ruined any potential this episode could have achieved.. Not only were there many plot holes, but the twist completely ruins any credibility to any of the story up until that point. It feels like the writer was hoping no one would remember anything they saw for the first 40 minutes.

I never write reviews for TV shows or movies, but this show left me completely frustrated and irritated when it ended. Everything that had happened either was left unanswered, or made no sense. I wont put any spoilers here, in case someone is reading reviews before seeing the episode.

Honestly, I did like the acting, and felt enveloped in the story. The ending was just far too forced, and seemed tacked on, and didn't belong there.

Huh? Huh?? Huh???

[bleukreuz · 6/10 · 8 August 2008]

Honestly, this episode only intrigues me so much because it have James Roday and Maggie Lawson from Psych play different character.

The plot was clearly ridiculous at best. It leaves too many question at the end. It was about a girl and a boy who rushed into wedding. Suddenly on her wedding day, the bride got a note and freaked out. The groom then started acting very suspiciously creepy. The bride finally got cornered and looks dangerously on the edge of mental breakdown and BOOM then it turns out the killer was her after all! And amazingly this last part happen in only about 10 seconds before the film forever cut into darkness, Leaving a HUGE void inside me.

The ending was so lame, but surprisingly it manages to catch me a bit off guard (but not in an oh-my-god way). Because as an audience that have seen too much violence at the cinema, I thought the movie would end with Carlos being killed by Sam's brother (because the brother get the message from Sam and flew to the rescue) and Sam is forced to see his husband die (with so much blood and gore) in the confession booth next to her.

At least that ending would be more exciting than eternal darkness.

The ending looked way rushed, it doesn't give adequate explanation as to WHY: - The groom was stalking the bride - The twin uncle suddenly acts very creepy - The bride looks genuinely scared to death even though she probably kills people for a hobby - The church was way too dark - The catholic-themed sculpture was overused - The brother comes back to the church after he is seen leaving with a taxi and then suddenly comes home again (if it was agreed that she was the tall-red-riding-hood) - And is the brother only pretend to be a woman or what???

Overall I think it was an OK-although-disappointing episode for a TV (you know, the budget and time being restricted and all) But I would expect more for a famous director.

I'm willing to give it a chance though, because I've seen so many good, if not excellent TV series just canceled after a season, or even worse, a few episode.

Twist is telegraphed far too early

[tamra · 2/10 · 4 July 2008]

SPOILER: I was very disappointed with this entry. The "twist" is telegraphed within the first five minutes. It was so obvious that I thought the writer did it on purpose to make the viewer feel like they knew the secret, in preparation for another twist later on.

No such luck. The whole thing is laid out with some very obvious, overworked and clumsy dialogue in the first five minutes, as well as a note with wording that is just too obviously ambiguous: if it had been reworded to simply say "You are marrying a...." it would have worked so much better. The awkward and unlikely use of the phrase "the person you are marrying" is just to clumsy to not stand out and immediately reveal to the viewer that the note has been misdirected. The rest of the story unfolds just how you expect it with no extra twist at the end to make this worth the time.

There is, however, about 20 minutes of strained overacting on the part of the groom, who was clearly instructed to act strange and menacing in an attempt to throw the audience off (which may have worked if we didn't already KNOW that he's not the one we need to be worried about). The problem is not with his acting, but with the weird behaviour of the character which never really makes sense in the end. The episode is also marred by a weird set of characters in the groom's twin uncles who act mysterious, suggest a dark past, and drop bits of suggestive information about the groom in a further ineffective attempt at misdirection. These characters never bring a payoff and add nothing to the story, though the performance is sound.

Misdirection is only effective if the audience does not KNOW ahead of time that it's misdirection! When you do know, it's just irritating.

I like the work of John Landis, and loved the first Jeepers Creepers, but this is hands down the most blatantly telegraphed I've seen in years.

Possibly the Best of the First Four

[gavin6942 · 6/10 · 2 July 2008]

Sam (Maggie Lawson) and Carlos (James Roday) are at the church, ready to be married after a very short engagement. But moments before the ceremony is scheduled to begin, a woman in a red scarf drops off a note that gets passed on to Sam: "The person you are marrying is a serial killer." She freaks out, and although she's ready to go through with the wedding, the mood was changed and the night is about to become stressful for everyone involved.

I seem to be in the minority on this episode. Michael Gingold of Fangoria didn't really care for it. But it seems every episode I liked, he didn't and every one he didn't, I did. So, Michael, I think you're a great reporter but I don't think I trust your taste in movies anymore. Further, most people seem to disapprove of it, calling it "boring" or "slow" or "confusing". I can understand it being confusing -- especially after a few plot twists and some characters are introduced who don't have very well-defined backgrounds. I didn't find it boring or slow at all, though. (I think this may be in part because I get copies of the show without the commercials... sorry, NBC.) My good friend Hannah liked it, but not as much as she liked "Family Man". I think that's a fair call and I'm not far removed from her. I think I liked "In Sickness and in Health" slightly better, but it's hard to say. They seem to be the best episodes so far (thank you, Ronny Yu and John Landis). With "Innocent Blood" still fresh in my mind, it's not surprising this one left a good taste in my mouth. I'm still holding out for next week's Stuart Gordon episode ("Eater") to be the best, but the plot doesn't impress me. And Gingold likes it, so it's bound to be horrible.

There isn't much to analyze in this week's installment, simply because most of it is suspense and very little plot. I think they succeeded on the suspense. And the traps for the audience were set up well, even if it doesn't all make sense in the end. I don't know. I liked it. Maybe Hannah is right, maybe "Family Man" is better. I'll have to wait until my second viewing when these come out on DVD. But I can say after the slow start of the series, this was a welcome addition.

Is there a more appropriate word than "Sucks"?

[RestlessRust · 3/10 · 13 August 2008]

This episode falls apart in nearly every way possible. The characters overreact to everything. The final revelation is anything but surprising, and yet, once we know it, nothing we've seen before makes any sense. Some mysterious characters' motivations are never explained. In short, the entire script plays out like a poorly conceived "gotcha" that strains credulity at every turn. You persevere to the end hoping that at least the explanation will offer something of a payoff, but everything just crumbles like dry mud.

Nor does the direction help in the least. The characters are either annoying or unlikable. Humorous moments are thrown in with no rhyme or reason. We cut to commercial seemingly every three minutes. And worst of all, THERE'S NO FEAR! There have been some entertaining entries in the series, but this is not one of them. It feels like a student film based on a high-schooler's screenplay. Skip it.

A Chilling Wedding Scenario!

[Sylviastel · 8/10 · 4 July 2008]

A young bride is getting married. She receives a note from the priest via a woman who entered the church before the ceremony. It reads that the person you may be marrying is a serial killer. Despite her doubts, she goes through with the wedding ceremony at the church. Her brother has yet to appear. Her husband's parents died under a cloud of mystery. She begins to wonder why the woman would leave such a horrendous note. Her new husband makes a confession but it is not until the end which we know the truth about the mystery woman, the note, and who it was for. It was kind of great moment but it ended too soon without an explanation as to why it happened. I thought it was chilling and original and the kind of series that I looked forward to seeing again on television. I haven't been than interested in a television show in a long time that kept me up so late in a long time.

A Home Run

[ricardovs27 · 7/10 · 15 July 2011]

So far, the best one.

The veteran director Landis and newcomer Victor Salva (from "Jeepers Creepers") created the best episode yet.

With good use of sound, nice imagery (the close ups of saints are cool), fast pace and reasonable editing, it suffers only in the heavy handed plot device to deliver the ending.

After a really annoying start, the plot goes on nicely to the final twist, with some welcome hints of humor and witty dialogs.

The grade and the compliments must be understood that are given within the context. In a lackluster series like this, "In Sickness and Health" is the best of the lot yet.

It doesn't mean is good, genre-wise. Only correct and fun, as expected.

Convoluted and unclear. Poor execution.

[marcustee · 3/10 · 4 July 2008]

I missed this episode when it was first aired so I went to NBC.com and watched it. I too was disappointed as the plot was so badly convoluted. I was scratching my head at the end, as were most of you, until the light went on and I realized what Landis and the writer was trying to get across. To wit:

Sam and Carlos are getting married. Sam, throughout the whole show, seems like the sane normal person whereas Carlos appears to be the suspected serial killer. I believe that Landis was trying to show us how Sam perceived herself all along. And the final scene was her flipping back to her serial killer side, as if she had a split personality. In her mind, throughout the story, she was unaware that she was the killer. Her and her brother were no doubt in on this together and nothing alerted Sam that it was her brother dressed in the red scarf because she was "normal" in this side of her personality.

All the rest of the show, the twin uncles, the deaf priest, the strange acting groom and the lame use of religious icons, were all red herrings to throw the viewer off and to show how Sam perceived the situation. It's unfortunate that Landis didn't set this up correctly, as it *did* have potential, it was just poorly executed. At least that is my take on it.

Had Potential, Didn't Have Execution

[tjunderwood · 4/10 · 29 June 2008]

The problem with this episode is two-fold: the writing first, the acting second.

Landis is an amazing director, though even he can't save this mess.

In order to make the ending "twist" work, there has to be a fair amount of misdirection along the way. Trouble is, the misdirection is completely unnatural and the actors force their performances to camouflage the shortcomings of the writing.

Why is the bride acting so over-the-top scared? Why is the groom acting so over-the-top creepy? Because they want us to be surprised for the "gotcha moment" at the end, which I saw coming about 10 minutes before it happened.

If you're reading this in disagreement, I invite you to view "Presumed Innocent"; the master class of misdirection.

Pretty boring

[LeeMcAdam · 3/10 · 14 November 2010]

The girl seemed to jumpy and frightened to be a serial killer, although i admit i have never met one (that i know of) to compare her to :P However looking back on the episode it does explain why her ex-boyfriends all went missing xD Overall i felt it lacked structure and i found myself getting more and more bored through the episode and just wanted it to end, the attempts at suspense were 'lame' and the acting really quite weak. Also what was up with the creepy twins? And all this stuff with Carlos's parents going missing? None of that was explained at all, just left as plot holes. I also can't seem to work out why you would believe a random anonymous note from someone on your wedding day, surely you would just think it's just some idiot playing a prank... One more thing, is he wasn't the serial killer, why was he hiding in the shadows practically stalking her outside the church?

Ridiculous

[dschmeding · 3/10 · 11 July 2008]

I saw the first 4 parts of "Fear itself" and to me its some really weak stuff there. The visuals are nice, the acting is good but the stories are most of the time pretty much ridiculous. "In sickness and health" was one of the weakest ... its about a woman who gets rushed into marriage with a guy she met not too long ago and her friends wondering if she makes the right decision. On her wedding day she receives a note from a strange lady informing her that she es about to marry a serial killer. From here on the thing is well filmed but mainly just a bore and when the final twist comes in you wonder why anyone gets money to make a movie out of such an idea... it just makes no sense at all. This movie is a giant plot-hole with a twist that turns it all upside down trying to be smart but making no sense with what characters did throughout the movie. You can think about the end in any way you like but everything in the script just sucks for laying out stupid red herrings all the way and letting characters do things that don't make sense in the end. Unless everybody in this movie was supposed to be a serial killer its just bad...this one was even way worse than the episode with the voodoo guy in the cell. Cheap suspense leading absolutely nowhere but to real stupid script ideas.

Well Directed

[Michael_Elliott · 9 July 2008]

Fear Itself: In Sickness and In Health (2008)

*** (out of 4)

Right before her wedding stars, a woman (Maggie Lawson) receives a letter from a mysterious woman warning her that the groom (James Roday) is a serial killer. The bride to be naturally freaks out but goes ahead with the wedding but begins to fear that the note might contain the truth. Landis contributed a couple entries in the Masters of Horror series and I loved both of them but while this here is a step backwards there are still many interesting aspects. Landis has always added a lot comic relief to his horror films but that's not the case here as the director stays away from the laughs and instead tries to deliver the suspense. It's also worth noting that the director doesn't try to fall back on any gore, which is rather refreshing for a horror film of today. There are several nods to Hitchcock here and the film plays out a lot like you'd expect from him and that includes a couple twists in the story, which come out of no where and really work very well. I won't ruin the twists but they certainly caught me off guard and when I went back and thought about the clues in the film I was even more impressed at how well they worked and how well the story was put together by screenwriter Victor Salva. My biggest problem with the film was the performance by Lawson who I feel really kills the momentum in the story. She handles the scary stuff just fine but I found her to be quite annoying throughout the movie and while some of this might fall into the lap of Landis, I still found the actress to be fairly lame. Roday on the other hand delivers a very strong performance and he does a great job at building the mystery around his character that we're never quite sure what to think of him. Marshall Bell, one of my favorite character actors, is also on hand but isn't given too much to do in the role of twins.

BIG SPOILERS! I like it, although I still kept seeing Sean and Juliet.

[timawa · 6/10 · 1 August 2008]

This is the first and only episode of Fear Itself I have watched. And that's only because I'm a huge PSYCH fan, and I was curious to see how James Roday and Maggie Lawson do in different roles.

In a way, it's kind of like a fantasy fulfillment episode for PSYCH fans, who have been wanting to see Sean and Juliet hook up, and they hook up in this episode in a BIG way.

Thing is, James Roday didn't fully convince me that he was playing a different role, although he was playing a very creepy guy. He still had some Shawn-isms that reminded me of his Psych character. I realized how good an actress Maggie was because she got to do stuff here that her character in Psych don't go to often, and she does it very VERY well. It was quite a revelation. She convinced me that she was Sam, so great job to Maggie! Still, it was a kick to see James and Maggie get married... I can almost imagine them to be Sean and Juliet. But regardless, I was able to enjoy the story on it's own and towards the end, I was no longer even thinking of Psych.

That twist towards the end was a real kicker. But it does make them emphasizing Carlos' creepiness, propping him up as the bad guy a little too obvious. I mean, why would Carlos stalk Sam outside the Church in such a creepy way if he was innocent? Why would he act like such a bastard for most of the episode if he was guilty of nothing more than going out on a date with another girl? It was TOO obvious.

A better way of doing it would have been to play up Carlos' innocence, portray him as a GOOD guy until towards the end. Throw NO suspicion on him at all. In that way, people will think that the twist in the story that he is in fact, the BAD guy when he freaks out in the end. But then a moment later, it's revealed that Sam is indeed the bad guy (or girl), making the twist even more unexpected.

Although James does creepy great, that creepy shot of Maggie towards the end when we realize she is nuts was even MORE creepy. Wow.

Worst episode

[Bardofpoteidaia6 · 1/10 · 2 July 2008]

::possible spoiler:: OK, the episode was horribly cheesy and confusing, and the ending made absolutely no sense what so ever. I still have no idea what exactly happened, and mourn the fact that I will never be able to get back.

The fact that the bride begins to see things that are demonic makes no sense when nothing was supernatural. OK, she rushed into the marriage, we get it- but one little typed note is enough to make her flip out?... that's not rushing into a marriage that's walking up to someone and being like 'hi I'm desperate to have a relationship, but if anyone says anything negative about you I'm going to freak out. wanna get married?'

And how is it, that the 'deaf' priest, can't hear someone pounding on her door, and someone walking up the steps but can hear how the church 'creeks when its settling'. A house creaking is a subtle sound- she was practically yelling in his face when she was talking to him and he was still like 'what?! Speak up!'.

What also doesn't make sense is how her innocent husband flips out, chases her, semi stalks her and puts on a pair of black gloves... I don't know that he found on the street??? Then he's all compassionate and 'aww baby I had dinner with someone else but I LOVE YOU!'. ::rolls eyes::

I think the writer was trying to go for the whole 'oh no husband serial killer, but wait its a plot twist! its really the wife ::Dramatic music::' They failed.... Really really badly. I missed one episode from the series but as far as I'm concerned this was the worst one yet.

Well thought out surprising episode..Haters hating to just to hate.

[krawc · 7/10 · 2 March 2022]

The episode is a surprise ending but was very well thought out. The fact that the entire episode no one stops to think that note is ABOUT her, not FOR her builds intensity. The anxiety is boosted as the bride makes the groom out to be the monster, and confess his guilt. The fact she never shares with her friends what it says leaves you wondering why? People with negative reviews need to appreciate you can build anticipation and excitement without someone jumping out at the screen. The shallowness of their comments leads to not happy without blood and guts. If haters arent hating they aren't happy. Episode plays right into human instinct way of thinking.

ugh....really?

[psycho-karlee · 1/10 · 31 July 2010]

I'm sorry to whoever enjoyed it, but in my eyes, it was absolutely horrible!! It made no sense. The ONLY reason I even enjoyed it a tiny bit is because I got to see James and Maggie act together in a different environment other than Psych. It was just awful!! The plot was not thought out well at ALL. It was extremely disappointing. If she was a serial killer, why would she be so afraid of marrying one??? I'm sorry. It just made zero amount of sense. None at all. Horrible. Bad. Awful. Any other way to say it? Wow. I mean, it wouldn't have been so bad if it had just been gross or something, but it was just really stupid. I didn't really get the whole brother thing, and what was with the bodies and gory crap at her house? I mean, it's fine that she's a serial killer, but why would she keep the bodies? wouldn't you think she would want to hide them? She's not going to be able to hide from the police too well if her house is full of dead stuff. And if she's a serial killer with her brother, why did he give the priest a note? So many unanswered questions that will never be answered. It was just really frustrating to watch.

no fear

[trashgang · 4/10 · 20 May 2010]

Ahaa, the first episode with a real big name as director. John Landis. The man who gave us An American Werewolf In London. But to be straight, this isn't another masterpiece. Sad but true, it is just a story about nothing at all. This is my forth effort into Fear Itself and so far I haven't seen anything that could compare with Masters Of Horror. it starts of pretty well, you know, just before marriage you receive an anonymous letter concerning your partner. Here it is stated, the one you are going to marry is a serial killer. So for 38 minutes it's all about being frightened about the marriage, and confronting your partner with the letter. But nothing scary really happens on screen, even as Landis tried to trick us, again, no fear is used. There is no blood in this episode. Oh yes, when we see the dead bodies it is a bit bloody but it is too late. 38 minutes were unused to give us the creeps. The sudden plot change is okay but doesn't work, you will figure out why. The whole Fear Itself remind me of Hammer House of Horrors, the series, were there was also a plot change. But in those series something happened in between. Sad to see that were Landis gave us real horror in Masters of Horror, failed in all ways in Fear Itself.

dreary and lame

[otankgirl · 1/10 · 28 June 2008]

Dreary and lame. Even the ending is messed up, and literally makes no sense. Unfortunate and lacking, a plot out of one of the cheaper 1970's horror comic books, I knew this plot within the first five minutes, lackluster script. Even a good director (John Landis) can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. (My spell checker is telling me that "sow" is not a word. If "sow" is not a word, how do you spread seeds?) The standout episode of this series was the one with the cop in the haunted house. Didn't get that one in HD here because equipment broke down at the broadcaster. I still hold high hopes for this series. Don't waste your time on this stinker episode.

No, I DON'T

[Fernando-Rodrigues · 4/10 · 22 November 2020]

Weak (and cartoonish) acting, CGI, and plot twist (the bride was the killer the whole time, and his ex-lover was trying to warn her fiance).

Middling episode

[Woodyanders · 4/10 · 26 July 2012]

John Landis sadly fumbles with this episode. The premise has potential: Excited bride to be Samantha (a perky and appealing portrayal by the attractive Maggie Lawson) receives a note from a mysterious woman informing her that her future husband Carlos (well played by James Roday) is a serial killer. A neat and twisty little romp could have been made out of this plot, but alas Landis' flat direction crucially fails to generate any necessary tension or creepy atmosphere. Moreover, Landis adds only a smidgen of his trademark wacky humor to the scenario. Worse yet, Victor Salva's blah script gets bogged down in too much tedious talk, thereby allowing the meandering narrative to plod towards a lame, obvious, and flat-out ridiculous "surprise" twist ending. Peter Bernstein's clumsy thumping score doesn't help matters any. Fortunately, the zesty acting from the game cast prevents this show from being a complete wash-out: Lawson and Roday make the most out of the lackluster material, Christie Laing and Sonja Bennett are spirited and engaging as Samantha's loyal gal pal bridesmaids, and veteran character actor Marshall Bell has fun as a pair of radically contrasting identical twin brothers. Alwyn Kumst's bright cinematography provides a pleasing sparkling look. A really bland and forgettable outing.