The Accidental Husband

The Accidental Husband is a 2008 American romantic comedy film directed by Griffin Dunne and starring Uma Thurman, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Colin Firth, Isabella Rossellini, and Sam Shepard. The film was written by Mimi Hare, Clare Naylor and Bonnie Sikowitz, and was produced by Jennifer Todd, Jason Blum, and Uma Thurman. It was theatrically released in the United Kingdom in 2008, but was released direct-to-DVD in the United States. The film follows a New York City fireman who seeks revenge against a popular dating expert for her role in ending his engagement with his fiancée.

The Accidental Husband
Theatrical release poster
Directed byGriffin Dunne
Written by
  • Mimi Hare
  • Clare Naylor
  • Bonnie Sikowitz
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyWilliam Rexer II
Edited bySuzy Elmiger
Music byAndrea Guerra
Production
company
Distributed byYari Film Group
Release dates
  • February 29, 2008 (2008-02-29) (United Kingdom)
  • November 10, 2009 (2009-11-10) (United States)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited States[1]
LanguageEnglish
Box office$22.7 million

Plot

Patrick Sullivan is looking forward to a life with Sophia, until she calls into the radio show hosted by famed love expert Dr. Emma Lloyd. Emma questions Sophia's concept of romantic love and advises her to break their engagement, which she swiftly does.

Patrick is so upset that when he hears that Emma is about to be married herself, he allows his young neighbour, Ajay, to hack into public records and create a fake marriage certificate between himself and Emma. Upon going to the public records office to get a marriage license, Emma and her perfect-gentleman fiancé, Richard, are told she is already married.

Emma sets out to find Patrick and give him annulment papers to sign so that she can marry Richard. Emma finds Patrick in a bar, and their initial meeting ends with her getting drunk. The following day, Patrick comes to Emma's workplace to give her the annulment papers as she is leaving for a wedding cake tasting. Patrick accompanies her to the tasting, where Frau Greta Bollenbecker assumes he is Emma's fiancé, Richard. Greta later comes to Emma's book launch because her husband Herr Karl Bollenbecker is planning to liquidate Richard's publishing house. Greta meets Emma during the banquet and tells her of the same. Patrick still has the annulment papers, so he comes to the book launch. Matters get worse when Richard sees Greta and Karl with Emma and Patrick, who is posing as Richard, but Richard agrees to go along with it when he learns that Greta thinks Patrick will charm Karl so much that Karl will decide to continue business with "Richard".

Patrick invites them all to Ajay's upanayana ceremony. Emma and the other guests have a good time there, and she sees a whole new side of Patrick, who had been repulsive to her so far. There is a slight spark of attraction, but Emma flees the scene before anything can happen.

Patrick decides to throw out everything related to Emma or Sophia, but instead reads Emma's book, Real Love. He comes to confront her about the book because he thinks it only points out all the bad things in a relationship. Patrick and Emma continue their argument in an elevator. Suddenly Patrick flashes his New York City Fire Department badge and asks the other occupants to leave the elevator. He then locks the elevator to kiss Emma. Security staff see them through a CCTV in the elevator and ask them to leave.

Emma finally has the signed and notarized annulment papers, but she considers calling off her wedding. She goes to Patrick's lodgings and they make love that night. The following morning, Emma finds all the papers related to her and Sophia in the trash. Patrick then confesses that he had initially wanted to teach her a lesson about love but then fell for her. Emma then goes back to the honorable Richard, who still loves her and says that she wants to marry him.

One day before her wedding, Patrick calls her at the radio station and tells her that he loves her. She does not answer him. The next day on her wedding day, she confides in her father, Wilder, and asks for his advice. He tells her that the decision is hers. Richard comes to see Emma in the bridal chamber. Richard had also heard the radio show the night before and tells her that he wants her to be happy, and they amicably break up.

Emma sets off the church's fire sprinklers in an attempt to get Patrick to the church. Meanwhile, the fire department where Patrick works is called to the church to put out the fire. When Patrick arrives there, Emma and Patrick get married and leave in the fire truck. The final scene shifts to a year later where it is shown that Emma is pregnant and that she and Patrick are still very much in love.

Cast

Soundtrack

The film features several Indian songs, including A. R. Rahman's "Yaro Yarodi", "Chalka Chalka", "Swasamae" and "Rang De" (from the films Alaipayuthey, Saathiya, Thenali and Thakshak respectively) as well as Panjabi Hit Squad's "Kuriyeh".[2][3][4]

Release

Theatrically, the film was released on February 29, 2008, in the UK and was scheduled to be released on August 22, 2008, in the United States.[5] It was delayed to March 27, 2009, before being shelved indefinitely following the bankruptcy of its distributor, Yari Film Group's releasing division.[6] It was released direct-to-DVD in the United States on November 10, 2009.

Reception

Box office

Not released theatrically in the United States and Canada, The Accidental Husband grossed $22.7 million at the box office in other territories.[7]

Critical response

The film was panned by critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 6% of 18 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 3/10.[8] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 14 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "overwhelming dislike".

Jenny McCartney of The Telegraph was critical of the lack of chemistry "None of it works: the inexplicable alchemy between co-stars that can seduce the audience even in an indifferent rom-com doesn't arise between Thurman and Morgan."[9]

References
  1. "The Accidental Husband (2008)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on May 13, 2018. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
  2. "15 years of Saathiya: Here are some unknown facts of the Rani Mukerji and Vivek Oberoi starrer". Hindustan Times. 19 August 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  3. Panjabi Hit Squad - quote: "Their song "Kuriyeh" appeared in the 2008 Hollywood film, The Accidental Husband" at bbc.co.uk Accessed 5 March 2018
  4. Beal, Jane (6 March 2010). "The Accidental Husband". Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  5. "Summer Movie Preview". Entertainment Weekly. April 18, 2008. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  6. Eller, Claudia (2008-12-12). "Court compels Yari Film Group's releasing unit into Chapter 11". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-03-03.
  7. "The Accidental Husband". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  8. "The Accidental Husband". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  9. McCartney, Jenny (28 December 2013). "The Accidental Husband, review: 'a film to turn your heart to stone'". The Daily Telegraph.
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