The Wedding Planner is a comic souffle that never manages to rise to its full potential.

By their nature, romantic comedies are meant to be light and fluffy.

It's part of the formula of boy-meets-girl but must first overcome a number of obstacles before they can live happily ever after.

What has kept movie audiences enamored of these comic trifles is the wit of the writing, buoyancy of the direction and chemistry of the actors.

All rolled together, it's called charm and it's in short supply in The Wedding Planner.

The problem starts with the screenplay by novice writers Pamela Falk and Michael Ellis. The basic conceit works for a romantic comedy.

Mary Fiore (Jennifer Lopez) is the best wedding consultant in San Francisco.

She makes her clients supremely happy, but can't do the same for herself.

Mary is beautiful, successful and driven. The only thing she doesn't have is love.

One day, Mary bumps into Dr. Steve Edison (Matthew McConaughey).

He's handsome, funny, kind and quite obviously interested in Mary. He accepts her offer to go to an outdoor movie.

They like many of the same things and they dance as if they were meant to be partnered.

Mary lets down her defences only to learn that Dr. Steve is not available. Worse still, he is the fiance of her latest client, the beautiful, wealthy, successful Fran Donolly (Bridgette Wilson-Sampras).

The once-fast friends become firm enemies, but must continue seeing each other because Fran leaves most of the wedding planning up to Dr. Steve.

Next complication.

Mary's meddling father Salvatore (Alex Rocco) is determined to find a good Italian boy for his lonely daughter.

The answer is Massimo Lanzetta (Justin Chambers), a boy she knew and hated when they were both children.

Massimo takes his assignment seriously and is determined to win Mary's love.

The audience knows Mary and Dr. Steve are going to get together just as Rock Hudson always did with Doris Day in those '50s romantic comedies.

Problem is, Fran and Massimo are people, too, and they seem to be in love.

The screenplay treats both Fran and Massimo with too much frivolous disdain.

They're simply props to keep Mary and Dr. Steve from leaping into bed.

First-time director Adam Shankman plods through this forced merriment, substituting stunning locations and pastel wardrobes for real romance.

He doesn't make us really care about the possibility of Mary and Steve becoming a couple.

They seem much too preoccupied with other things and other people for us to expend the necessary energy on their behalf.

The Wedding Planner needed a comedy consultant as much as the brides in San Francisco needed a wedding planner.

(This film is rated PG)

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