Much I Do About Nothing

As a rule, the last place a movie critic wants to view a film is at a promotional screening. Such events, if successful, are usually loud and crowded, two factors that are not exactly conducive to thoughtful analysis of the motion picture in question.

The WMXJ-FM (102.7)/Community Newspapers-sponsored showing of Married to It was an exception. In this case, the promotion was far more entertaining than the movie.

Terry Gerace and his wife Holly renewed their marriage vows A their first exchange took place twenty-five years ago A in front of a full house at General Cinema's Intracoastal 8. The beaming couple walked down the aisle and a touching ceremony was performed by WMXJ program director (and Notary) Mindy Lang, who read aloud a poem the groom had written for the occasion:

"We're celebrating our twenty-fifth anniversary this whole year/ And a chance to renew our vows would make my Holly and I cheer/ My wife has a great love of the movies/ So this matchup would really be groovy." OK, it wasn't Browning but it served its purpose.

Two rows were reserved for the wedding party who posed for photographs with cake and bubbly near the theater's entrance as stragglers to the screening made their way past. Inside, WMXJ's Joe Johnson gamely attempted to entertain a restless crowd who savagely competed for promotional prizes ranging from Married To It T-shirts to garter belts. Finally, the cake-cutting sufficiently photographed for posterity, the lucky couple re-entered the room and celebrated their union by watching the flick.

"It was difficult to concentrate on [the film] because of the occasion," reported a still-buoyant Mrs. Gerace the day after the festivities. "But after about five minutes we started getting into it. There was a lot we could relate to, real-life issues. It's not the movie of the year, but it was enjoyable."

Afterward, as audience members, clutching their hard-won T-shirts and garter belts, filed out, they congratulated the pony-tailed, tuxedoed husband and his blushing bride. Two sixty-something women dabbed at the corners of their eyes with tissues as they took turns shaking the groom's hand and wishing the Geraces "twenty-five more wonderful years." A logjam developed at the cinema's door, where several hundred slices of the wedding cake were distributed.

As for the film itself, let's just say Mrs. Gerace's assessment was generous. The groom's poetry was more accomplished, and the couple's wedding cake more nourishing. But we'll forgive the Geraces if they remember it in a more favorable light.