<I>Wedding Planner</I> Tops Movie Menu

Mary Fiore (Jennifer Lopez) is the Patton of wedding planners. She knows enough about nuptials to fill a thousand photo albums and is so confident in her knowledge that she tames the most monstrous of fledgling mother-in-laws.

But Mary fights her matrimonial battles far better on the map than in reality, so when she bumps into pediatrician Steve Edison (Matthew McConaughey), the loneliness of her one-woman war to achieve the perfect wedding becomes painfully clear, so much so that she can't help falling for him — even though he's a client.

That's the premise, anyway, of The Wedding Planner, one of this weekend's five debuting films. Lopez had a crackling chemistry with her last leading man, George Clooney, in 1998's Out of Sight, and McConaughey, whose laid-back charm suggests a latter-day James Garner, could mix well with her in this PG-13 film.

Light romantic comedies, especially those that aspire to be sophisticated, need as much wit and sparkle behind the camera as in front of it, and one wonders whether first-time Director Adam Shankman, who was a choreographer and physical comedy consultant for Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, Dudley Do-Right, and Inspector Gadget, has the flair to pull that off.

At the other end of the spectrum, perhaps, is Sugar & Spice, a PG-13-rated black comedy about a high school cheerleading squad that descends to robbery to help out when one of them becomes pregnant. Ostensibly a play on the whitebread values cheerleaders represent, S & S stars Marley Shelton, Mena Suvari (who was last seen as a cheerleader in American Beauty), Marla Sokoloff, Alexandra Holden and Sean Young. It sounds like a cross between Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion and The Brinks Job.

The Faithless is former Bergman star Liv Ullman's directorial examination of how an affair between happily-married Marianne Vogler (Lena Endre) and a family friend (Krister Henriksson) damages the lives of all concerned. It's rated R and features some nudity and naughty language.

Two Ninas is a comedy about a New York writer (Ron Livingston) who goes from having a desolate social life to an overcrowded one, thanks to the aforementioned two Ninas (Cara Buono and Amanda Peet). It's rated R for some naughty language.

In limited release is Series 7: The Contenders, what looks to be a savage satire on reality-based TV shows. It is a drama and rated R for violence.

By Nick Sambides Jr