I was familiar with the movie License to Wed before it debuted on DVD; my wife and I saw it less than a year into our marriage and we were happy to get the chance to own the film on DVD. The set-up’s simple. John Krasinski of The Office and Mandy Moore play a couple who want to get married, but to do so, they have to take Rev. Frank’s marriage preparation course. The problem is, Rev. Frank is Robin Williams.

It’s as simple as that, really. While there were a couple moments that made my wife and I smile, having been through premarital counseling only a year before seeing this movie. But while amusing, the real disconnect set in when Robin Williams, as he always does, took the character way over the top and, rather than playing a somewhat boundary-pushing and eccentric pastor, he spends most of the film playing… Robin Williams.

Once a high-energy, zany comic, Williams has become increasingly politicized, opinionated and boorish in his comedy over the three decades or so since he first appeared as Mork from Ork on a Happy Days episode, launching his career to superstardom. When he left Mork and Mindy to do films, his first director on The World According to Garp had to put in a yeoman’s effort just to reign Williams in to get an accurate line delivery out of him instead of all the nonsensical ad-lib in which he specializes.

That was a long time ago, and Williams has only become harder to reign in over the years, especially when cast in a comedy rather than a dramatic role. While License to Wed has Williams delivering some laughs, it’s no Good Morning Vietnam, aside from the fact that Williams is again playing an antiestablishment type who bucks against expectations.

Of course, that kind of blunts the surprise factor of many of the films’ jokes. When Rev. Frank gets suddenly and surprisingly frank with Krasinski’s character about sex, it’s supposed to be a huge laugh as a line coming from a man of the cloth; yet given Williams’ reputation for blue comedy, the laugh was muted because such shocks are no surprise at all coming from Williams. It’s a lot like watching your local insurance agent in a play in which he plays a pastor who suddenly asks someone about their individual health insurance policy; it’s no surprise at all because of who is playing the role.

As for the DVD package, there’s not as much bonus material as one might wish; the audio commentary involves only the director, Ken Kwapis, which misses the boat; in a Robin Williams movie, you at least want to hear Robin Williams banter with the director. But no, it’s just Kwapis reminiscing, which just isn’t anywhere near enough. One minor “ask the choir boy” special feature is a novelty at best.

The selection of special features simply leaves a lot to be desired in this package. If you’ve seen it in theatres and loved the movie, grab this, unless you’re expecting more than is being offered here. The dedicated DVD-phile will find this package to be lacking in the bells and whistles department.