Stamos orders McWar

It'd be easy to peg John Stamos as a gay man. After all, he plays a doc on "ER," and two acting MDs recently stepped out of the closet.
But he's not. He's just on our side.
As the gay party planner for his brother's wedding in the movie "Wedding Wars," Stamos chooses everything from the pink tea roses to the eggshell cotton tablecloths. Still hoping?
Well, stop.
"It was the perfect part," Stamos tells Between The Lines about his role as Shel in the original A&E movie.
The former sitcom actor follows in the footsteps of others who have played gay.
"I did as much research on being gay as I did on operating people to be on 'ER,'" Stamos reveals.
For "Wedding Wars," Stamos dug into the legality of gay marriage. To avoid stereotypes while in Shel's shoes, he approached the role as a child. Not a gay man.
"His brother was getting something that he couldn't have. His brother was getting married," Stamos says about his character.
Shel plans the big day for his sibling (Eric Dane of "Grey's Anatomy") and the bride-to-be, whose father (James Brolin) is the governor of Maine. But when he finds out that Ben, a campaign manager for his future father-in-law, is behind the governor's speech against gay marriage he decides to protest.
"I just liked his conviction. I just liked (that) he stood up for what he believed in," Stamos muses.
In the politically charged but frothy look at the current issue, "Wedding Wars" may be our answer to those who are still stuck on preserving the so-called sanctity of marriage. Or at least that's the hope of Stamos and executive producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron ("Chicago," and 2007's "Hairspray" remake).
"You just sort of seduce them into thinking what we're saying is right," Meron notes.
The same team produced gay-themed films such as "What Makes a Family," the lesbian custody drama starring Brooke Shields and Cherry Jones, and "Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story."
Like those other films, Meron just wants others to realize that "gay people deserve the same rights as everyone else."
With a current gig as the McDreamy-type doctor on "ER," Stamos thinks he and Dane will lure viewers. If not with their hunky looks then their wide appeal. "It's McSteamy and McStamos together again," he laughs and continues, " … Hopefully they'll stay with that and trust me to take them on this journey."
With several of Stamos' gay pals seeking the same rights as Shel, the actor knew this was a role he should – and had to – play. As the hip uncle on "Full House" and a teen heartthrob on "General Hospital," his roles, both on televison and in film, have avoided overly political fodder.
Until now.
"I'm growing older and I do feel like I have something to say. And I felt for so many years I've been kind of wishy-washy in trying not to get political … . I thought, by doing this movie, it would kind of show and represent the way I feel about the issue."
"Wedding Wars" was shot in June, right before Stamos began shooting "ER." Plagued with yucky weather, Stamos was also fending off an acute case of bronchitis, which he dealt with through a good portion of filming. At one point, his illness yielded a trip to the hospital. The bug, though, was a blessing in disguise as it pushed him to be more vulnerable and express Shel's determined emotions more easily.
"He was a trooper," Meron says. "He just worked his bones off every single day."
Luckily, castmate Sean Maher, who plays his onscreen boyfriend Ted, didn't catch the cough from Stamos, who smooched him not once, but twice. And that's only onscreen. Behind the scenes, there were several takes of the lip-locks.
Meron recalls, "It happened over, and over, and over again."