AMB Reviews

Bride Wars: 4/10 Stars

Release Date: January 9, 2009

Content Advisory: Rated PG for suggestive content, language and some rude behavior. Two couples kiss passionately and are sometimes shown lying in bed together (fully clothed). Three strippers appear at a bachelorette party, dancing in their boxers, and the two main women climb up onto the stage and dance suggestively with them. Lots of screaming, catfights, pratfalls, and the regular, no-nonsense slapstick humor. 

Review:

Bride Wars never looked appealing to me in the first place. But, sometimes you have to do what you have to do. Considering my cousin was dying to see this film, I decided to give in and go along. Did I get what I expected? Mmm... yes, pretty much.

In Short:

Bride Wars stars Anne Hathaway (whom I personally love) and Kate Hudson... two soon-to-be brides. Having been best friends their entire life, they suddenly find themselves enemies when they disover their weddings have accidentally been booked on the same day. It's now a fight as to who will win and who will receive their glorious day in the wonderful Plaza. Looking at the trailers ahead of time... it basically shows you everything there is to show. There's no new stuff or surprise twist that wasn't given away in the trailer. If the trailer looks funny to you... this movie will probably end up being funny to you. If not... you can expect a mindless and silly flick with very few laughs. 

In Full: 

Liv and Emma have always been best friends. Ever since childhood, they have always dreamed of the perfect wedding right at the Plaza. Of course, when they are both announced engaged in the same week, they immediately book one of the last two slots at the Plaza. That dream is shattered however, and their friendship is suddenly reversed when they discover that somehow, their weddings have been accidentally booked on the same day. Now, they have two options: try to get one of the two women to find another venue for their wedding, or perform a double wedding. The two immediately discard the latter idea, so they are left with only one. Now, it's a fight between the two best friends, now turned enemies, as they struggle to conduct their perfect wedding... alone. 

Though I really was not fond of this entire movie, I must say that the acting was definitely one of its few pros. Having always like Hathaway, I was glad to see her cheery face on the screen and save the film from a disaster with her solid performance. Hudson was also very good in her role. Hudson and Hathaway seemed to click in this movie. Maybe, in the future, as long as a better movie is selected, I think that they should work together again, as they just seemed to have a certain chemistry on screen.

Besides from those two, there really wasn't much else to comment upon the acting, besides Steve Howey, who, best known for his role in the TV sitcom, Reba, makes it to the big screen in this movie, playing Kate Hudson's soon-to-be fiancee. Though Bride Wars wouldn't have been my first choice for him to co-star in, and though I would've liked to see more scenes with him (he was really only given one or two major scenes), he was able to carry his role nicely, along with Candice Bergen as the ultra-famous wedding planner, Marion St. Claire. 

Acting aside... the rest of the movie really didn't do much for me. The problem began with the trailer. If you find yourself laughing only once in a trailer for a supposed "comedy..." you know there's gonna be problems. I discovered that the hard way. I know now that most of the time, if a trailer looks crappy... the movie's going to be crappy. There are some exceptions, but not many. And though I did find this movie better than what I thought it looked like in the trailer... it still felt forced and still not very humorous. The problem is... watching two screaming girls on screen who run around and play nasty pranks on each other, gets a little tiring. The ending, I'll admit, was better than I thought it would be, though still seemed out of place compared to the boring, slapstick fluff we were getting before.

As you can probably already tell... I don't recommend this movie. Yes, some may find it appealing... mainly, that teenage girl crowd, who finds just about any chick flick movie good. And yes, I am a boy myself, so maybe I can't write an honest review on this film. But I can tell you that unless you look at two girls playing pranks and catfighting with each other as funny... you'll probably be disappointed. The plot in itself seems somewhat decent. The acting is very good. It was just how the plot was executed and what the great actors did in the film that made it a below-average flick for me. Don't get me wrong... Hathaway, Hudson, Howevy, and Bergen are all very talented. But with a forgettable script that relies all on the normal "slapstick, pratfall, corny" humor... there's really nothing they can do to save it, besides add in a few occasional laughs.