Something Borrowed [2011]

One of the main problems with “Something Borrowed” is that Kate Hudson’s character is very annoying  that it’s hard to sympathize with her.  She plays Darcy, the lifelong best friend of our leading lady Rachel (Ginnifer Goodwin). When we first meet them, Darcy is about to be married to Dex, who Rachel has had a crush on since college. However, after her 30th birthday party, Rachel falls in the arms and in bed with Dex (oops!). Nothing good can come of this I assure you. From then on, it’s cliché after cliché and predictable event after predictable event. As the wedding approaches, Rachel and Dex realise they’re falling for each other. Should they tell Darcy before it’s too late, or keep lying until this whole thing blows up in their faces? Director Luke Greenfield (“The Girl Next Door”) treats Rachel so sympathetically, and lets Hudson’s annoying and self absorbed character come off as the bad guy, that we can’t help wanting to see Rachel granted her wish, eventhough one would normally see her as a “back-stabbing bitch”. Instead, we find ourselves rooting for the cheater rather than for the victim. But halfway through the movie, which runs close to two hours, my mind started to wander. Instead of being pulled into the story, I found myself drifting away from it. And by the time it was over, I couldn’t care less about its outcome. I’m well aware that the film is based on a best selling book by Emily Griffin, but there’s no reason on earth for it to take up almost two hours!

 The best thing I could say about “Something Borrowed” however, is that Ginnifer Goodwin is very likable and believable. Hudson on the other hand struggles a lot with the material  she’s handed, while Egglesfield (as Dex) brings very little to the table. So basically, the whole film is a perfect showcase for Goodwin, but I wish the people involved in this had produced something more original, and more memorable. It’s a missed opportunity in my opinion.

Rating: 2/4