Something Borrowed? I’ll say. I mean, right out of the gate I don’t want to slam this romantic comedy as unoriginal, but, Something Borrowed? The title is a twist on the pre-game routine of marriage, yes, but it doesn’t exactly scream fresh either.
That said, any movie that has Kate Hudson involved in cutesy shenanigans that doesn’t find an opportunity to work Matthew McConaughey into the proceedings (sue me, I like ‘em together) and still emerges as not horrible can’t be all that bad. And Something Borrowed isn’t that bad, really. But it isn’t all that good either.
Thank heaven for Ginnifer Goodwin who absolutely shines as Rachel, the sane, balanced, and unmarried best friend of scattered party girl Darcy (Hudson). The story has Darcy about to marry handsome (yet otherwise empty) Dex (Colin Egglesfield), a long-time crush of both women.
As has been the case their entire lives, Darcy gets everything she wants, while Rachel is forced to sit with an artificial smile on the sidelines and cheer her on. But this time, sparks fly (and –– naughty, naughty –– clothes are shed) between the groom-to-be and the shy, sensitive bridesmaid.
Obviously, chaos erupts. Moral issues too.
Credit director Luke Greenfield (The Girl Next Door) then for keeping Something Borrowed consistently easy-going in nature –– not an easy task when the characters shouldn’t be as likable as they are.
It probably helps a lot that one of the more dependable talents out there, John Krasinski of TV’s The Office, pitches in as Rachel and Darcy’s childhood friend, Ethan. Krasinski gets a huge chunk of the quality dialogue, and almost steals the picture from under Goodwin’s adorable little nose.
See, there is charm here, so what’s the problem? Like a lot of rom-coms, it just feels like we’ve seen this movie before. Surely, the novel by Emily Giffin had to be better than the film if it’s such a popular read. Because Something Borrowed, this is. Something new? Not quite.
The feature is currently playing at Galaxy Cinemas in Vernon.
–– Jason Armstrong is The Morning Star’s movie reviewer. Hs column appears every Friday and Sunday.
