Bring on the cat fights in chiffon! | [Collider] |
And so I went in with trepidation, almost afraid to be excited, lest my hopes be crushed. With Nikki to my left and perennial chick-flick hater, PB to my right, I wasn't quite sure how this movie experience was going to go.
And yet, despite the awkward moments and the cringe-worthy parts, it actually wasn't that bad. Sure, it wasn't great, but it probably totters around the bottom of rung of okay -- which isn't bad at all -- especially for something that's been bashed by everyone.
Then again, I am very easy to please. And because we've got a wedding, Anne Hathaway and one cute non-groom, I was already set.
I'm not even going to try to defend this movie, because the critics have their right to criticize. The whole movie, I was worried that I had dragged PB to his torture -- less than an hour and a half of excruciating pain for him. And yet after the movie, he assured me that it wasn't that bad -- he just wouldn't choose to see it (ever again).
And so here goes what the critics had to say and what I (the non-critic) thought about this chiffon confection.
Even best friends can't share the same wedding day | Photo courtesy of All Movie Photos |
The first big-studio movie released in 2009 has a damn fine chance of being the worst. Bride Wars isn't just chick-flick hell for guys, it should numb the skulls of moviegoers of all sexes and ages.Well, I wouldn't call it chick-flick hell, maybe purgatory for three years? There were basically three guys in the cinema -- one of them being my brother who miraculously survived the event and came out maybe a few notches number, but still alive enough to tell me that he thought Anne Hathaway was prettier and had the better gown (answered only upon questioning, of course).
There may be a trenchant satire to be mined from our culture's materialism-warped wedding madness, but Bride Wars instead opts for graceless, flailing, poorly choreographed slapstick performed by characters who suggest a dumbed-down tour production of "Sex And The City."I don't know if this movie had the intention of commenting on their culture's materialism warped wedding madness -- maybe it just wanted to entertain? I don't know. But I don't think it ever claimed to be a "Sex and the City" esque movie. Maybe it was targeted at the same demographic, but I don't think it ever claimed to be a SATC-type.
Never gets off its high-concept stool long enough to explore what makes weddings so exciting and nerve-racking and treacherous. It flounders instead in juvenilia and bitchiness.It is called Bride Wars after all, thus the "juvenilia and bitchiness." And since when were weddings a 'high-concpet'? I thought it showed a lot of excitement over the wedding -- bordering on over-excitement in fact. But then again, can one get over-excited for a wedding? Maybe not, right?
An insipid comedy in which the women are shallow, acquisitive, backstabbing, selfish harridans.Well some women are. And though others may think that the movie promotes backstabbing, I
The idea of a revenge comedy isn't necessarily a bad one, Bride Wars simply fails at it despite having the formidable duo of Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway, who in their own distinctive ways usually command the screen.True though. This movie had so much more potential considering it's two stars are pretty good actresses on their own, but I guess the script just wasn't as great as it could've been and the direction wasn't as fab either. It could have been so much better, but it wasn't.
Not your average Bridezilla | Photo courtesy of All Movie Photos |
It wasn't all bad though
So yes, I'm not recommending this to anyone unless you happen to be a fan of Anne or Kate (and by fan, I mean you love them so much, you'll actually sit through an hour and a half of cinematic non-greatness). Which is really sad, because Gary Winnick, the film's director also made 13 Going on 30 -- which is one of my favorite. Unfortunately, I can't say the same about this one.
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