Bride Wars (2009)

User Rating:

5.0/10   

Director:

Gary Winick

Writers (WGA):

Greg DePaul (screenplay) and
Casey Wilson (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

9 January 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

Even best friends can't share the same wedding day.

Plot:

Two best friends become rivals when they schedule their respective weddings on the same day.

Plot Keywords:

Wedding | Best Friend | Wedding Party | School Teacher | Sabotage

Awards:

1 win & 6 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sat. Nov. 14	8:00 PM	HBO
Sun. Nov. 15	12:00 AM	HBO

Cast

Kate Hudson	...	Liv
Anne Hathaway	...	Emma
Bryan Greenberg	...	Nate
Chris Pratt	...	Fletcher
Steve Howey	...	Daniel
Candice Bergen	...	Marion St. Claire
Kristen Johnston	...	Deb
Michael Arden	...	Kevin
Victor Slezak	...	Colson
Kelly Coffield Park	...	Kathy
John Pankow	...	John
Zoe O'Grady	...	Young Liv
Shannon Ferber	...	Young Emma
June Diane Raphael	...	Amanda
Charles Bernard	...	Wedding DJ

MPAA:

Rated PG for suggestive content, language and some rude behavior.

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG (certificate #44718) | Ireland:PG | UK:PG (cut) | Australia:PG | Singapore:NC-16 | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Finland:S | Singapore:PG (edited version) | South Korea:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Taiwan:GP | Spain:T | New Zealand:PG | South Africa:PG | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Norway:A | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:Atp | Mexico:A | Sweden:7 | Australia:M (Cable TV rating)

Filming Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Fox 2000 Pictures

Trivia:

Several wives and girlfriends of current Red Sox players were extras in the wedding shower scene.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Emma is in the room with Deb, just as Emma is about to start shouting at Deb - Deb changes from holding her champagne, then her makeup, then her champagne again and then her makeup again.

Quotes:

Daniel: They haven't spoken in a week. That's like a century in girl years.

Movie Connections:

References "Smurfs" (1981)

Soundtrack:

Pump Up The Jam

Bride Wars Review from The Massie Twins

If you're looking for a comedy with weird plot twists and a sprinkling of humor, then you'll still be searching - Bride Wars excels at the former and sadly fails at the latter. It's not entirely silly sabotage and witless laughs as a few scenes and characters do stand out of the cliché wedding comedy crowd, but ultimately the tragic outcomes and easy clean-up of a far too messy situation will leave viewers wishing for a more comfortably predictable plot line.

Liv (Kate Hudson) and Emma (Anne Hathaway) have been best friends since childhood and both have always dreamed of a gorgeous June wedding at the luxurious Plaza Hotel. When both girls' boyfriends ask for their hands in marriage, Liv and Emma enlist the highly reputable wedding planner Marion St. Claire (Candice Bergen) to acquire their dream locale. Unfortunately a clerical error has their weddings set on the same day and thus begins a rivalry of increasingly ruthless sabotage as both girls refuse to reschedule their most important day.

No experimentation or originality can be seen in Bride Wars. Everything is terribly formulaic, from the music-narrated montages to the carefully patterned dialogue to the high points and low points for each of the heroines. When a half-expected love triangle forms, it is completely unnecessary and sorely mislaid - this is the kind of film where each event is better off contributing solely to comedy and every sad moment is best coated with ridiculous gags and off-the-wall mood-shifting resolutions. Touches of seriousness have no place in Bride Wars, which struggles so greatly with its adult dilemmas that the moments of humor feel forced - shoved into the cracks to even out the heartbreak most won't be feeling for these cookie-cutter characters.

If it wasn't bad enough that no individuality finds its way through all the girl-oriented giggling, hormonal wedding craze and subdued cat-fighting, the humor itself is oftentimes indecipherable from the drama. Sometimes it's funny to see these girls bitterly attack one another even if we're meant to sympathize, and other times it's disheartening when we're supposed to be laughing. Either way, so little of the film sparks interest or concern over two hopelessly contrived, generic best friends that it would be as wasteful to debate over them as it was to spoil two hours of valuable time watching the film. Hopefully even the target audience will realize the recycled, uninspired nature of Bride Wars.

- The Massie Twins