MOVIE NIGHT
BRIDE WARS (2009)
Bride Wars places two popular leading ladies, Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway, up against one another as they both fight to have the ultimate young girl's perfect dream: the best wedding day. Twenty-somethings Liv Lerner (Hudson), who's a lawyer, and school teacher Emma Allen (Hathaway) have been best friends since they were little. When they were just girls they were already dreaming about the same thing: their wedding day. While back then they walked down the hall with lipstick smeared on their faces and a way-too-large white dress borrowed from their mother's closet, the time has come for both Liv and Emma to walk down the aisle for real. They both get engaged on the same day and plan their weddings, just like they dreamed, at the Plaza Hotel in New York, with the help of famous wedding planner Marion St. Claire (Candice Bergen). However, a simple mistake made by Marion's secretary, means Liv and Emma's wedding days are on the same day. Neither of the girls wants to change her date, so there's only one solution: war.
This film, which was directed by Gary Winick (also known for 13 Going On 30 and Letters to Juliet), has received numerous negative reviews, but I have to disagree. I really enjoyed watching these two best friends battling it out to have the best wedding; multiple scenes made me laugh out loud and I walked out of the theatre with a smile on my face. The film has two fabulous actresses at its centre: Hathaway, who is just lovely to watch, and Hudson, who just has an amazing sense of comedic timing. Alright, the plotline is rather basic and solely focuses on one thing: the wedding day. The future husbands only sporadically appear on the screen and the focus hardly lies on the challenges of marriage. However, in the same day and age in which TV shows such as Say Yes to the Dress are still immensely popular, this film manages to grasp the fun and excitement of weddings and I think any fan of chick flicks will enjoy it just as much as I did. Bride Wars is a funny and romantic film about friendship and marriage; perfect for a lazy night on the couch or a movie date with your girlfriends.
Movie reviewed by Jody Hoekstra