SOMETHING BORROWED movie review

by Rick Grant
“All’s fair in love and war.” So the cliche goes. But it hits home in this movie’s scenario. The best friends in this story–Rachel (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Darcy (Kate Hudson)–find out that when it comes to love, you can’t even trust your best friend.
In real life, this betrayal of this friendship happens every day. Likewise, even though Rachel and Darcy have been gal-pals since their early childhood, and love each other like sisters, a dashing guy gets in the way.
When Dex, Darcy’s fiancé, sees Rachel, who was his classmate in law school, he is suddenly conflicted between his overbearing rich parents who want him to marry Darcy, and his infatuation for Rachel. Clearly, she feels the same way but tries to stifle her feelings for the sake of Darcy’s friendship.
John Krasinski is a welcome addition to the cast as the comic relief. He’s played the love game and is fed up with it’s pitfalls. He pretends he’s gay to fend off the persistent pursuit of an obnoxious woman. This setups some funny situations.
Jennie Snyder’s adaptation of Emily Giffin’s novel rolls along like a farce with the main characters doing what they think is the best course instead of doing what they really want.
Ah yes, audience members cringe when Dex’s dominating father overpowers his son. Viewers want to shout out, “Good God, Dex be a man and tell dear old dad off. “
Yeah, this is yet another romantic comedy in the chick-flick genre. For the most part, director Luke Greenfield’s orchestration of the scenes is flawless. Jennie Snyder’s screenplay is packed with snappy dialogue.
Is it worth viewing. Yes, it has its moments. However, Kate Hudson’s performance as Darcy was weak and overblown. She’s looking like some Hollywood hag who has been to one too many parties and slept with one too many men. In other words, she looks hard as nails.
In contrast, Ginnifer Goodwin (Big Love) is a fine actress who brightens up the screen with her glowing talent.