Bride Wars (2009)

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 & 7 nominations

Cast

Kate Hudson	...	Liv Lerner
Anne Hathaway	...	Emma Allen
Bryan Greenberg	...	Nate Lerner
Chris Pratt	...	Fletcher Flemson
Steve Howey	...	Daniel Williams
Candice Bergen	...	Marion St. Claire
Kristen Johnston	...	Deb
Michael Arden	...	Kevin
Victor Slezak	...	Colson
Kelly Coffield Park	...	Kathy
John Pankow	...	John Allen
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

Color:

Color

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 | South Africa:PG | New Zealand: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:

During the reception, there is a shot involving a complicated series of dance steps in front of the camera. After many failed attempts, a dance instructor who happened to be an extra asked to teach the actors how to perform the maneuver correctly.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Liv first finds the Tiffany's ring box, the ribbon is completely covering the box, which you can see how she tries to open it, Liv is untying the ribbon. However, when Nate opens the box and hands it to his co-worker, the ribbon is still tied because the ribbon is split, so the box can be opened without untying the ribbon.

Quotes:

Marion St. Claire: Sometimes in life there really are bonds formed that can never be broken. Sometimes you really can find that one person who will stand by you no matter what. Maybe you'll find it in a spouse and celebrate it with your dream wedding, but theres also the chance that the one person you can count on for a lifetime, the one person who knows you sometimes better than you know yourself is the same person who's been standing beside you all along.

Movie Connections:

References "Smurfs" (1981)

Soundtrack:

Piano Cocktail

Let's get married... yeah, right

Martin Scorsese once famously said he does one movie for the studio and one for himself, and so do many other directors or actors (George Clooney admits he did Ocean's Thirteen because that way he could do Michael Clayton next). Although Anne Hathaway hasn't explicitly said she does that, one can assume it's the only rational explanation for a piece of anti-cinematic trash like Bride Wars. Shooting The Devil Wears Prada after Brokeback Mountain is one thing, tainting your Oscar-nominated legacy with this bunch of nonsense is another.

And yet it sounded like it could be a lot of fun, at least judging by the premise, which reverses the classic wedding stereotype: women are in it for the romance, guys are game because it's fun (that's what they make it look like in American comedies, anyway). This time around, the dudes are in it for the love, and the girls want to get married just to make a childhood dream come true. Apparently, if you're a woman and live in Manhattan, the ultimate dream of your life is to get married at the Plaza in June, so when best friends Liv (Kate Hudson with a Paris Hilton/Britney Spears haircut) and Emma (Hathaway) get asked the fundamental question by their beaus, they immediately try to book the right place and date. A mix-up occurs, and so they're both stuck with the same date, June 6th. Neither wants to postpone what's supposed to be the happiest day of their lives, therefore a full-on war is declared on both parts.

At this point, the real silliness kicks in: diet sabotage, tans gone awry and the occasional witty remark, like "Your wedding's gonna be huge, just like your ass at prom". What started as a potentially entertaining critique of materialism and shallowness is revealed to be a poorly executed farce, with a succession of lame jokes instead of a plot (then again, one of the screenwriters is best known for performing on Saturday Night Live, where the skits have no connection whatsoever, so that may be an explanation) and two atrocious caricatures instead of leading ladies.

In fairness, no one ever expected any true brilliance from Hudson, given the last really good movie she appeared in was Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous in 2000, but surely someone could have told Hathaway you just don't choose something this bland after working with Jonathan Demme (or Ang Lee, for that matter). Maybe she wanted to return to her comedic roots, but sadly there's nothing even remotely funny in Bride Wars, save for a few brief scenes featuring the reliable Candice Bergen. Everything else is just like Liv and Emma: obsessed with getting everything right, but ultimately too self-centered to get any sympathy from others.