Film review: Bride Wars
Every man with even an ounce of common sense knows that you do not mess with the wedding day. Even the grooms know this. Why? Because it just isn’t their day.
Elijah Lawal
Maybe this is an outdated and insulting concept but it doesn’t matter because, frankly, it is the truth. The man’s job is to simply turn up on time, not get too drunk and say the right name at the altar (we all remember that Friends episode). At least this is what this film will have us believe. But this is about what happens when a woman gets in the way, and to make matters worse, she is the bride.
Bride Wars is a romantic comedy about two BFFs, Emma (Anne Hathaway) and Liv (Kate Hudson) whose dreams were to get married at the Plaza in the month of June. But trouble ensues when they find out that they have been booked on the same day. Failing to resolve the matter amicably, they result to petty pranks in an attempt to ruin each other’s wedding day.
Now surely, at the point the more reasonable among you are thinking “why not have a double wedding? You are best friends, you have all the same friends, which would be convenient for them and surely it would be cheaper all around” or simply “have one of the weddings on another day”. But apparently, such lateral thinking is beyond the comprehension of a corporate lawyer (Liv) and a school teacher (Emma).
This film is meant to be a satire on the importance women place on weddings but it doesn’t come across this way. It almost glorifies and perpetuates the stereotypes by shoving expensive Vera Wang dresses, highly priced flower motifs, extremely pretty brides and a venue like the Plaza in your face. A much better theme would have been exploring the whole ‘wedding vs. marriage’ or ‘am I marrying the right guy’ concept but the male characters barely get a voice in this movie.
This is not an entirely painful movie. There are a few instances that will get you chuckling like Anne Hathaway’s little bump and grind routine at the bachelorette party but not enough to make the movie very good.
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