SOMETHING BORROWED (2011)

Genre: Romance/Comedy
Director: Luke Greenfield
Cast: Ginnifer Goodwin, Kate Hudson, Colin Egglesfield, John Krasinski, Steve Howey, Ashley Williams, Geoff Pierson
RunTime: 1 hr 53 mins
Released By:  GV
Rating: TBA
Official Website: http://somethingborrowedmovie.warnerbros.com/

Opening Day: 9 June 2011 

Synopsis: Rachel (Ginnifer Goodwin) is a talented attorney at a top New York law firm, a generous and loyal friend and, unhappily, still single...as her engaged best friend Darcy (Kate Hudson) is constantly reminding her. But after one drink too many at her 30th birthday party, perpetual good girl Rachel unexpectedly ends up in bed with the guy she's had a crush on since law school, Dex (Colin Egglesfield), who just happens to be Darcy's fiancé. When Rachel and Darcy's lifelong friendship collides with true love, it leads to unexpected complications and potentially explosive romantic revelations. Meanwhile, Ethan (John Krasinski), who has been Rachel's constant confidante and sometimes conscience, has been harboring a secret of his own, and Marcus (Steve Howey), an irrepressible womanizer, can't keep his mind out of the gutter or his hands off any girl within reach.

Movie Review:

It does not take a genius to figure out that movie adaptations of popular books have high potential to sell. With an existing fanbase to bank on, producers of such movies do not have to cross their fingers too tightly in hoping for box office success sincemost fans do not mind paying to satisfy their curiosity of seeing their favourite characters turn into flesh on the big screen. Whether they are adapted successfully or not is of course another thing. And then there's the plot. Finding a balance between paying a loyal tribute to the original story and fulfilling the demands of entertaining movie storytelling can be tricky. So expectedly, at times, parts of a story have to be tweaked and sacrifices made.

Although I have not read the chic lit novel that Something Borrowed is both based on and titled from, I would like to imagine that the story progression and characters are less grating on paper since well, it was an international bestseller. Centering on the lives of a group of NYC besties in their late twenties, the movie opens with the bursting of dormant romance and sticky revelations in the form of a spontaneous tryst between Darcy’s (Kate Hudson)best friend, Racheland hersoon-to-be husband, Dex. Now whenever someone cheats in a movie, heavysuspense always falls on how and if the cheated finds out about the cheating… unless something more exciting happens - which unfortunately does not in this one.

It’s just too bad that the movie seems to unnecessarily delay the solution to the suspense that it feels like a lingering tv soap. It just takes too much time to explain the root of Rachel and Dex’s a-decade-in-the-making feelings for each other and the couple’s post-tryst development, which simply put, are just yawn inducing. The chemistry between Ginnifer Godwin’s Rachel and Colin Egglesfield’sDex is just so-so and lacks the kind of charm that might push the audience to sympathizewith them more despite the sneaking around behind the bride-to-be’s back. Maybe the female audience is expected to be thrilled at the fact that the book-smart average-looking nerd-ish heroine is able to snag the heart of the beautiful-looking and sensitive Dexrather than by their interaction alone. Well, hurrah for the nerd girls I suppose, but boo for romance drama originality.

In fact, the whole movie does not hold anything back in its perpetuation of chic lit clichés. Other than the nerd girl and hot guy match up, the simplistic oppositional nature of the Darcy and Rachel’s friendship is also obviously stereotypical.Their personalities are defined by hair colour, too.If you are still wondering who’s the blonde and who’s the brunette then that’s a thought too long.

To be fair, the movie revolves, on a deeper level, around the perpetual struggle between doing what the characters want for themselves and what they are expected to do.The audience may easily relate to such a universal issue but not necessarily be entertained by it - especially when it is too dragged out.

Movie Rating:  

(Borrow the dvd instead)

Review by Syafiqa Rahman