Bride Wars – DVD Review

Film, Reviews

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There is a popular opinion among the majority of movie critics in that movie studios tend to unload their “junk” films in January and February. The Oscars don’t air until March, but once the previous year has ended, so has consideration for awards. Perhaps a coincidence, this is also the time of year were you will find the majority of wedding romantic comedies targeted to women. In previous years, 27 Dresses, Just Married, and The Wedding Planner have all occupied this spot on movie theaters’ calendars. This year, the latest wedding romantic comedy that appeared at your local theater was Bride Wars.

Bride Wars is about two women, Liv and Emma, who have been inseparable best friends for two decades. They grew up together in suburban New Jersey sharing a common dream. Their perfect scenario is a June wedding ceremony held at the ultimate bridal destination New York City’s Plaza Hotel. Now they’re all grown up, and Liv (Kate Hudson) and Emma (Anne Hathaway) remain the best of friends. Both want to be married at the Plaza some day. Of course, they need to be engaged to proceed with this plan. Soon Liv finds a Tiffany’s box and thinks maybe her boyfriend is about to pop the question. Emma sees no sign of that happening with her boyfriend. But yet the two become engaged almost simultaneously. Now everything is all about their weddings, and they more or less leave their prospective grooms in the dust while they carry on a whirlwind of plans together. They even go to see a renowned wedding planner (Candice Bergen) together. The planner’s assistant messes up their reservations, though, so now they’re getting married on the same day at the Plaza. Neither wants to reschedule, and thus begins a cut-throat game of shouting and sabotage.

The potential is here for a wacky wedding comedy between two cutthroat women. Of course, the problem is the real mean-spiritedness that you might be expecting is nowhere to be seen here. It’s never believable that these two lifelong best friends would hate each other forever, because they both want the perfect wedding. So surprisingly the actually “war” part of this film is not that long and nor is it really funny. There are a few good lines, but most of the good jokes and gags are spoiled in the trailer for the film. Unfortunately as well, this film can’t help but fall back on the predictable romantic comedy formula. For any seasoned viewer of this film genre, you can predict the ending as soon as one character makes his or her first appearance at the halfway point of the film, if not before.

You have to give credit to the cast, though, for trying hard to make this film work. Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway don’t give the best performances of their careers, but they do have chemistry together, and showed glimpses of being funny. The supporting cast, led by TV sitcom veterans, Candice Bergen and Kristen Johnson, is strong as well. But they are given little screen time to really make a difference either. As for the guys in this film, you will notice the faces, but only for a brief second as they seem arbitrary to this film as well.

Bride Wars is targeting the Sex and the City crowd for sure. But instead of single women living in New York City fighting for dates, you have engaged women fighting for the perfect wedding. Except that there is not as much fighting as you would like. Instead, what we get is more of a typical romantic comedy and less of a wacky wedding comedy. As far as “chick flicks” go, this one is pretty average. There are definitely worst films out there that you are “forced” to go see with your significant other, so at least it is somewhat watchable with the occasional laugh here and there for guys. Women, of course, will love this film, but just watching the trailer for Bride Wars will give them everything they need to know about this film. Also, my future wife said she liked 27 Dresses a little better, but it was close.

The video included is available in widescreen color presented at the 1:78 aspect ratio, which is enhanced for 16:9 TVs. The quality is pretty average with some graininess noticible throughout. The colors seem true to the source material, though. No major problems, but since this is your standard 20th Century FOX DVD screener copy, it’s nothing special either. Perhaps the finished product will be better, but not expect anything groundbreaking.

The audio included is available in either English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround sound, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround sound, or French Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround sound. There are subtitles available in English, Spanish, and French as well. The dialogue and music come out loud and clear, so no major problems here either. But like the video quality, the audio quality is pretty average.

“The Perfect White Dress” Featurette
This runs 4 1/2 minutes and it wants everyone to go out and buy Vera Wang’s wedding gowns. A big fluff piece with little to do with making this film.

Deleted Scenes
There are 3 scenes that didn’t make the final cut of the film, and they total 4 minutes. Not worth checking out either.

Bride Wars is worth at least a rental for fans of romantic comedies. Women will surely enjoy it, and might just buy it if they like Anne Hathaway or Kate Hudson. Men won’t enjoy it as much, but there are worse “chick flicks” out there that they could be watching.



20th Century FOX Home Entertainment presents Bride Wars. Directed by Gary Winick. Starring Kate Hudson, Anne Hathaway, Candice Bergen, Kristen Johnson, Bryan Greenberg, Chris Pratt, and Steve Howey. Written by Greg DePaul, Casey Wilson, and June Diane Raphael. Running time: 89 minutes. Rated PG. Released on DVD: April 28, 2009.
Available at Amazon.com

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