Review of Bride Wars (2015) by Jeff B — 16 Aug 2010

Bride Wars comes off like one of those abysmal comedies that must have sounded so rife with potential when it was being spit-balled by the studio suits. Just imagine two former friends who become bitchy warring brides! Then, imagine them played by impossibly cute award-nominated actresses! And then, imagine neutering the whole she-bang with a PG rating! It was not bad enough that this star vehicle was stymied by formula?-it had to be kid friendly too. And it was not as if tweens were clamoring for a good laugh-riot about marriage, but here it is anyway: a humorless romp about wedding-obsessed ladies priced to move for the wedding-unobsessed kiddie set.

In this PG-rated comedy, two lifelong best friends (Hathaway, Hudson) become sudden rivals when their weddings are scheduled for the same day.

It begins with an unnecessary and unbelievable voiceover by Candice Bergen, sounding more wooden than one of her father?s Charlie McCarthy dummies. Hathaway and Hudson go through the paces and squeeze a few chuckles out of their snarky back-and-forth one-up-womanship. Their fiancés, however (played by Steve Howey and Michael Arden), are nothing more than set dressing?and, sadly, they are getting off easier than the filmgoers. Without a PG-13 rating with which to let some biting matrimonial humor fly, this predictable tripe should have been called off before it ever got to the altar. Instead, the cuffs have been put on anything pertaining to adult themes (which, unless one lives in a Barbie Dream House, are issues central to relationships and nuptials).

Bottom line: Runaway from Bride.