Title: Something Borrowed
Director: Luke Greenfield (‘The Girl Next Door’)
Starring: Kate Hudson, Ginnifer Goodwin (HBO’s ‘Big Love’), Colin Egglesfield (CW’s ‘Melrose Place’), John Krasinski (NBC’s ‘The Office), Steve Howey (CW’s ‘Reba’)
Turning 30 still often scares people, as they start to examine their life choices and question if they’ve made the right decisions. People have to start making the fantasies they’ve had since their teens a reality, and prepare for the future. This cultural need to grow up as we hit the 30-mark is the main driving force behind the new Warner Bros. Pictures romantic comedy ‘Something Burrowed,’ which focuses on the question what people would do if they feel their moment of opportunity has passed them by.
‘Something Borrowed’ follows single New York City attorney Rachel White (played by Ginnifer Goodwin) as she watches her best friend Darcy Rhone (portrayed by Kate Hudson) plan her wedding to Dex Thaler (played by Colin Egglesfield). Rachel struggles with her maid of honor duties, as she has had a crush on Dex since law school. After turning 30 and being upset she’s still single, Rachel has a one-night stand with Dex. But she vows not to publicly admit her love for him in order to spare Darcy’s feelings and their friendship. Ethan (portrayed by John Krasinski), who has been friends with Rachel and Darcy since they were kids, quickly realizes what’s going on between Rachel and Dex, and encourages her to go after what she truly wants. Rachel refuses to believe Ethan when he says Dex is stringing her along, while she tries to dodge Darcy’s attempts to set her up with Dex’s friend Marcus (played by Steve Howey).
As an ensemble romantic comedy based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Emily Griffin, ‘Something Borrowed’ achieves its goal of concentrating on how the characters feel about, and act towards, each other. As director Luke Greenfield has said, the movie is “a character-driven ensemble about real people in a tricky situation,” and the audience is supposed to be put into the characters’ shoes to understand how they’re feeling. While screenwriter Jennie Snyder Urman was able to gracefully translate Griffin’s flawed, but well-meaning characters to the screen in a relatable way, Hudson and Goodwin’s bond unfortunately don’t have a believable bond together. While Darcy said in the beginning of the film that Rachel has been her first soul mate since they were kids, the actresses unfortunately seem as though they’re new friends who just met each other.
Hudson and Goodwin’s lack of chemistry seems like it would hurt the film, as their life-long relationship is one of the core driving forces of the conflicts in ‘Something Borrowed.’ But oddly enough, when the two are in scenes without each other, or when they’re interacting more with the other actors than each other, they both truly connect with their characters. Hudson truly brings Darcy to life, showing that most of her actions she has taken since she was a kid have been focused on how they benefit her. As Greenfield has said of Darcy, she’s one of those high-maintenance people who surrounds themselves with selfless people. The audience will feel as though Darcy truly believes everything will always work out for the best, and Rachel will help make it happen.
Greenfield has also said that he wanted his actors to “develop grounded, realistic portrayals” that would make audiences believe they’re watching people they know. Goodwin was the perfect example of this, as she’s able to get the audience to root for Rachel, despite the impulse things she does that go against her life’s plan and could ruin her relationships. After always avoiding confrontation, it’s easy to believe that Rachel is finally able to take chances and go after what she wants. Rachel believably finally comes out from behind Darcy’s self-absorbed, center of attention ways to stand up for herself and fight for Dex.
While more of a supporting role, Howey’s portrayal of Marcus is also amusing and entertaining. He often rivals Hudson and Goodwins’ performances, as he makes Marcus someone everyone would want to know and hang out with. Marcus brings a comic relief to Rachel’s constant questioning of whether or not she should go after Dex and Darcy’s selfish actions. Howey also brings a subtle complexity to the character; while Marcus always acts like the life of the party, his womanizing ways and sensitive demeanor imply he envies the connections Rachel, Dex, Darcy and Ethan share.
While Hudson and Goodwin unfortunately lack the necessary loyal and convincing bond between Darcy and Rachel, ‘Something Borrowed’ still stays true to its novel counterpart. Greenfield was able to successfully able to get his audience to question what it means to be loyal to your friends and to yourself. People don’t always go after what they want, because they fear how it will impact their relationships. After constantly questioning the decisions she’s made and regretting not going after what she truly wanted, Rachel shows it’s perfectly fine to make big choices and take big risks to live the life you want.
Technical: B+
Acting: B+
Story: B
Overall: B+
Written by: Karen Benardello
