REELGUY’S DVD REVIEW: “Bride Wars” - Ultimately no one wins

When two brides-to-be undermine each other’s special day; ultimately no one wins. That includes the viewer. The normally likeable, if not emotionally complex, Kate Hudson (“Fool’s Gold”) only manages to put in a one-note performance as the uptight lawyer bride Liv. Anne Hathaway (“Rachel Getting Married”) fares slightly better, giving her bride Emma a minor character arc from meek schoolteacher to self-assured professional. What the film misses is the opportunity to prove how important these lifelong friends are to each other, before tearing that friendship apart. “Bride Wars” is too much of a downer for a wedding picture and therefore will please neither romance-oriented women or their comedy hopeful dates.

Liv and Emma have been planning their special wedding days since they were little girls. Each girl’s heart is set on having a wedding at “the Plaza” in June. All they need is their boyfriends to get around to popping the question. When the friends are engaged during the same week, together they seek out the professional wedding planner Marion St. Clair (Candice Bergen; TV’s “Boston Legal”). A mix-up by the wedding planner causes both weddings to be scheduled on the same day at the same time. Instead of one of them choosing another site or holding a joint wedding at the Plaza, the girls attempt to ruin the other’s special day. The mischievous tricks are mean-spirited in nature, including sending chocolates to facilitate a weight gain and dieing a bride’s hair blue.

The story almost exclusively focuses on the souring of the relationship between the two girls. Only rarely are any of their antics humorous, instead they both appear more petty and bitter than sympathetic. Both Liv and Emma eventually choose someone else to be maid-of-honor and the audience gets to know this new person a little in the context of the wedding planning. Neither maid of honor leaves much of an impression, unable to fill the “best friend role” required of these types of films. The men’s roles are no more than glorified cameos. The viewer learns little more than: Liv’s guy uses sarcasm to deal with her, while Emma’s man is a bit controlling. Bergen appears in many of the scenes but stands around with little to do. The former “Murphy Brown” usually plays strong female characters but here she is at the whim of two petty bride-zillas.

Hudson is hard to believe in her role as a big corporate attorney. The few scenes she actually spends at her office emphasize just how out-of-place she is; especially when she tries to piece together a few lines of legalese. Her bland character changes very little within the context of the story. Hathaway proves herself to be the more capable actress, expressing a few moments of real emotion and showing the viewer some character growth. But Emma’s continued petty behaviors undermines whatever moral the movie seeks through her transformation. “Bride Wars” ends up being a very shallow exploration of two underdeveloped characters. And its not even funny.

Rated PG for suggestive content, language and some rude behavior.