RATING:
PG for suggestive content, language, and some rude behavior.
GENRE:
Comedy
RELEASE:
January 9, 2008
STARRING:
Kate Hudson, Anne Hathaway, Candice Bergen, Kristen Johnston, Bryan Greenberg
DIRECTOR:
Gary Winick
DISTRIBUTORS:
20th Century Fox Distribution
OFFICIAL WEB SITE:
http://valkyrie.unitedartists.com
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MOVIE REVIEW
Bride Wars
Movieguide Magazine
CBN.com
-Bride Wars is a funny, but not great, comedy with some problem areas requiring caution for moviegoers, especially pre-teens.
Liv and Emma, played by Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway, respectively, are lifelong friends who dream of the day when both can get married at the Plaza Hotel in New York City.
Liv finds out that her boyfriend, Daniel, has bought her an engagement ring, but it’s actually Emma who gets asked first by her boyfriend, Fletcher. When that happens, Liv is too anxious to wait another second, so she storms into Daniel’s workplace, demanding to know if he’s going to propose. Of course, he was going to ask her that very night, he says.
Naturally, both Liv and Emma approach their favorite wedding coordinator, Marion St. Clair, a Martha Stewart clone played by Candace Bergen. Marion sets their dates for June 6 and 27, but her secretary goofs up the dates, and sets both weddings for June 6. Liv and Emma force the secretary, who has been fired, to give them the name of the bride who took June 27, but the bride refuses to change her wedding date.
Liv and Emma’s friendship is put to the test. Let the Bride Wars begin!
Bride Wars has some very funny moments, including scenes where Liv and Emma try to sabotage each other’s wedding. Hudson and Hathaway are well cast, and the story moves along at a brisk place.
It’s hard to sympathize, however, with these wedding mavens, especially when their characters turn nasty. The movie does not capitalize on the pain that the two Bridezillas create for those around them.
Also, the movie contains many light profanities (mostly “My God”) and some obscenities. There are no sex scenes, but there is a bachelorette party at a club with male dancers in short shorts. Also, it is clear that Emma lives with her boyfriend. There are scenes of them together in their own apartment. There are no scenes like that between Liv and her boyfriend, however, so it is unclear about them. Even so, the movie gave the impression that Liv finds the ring hidden at her apartment, indicating vaguely that she and Daniel also live together.
Despite its problems, Bride Wars ultimately has a positive, heartwarming tone that extols friendship, repentance and forgiveness, especially at the end. Liv and Emma learn that repentance and forgiveness are part of creating a more mature friendship, one that will last. Each woman also learns that the good character traits of the other friend can help her overcome her own bad character traits. Thus, Liv learns to adopt Emma’s compassion and generosity to be less pushy and aggressive, and Emma learns to adopt Liv’s take charge, dynamic personality to become less of a passive doormat.
Though it seems as if the two weddings are supposed to be some kind of religious ceremony, the movie never shows a religious clergyman officiating at an actual ceremony. That is the movie’s final missed opportunity.
Address Comments To:
Rupert Murdoch, Chairman/CEO of News Corp.
Peter Chernin, President/COO of The Fox Group
Tom Rothman and Jim Gianopulos, Chairmen/CEO
Fox Filmed Entertainment
20th Century Fox Film Corp.
(Fox Searchlight Pictures and Fox Atomic)
10201 West Pico Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90035
Phone: (310) 369-1000
Website: www.fox.com
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NOTE from Dr. Ted Baehr, publisher of Movieguide Magazine. For more information from a Christian perspective, order the latest Movieguide Magazine by calling 1-800-899-6684(MOVI) or visit our website at www.movieguide.org. Movieguide is dedicated to redeeming the values of Hollywood by informing parents about today's movies and entertainment and by showing media executives and artists that family-friendly and even Christian-friendly movies do best at the box office year in and year out. Movieguide now offers an online subscription to its magazine version, at www.movieguide.org. The magazine, which comes out 25 times a year, contains many informative articles and reviews that help parents train their children to be media-wise consumers.
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