I watched this because I've always been a fan of GG. I think she's pretty in a less conventional way, but definitely prettier than Kate Hudson.
Which brings me to one point. This movie was one of those ugly duckling movies without the ugly duckling. Rachel (GG) admits that she "never thought a guy like you would end up with someone like me..." as if she has three heads or a skin condition or something equally appalling. She has none of these things. She's pretty, she has a good career, and the only major personality flaw she has is the inability to be proactive (which shouldn't be a problem since her love interest is the EXACT SAME WAY). Yeah. This is a terrible movie with absolutely no action in it until the very end. We don't even get to see the scene where Darcy is dumped.
Adding to the incredible coincidence that neither Rachel nor Dex know what to do in this incredibly obvious situation (we know Dex has some mommy issues, but that wasn't really explained... I can't remember anything his mother said or did, aside from a few woeful looks). The only person we hear any reason from is Ethan, and by then we all want to smack some sense into the main characters.
What bothers me incredibly about this movie is that it basically drives loyalty between "best friends" straight into the ground. Not only does Rachel sleep with her best friend's fiancé, she doesn't TELL her best friend her mistake, she sleeps with Dex again, encourages Darcy to marry this guy who is cheating on her and doesn't love her, and then contemplates telling Dex that Darcy cheated on HIM. Who is getting majorly screwed over here? In all the mixup and emo WHAT DO WE DO action (or lack thereof), it's easy to forget who is being hurt the most.
Uh oh. The script writers went a little too far...
IN COMES...villainizing! It's a common trick in cinema to demonize characters so that we stay rooting for the main character. This was very overdone in this movie. At first Darcy had a few good traits that you could see, but it wasn't long before she become entirely RIDICULOUS as a character. By the end of the movie, we discover that she's also been cheating on Dex this WHOLE TIME...AND...she's pregnant. She had to do something a bit worse in order for us to forgive Rachel. In doing so, the depth of Darcy was lost - and everyone has depth, let's not fool ourselves. Obviously the movie wasn't about her, it was about Rachel, but it sends the message that it's okay to screw your best friend over as long as she's doing it too - and when does that actually happen? It also sends the message that it's okay to wait on a man to leave his fiancé and to not give up too soon, because he might have a REALLY GOOD REASON. Wrong. If a man isn't leaving his wife, he's not going to, so you just better move on. Those are the cold, hard facts. AND, if a man is cheating on his fiancé/wife/girlfriend with you, he's going to do the exact same thing once your relationship with him gets a little rocky (that is, if you ever make it to a relationship). But seriously - once a cheater, always a character. Obviously his morals are not fantastic. If he loves you, he'll leave her, if he doesn't, don't bother waiting around. You deserve better.
Ethan was the only character that seemed to agree with this philosophy. I really wanted the movie to end with Rachel going off with someone else, someone who knew what to do from the beginning and didn't stand weakly by and take forever to figure out that love is more important than his father's glare.
I hated the weakness of these characters. I hated the message. I hated the necessity of making Darcy's character unbearable so that we won't end up despising the main characters for their despicable actions. What's worse is that no one was punished for the horrible betrayal that took place in this movie - they were rewarded.
Which brings me to one point. This movie was one of those ugly duckling movies without the ugly duckling. Rachel (GG) admits that she "never thought a guy like you would end up with someone like me..." as if she has three heads or a skin condition or something equally appalling. She has none of these things. She's pretty, she has a good career, and the only major personality flaw she has is the inability to be proactive (which shouldn't be a problem since her love interest is the EXACT SAME WAY). Yeah. This is a terrible movie with absolutely no action in it until the very end. We don't even get to see the scene where Darcy is dumped.
Adding to the incredible coincidence that neither Rachel nor Dex know what to do in this incredibly obvious situation (we know Dex has some mommy issues, but that wasn't really explained... I can't remember anything his mother said or did, aside from a few woeful looks). The only person we hear any reason from is Ethan, and by then we all want to smack some sense into the main characters.
What bothers me incredibly about this movie is that it basically drives loyalty between "best friends" straight into the ground. Not only does Rachel sleep with her best friend's fiancé, she doesn't TELL her best friend her mistake, she sleeps with Dex again, encourages Darcy to marry this guy who is cheating on her and doesn't love her, and then contemplates telling Dex that Darcy cheated on HIM. Who is getting majorly screwed over here? In all the mixup and emo WHAT DO WE DO action (or lack thereof), it's easy to forget who is being hurt the most.
Uh oh. The script writers went a little too far...
IN COMES...villainizing! It's a common trick in cinema to demonize characters so that we stay rooting for the main character. This was very overdone in this movie. At first Darcy had a few good traits that you could see, but it wasn't long before she become entirely RIDICULOUS as a character. By the end of the movie, we discover that she's also been cheating on Dex this WHOLE TIME...AND...she's pregnant. She had to do something a bit worse in order for us to forgive Rachel. In doing so, the depth of Darcy was lost - and everyone has depth, let's not fool ourselves. Obviously the movie wasn't about her, it was about Rachel, but it sends the message that it's okay to screw your best friend over as long as she's doing it too - and when does that actually happen? It also sends the message that it's okay to wait on a man to leave his fiancé and to not give up too soon, because he might have a REALLY GOOD REASON. Wrong. If a man isn't leaving his wife, he's not going to, so you just better move on. Those are the cold, hard facts. AND, if a man is cheating on his fiancé/wife/girlfriend with you, he's going to do the exact same thing once your relationship with him gets a little rocky (that is, if you ever make it to a relationship). But seriously - once a cheater, always a character. Obviously his morals are not fantastic. If he loves you, he'll leave her, if he doesn't, don't bother waiting around. You deserve better.
Ethan was the only character that seemed to agree with this philosophy. I really wanted the movie to end with Rachel going off with someone else, someone who knew what to do from the beginning and didn't stand weakly by and take forever to figure out that love is more important than his father's glare.
I hated the weakness of these characters. I hated the message. I hated the necessity of making Darcy's character unbearable so that we won't end up despising the main characters for their despicable actions. What's worse is that no one was punished for the horrible betrayal that took place in this movie - they were rewarded.