Bride Wars (2009) User Reviews

Let's get married... yeah, right

[MaxBorg89 · 4/10 · 11 March 2009]

Martin Scorsese once famously said he does one movie for the studio and one for himself, and so do many other directors or actors (George Clooney admits he did Ocean's Thirteen because that way he could do Michael Clayton next). Although Anne Hathaway hasn't explicitly said she does that, one can assume it's the only rational explanation for a piece of anti-cinematic trash like Bride Wars. Shooting The Devil Wears Prada after Brokeback Mountain is one thing, tainting your Oscar-nominated legacy with this bunch of nonsense is another.

And yet it sounded like it could be a lot of fun, at least judging by the premise, which reverses the classic wedding stereotype: women are in it for the romance, guys are game because it's fun (that's what they make it look like in American comedies, anyway). This time around, the dudes are in it for the love, and the girls want to get married just to make a childhood dream come true. Apparently, if you're a woman and live in Manhattan, the ultimate dream of your life is to get married at the Plaza in June, so when best friends Liv (Kate Hudson with a Paris Hilton/Britney Spears haircut) and Emma (Hathaway) get asked the fundamental question by their beaus, they immediately try to book the right place and date. A mix-up occurs, and so they're both stuck with the same date, June 6th. Neither wants to postpone what's supposed to be the happiest day of their lives, therefore a full-on war is declared on both parts.

At this point, the real silliness kicks in: diet sabotage, tans gone awry and the occasional witty remark, like "Your wedding's gonna be huge, just like your ass at prom". What started as a potentially entertaining critique of materialism and shallowness is revealed to be a poorly executed farce, with a succession of lame jokes instead of a plot (then again, one of the screenwriters is best known for performing on Saturday Night Live, where the skits have no connection whatsoever, so that may be an explanation) and two atrocious caricatures instead of leading ladies.

In fairness, no one ever expected any true brilliance from Hudson, given the last really good movie she appeared in was Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous in 2000, but surely someone could have told Hathaway you just don't choose something this bland after working with Jonathan Demme (or Ang Lee, for that matter). Maybe she wanted to return to her comedic roots, but sadly there's nothing even remotely funny in Bride Wars, save for a few brief scenes featuring the reliable Candice Bergen. Everything else is just like Liv and Emma: obsessed with getting everything right, but ultimately too self-centered to get any sympathy from others.

If you've seen the trailer, you've seen the movie.

[A_Random_Guy_22 · 5/10 · 9 January 2009]

Liv (Kate Hudson) and Emma (Anne Hathaway) are two life-long best friends who've dreamed of a June wedding at the Plaza since they were kids. Well, it looks like their dream is finally coming true as their boyfriends have popped the question and now all that's left to do is book the venue. But, unfortunately, due to a mistake the venue made, they've booked their weddings on the same day and the next opening isn't until June 15th... 3 years from now. When they both refuse to move their wedding, it turns to "war".

But, that's just it, the only "war" was in the trailer (the bronze tan, the blue hair, etc.) and the movie overall was rather average. I went in with an open mind and low expectations and still came out disappointed. The first hour is OK, but the last half takes a completely different turn. The jokes stop and it becomes more serious; focusing on the two girls' relationship more than anything else.

The movie appeals mostly to teen girls, so if you're anyone else, this isn't really worth the admission price. And if you still want to see it, it's a rental at best. The trailer showed mostly everything anyway and it's pretty easy to guess how it ends.

Now that is a chic flick

[tausif · 6/10 · 7 January 2009]

I believe this is what truly defines a 'girly' movie... It obviously about brides and whatever stuff they love and need, and from what I can figure most of the women (including the 4 women that dragged me there) in the theater enjoyed it.

I do agree it is an original idea and does give esp the males out there the sheer intensity of how important this occasion is for women, and also to a certain extent why women may make good friends but the worst of enemies.

Overall I give it a 6 on 10 due to a lot of predictability and clichés but I did like the chemistry of the 2 leads stars, the others characters seemed rather bland in fact entirely devoid of personality.

Perhaps the only scene for men to enjoy is the bachelorette party - you 'll see - ;) Hathaway looks smokin' hot.

...And girls wonder why men think we're stupid

[Smells_Like_Cheese · 2/10 · 4 June 2009]

Ah, chick flicks, gotta love them, their non-clever formula's and clichés are always a joy to watch. OK, I'm being a little mean, it's all good, we do have some good chick flicks and from the moment I saw Bride Wars, I thought it looked promising. Sure, there are a lot of great conclusions that you come to when you see what the movie is about, two best friends who are scheduled to marry the same day, from: they're best friends who can't compromise? They could technically sue the company that mixed their dates up or even get it fixed if that company wanted to stay in business. But I just kept thinking, this is a movie, it could be a funny one if I let go. We do need movies like that that just escape reality, so I rented it the other day and I really couldn't escape how silly and over the top this movie was.

Emma and Liv are best friends who have planned every detail of their weddings since they first witnessed a wedding at the Plaza Hotel. The two women get engaged. They then schedule their weddings with New York's most famous wedding planner, but due to a clerical error they're scheduled to have a wedding on the same day. A week of passive aggressive hostility passes before the two women make it clear that neither will compromise, especially after Liv tries to take advantage of Emma's passive nature and outrages Emma in the process. The women both attempt to sabotage the other's wedding, including Liv making Emma's tan turn bright orange, Emma tampering with Liv's hair dye to make it turn Liv's hair blue-white, Emma showing up to Liv's bachelorette party to out-dance her, and Emma secretly sending Liv chocolate and lollies to make her not fit into her dress. Oh when will the madness end? Gotta love women.

Now the movie does have some good laughs here and there, but they're mostly shown in the trailer. I think one of the reasons this movie disturbed me though was due to the fact that there are women like this, one's that are so beyond obsessed with their wedding they don't even realize they're getting married. Women are competitive creatures unfortunately, I'm a woman, so I know, and we go to great lengths to prove we're prettier, smarter, kinder, etc., etc., etc. I wish that women would take a step forward where this movie is just proving time and time again that we are stupid. Two best friends who should love and support each other are trying to destroy each other's weddings, I was wrong in trying to give this movie a fair chance, it's just wrong on so many levels, wither it's the morals or just the clichéd characters, I wouldn't recommend Bride Wars.

2/10

Dry caricature.

[Otoboke · 12 January 2009]

The romantic comedy is a type of film that relies on two obvious traits; the ability to make its audience laugh, and the ability to make that very same audience tear-up or at least feel some degree of warmth towards the central characters' love story. Bride Wars, which ostensibly at least, takes the form of your typical rom-com is an example of such that constantly tries to do the former -while constantly failing-, and only hints at the latter only in the background in order to advance plot. The result from this is a middling and sluggishly mundane feature that neither offers memorable characters or even a few cheap laughs. To be fair, there has to be something said for the fact that I am not exactly within the movie's target demographic. Yet judging by the reactions of those around me, I got the feeling that what I was experiencing wasn't exactly gender exclusive.

The story here, which revolves around two best gal-pals Liv (Kate Hudson) and Emma (Anne Hathaway) as they try to cope with their simultaneous weddings, is one that is likely to get a few chuckles from females, but less so with their male counterparts. Yes, this is somewhat expectant of a movie titled Bride Wars, but then again, if half of your audience are neglected to the sidelines then you're needlessly cutting yourself short. This stunted, polarising depiction of "every girl's biggest day" feels fitting to its source material, so women will enjoy this moreso than men, but not by much. You see, aside from the fact that Bride Wars wants nothing more than to cater to cheap gags and sappy melodrama fit to please the Legally Blonde crowd, there also remains blatant problems in just about everything else that fills the movie's first two acts. With little romance to back up the meagre plot, dull, dry characterisation coupled with non-existent chemistry between either the friends and their partners, or even themselves, the vast majority of Bride Wars turns ugly, rather quickly; the movie pushes that this cat fight between Hudson and Hathaway is meant to be fun and airy with plenty of laughs, but it's too transparent and formulated to even move beyond dry caricature.

It doesn't help at all that the majority of the performances from the main cast are border line negligible. Hudson and Hathaway, who are supposed to playing long-time best buddies who suddenly fall out over a petty dispute, are strangely forgettable, if not repelling. In all fairness, both hit the proverbial hammer on the head with their portrayals as stock-pile, cardboard cut-out typecasts befitting of the genre and only the genre, but this isn't exactly saying much. The remainder of the cast, who each have around ten minutes tops of total screen time are just as unremarkable, with Kristen Johnston giving the movie its only real favour and edge. So, what's worse than a romantic comedy with next to no compelling or memorable performances? Not much.

To be fair however, Bride Wars isn't really a romance at all. At least, that's what I hope director Gary Winick was trying to put across (somehow I get the feeling that I'm giving too much benefit of the doubt). If anything, the movie exists more as a mildly poignant example of companionship in the form of friends rather than romance. This tangent, which takes full form in the third act, for the most part surpasses the drudgery that comes beforehand, and establishes a touching, if slightly overly done sentimental climax. By all means, it's far too little, all too late, but I at least found myself moved by the movie's final statement, even if it was by means of extreme contrast. Yet had Winick went with this theme for the majority of his film, rather than save it for after all the silly, perfunctory cat fight scenes that in turn just about destroy all human shades within his characters, Bride Wars could have been a much more flowing, and relevant feature. Instead it exists simply as throwaway popcorn fodder for girls on a night out who have nothing better to do than to revisit the same old characters, wacky situations and sit-com dialogue typical of your average Will & Grace episode.

• A review by Jamie Robert Ward (http://www.invocus.net)

Silly

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 16 June 2009]

Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson are in the "Bride Wars" in this 2009 comedy about two best friends who, due to a scheduling mistake, end up with the same date for their wedding. They agree one has to give up the date; but each finds out from someone else that the other is doing save the date cards or something, and they turn on one another. It becomes a goal for each woman to destroy the other's wedding.

This film is really for young girls, or so it seemed to me. It's funny in a silly kind of way. I frankly thought Hudson seemed older than Hathaway (she is, but only by three years).

Candace Bergen plays a popular wedding planner, and it's always great to see her. Loved seeing the locations around Central Park and the Plaza.

Okay.

Unless this is the ONLY film left in your video rental store, do not rent or buy it

[BaliBoAli · 1/10 · 26 June 2009]

I went into the cinema with very low expectations. Very low. I'm usually very lenient with films and am not picky, but this film, honestly, If I hadn't been there with a friend, I would have got up and left. My expectations weren't even close to being met.

The film surrounds two best friends, who, by mistake, have their wedding booked in the same place, same day, and oh my gosh, can you believe it, the same time!!!! Shocking, isn't it? Neither of them want to move their date, so they start fighting. Then, the film takes you through a series of weak attempts to get back at one another. Totally unpredictable, I know. That's basically the entire film, aside from what is supposedly a "surprising twist" to finish of the film.

The script was empty and there was no chemistry at all.

I had virtually no expectations of this film, but I some how came out disappointed.

Unless this is the ONLY film left in your video rental store, do not rent or buy it. You'll regret it.

A Nutshell Review: Bride Wars

[DICK STEEL · 6/10 · 24 January 2009]

Anne Hathaway rules the screens this month in Singapore, with three movies hitting the screens - Rachel Getting Married, Passengers, and now teaming up with Kate Hudson for my second wedding theme movie of the day, Bride Wars. Alas this film by director Gary Winick had the trailer to thank for in letting every cat out of the bag that there's little surprise left when the girls have a go at each other.

Liv (Hudson) and Emma (Hathaway) are best friends since young, where they were subconsciously programmed that they must be each other's maid of honour, as well as to have their weddings at New York's swanky The Plaza in June. Fast forward to today, and they are on the cusp of their engagements, which of course meant that they do get to finally turn their long held dreams into reality. From being girly about attending each other's events to engaging one of the finest wedding planners ever, Marion St. Claire (Candice Bergen), little do they know a small administrative screw up will threaten their very friendship.

One wonders if girls can indeed be so petty over such little details. You see, the entire plot hinges on this very fine condition that the two girls hold onto, and that is to be each other's maid of honour. Which doesn't make sense because they can each have their wedding on the same day and at the same venue (different ballrooms of course), but because of their insistence to be present at their best friend's wedding, they fall out, insult each other, and declare war.

So only if you buy that wee bit of irrationality (OK, so some claim that the opposite sex can get unreasonable from time to time...) do you buy into the entire bickering, where they go one up against the other, sabotaging plans to be at their best come their wedding day. It also helps that the demeanour of the girls are on opposite sides of the spectrum, with Liv being the alpha-female go-getter who doesn't take no for an answer, and Emma the good natured sweetheart. Of course the series of back-biting do change their characters both for the worse and for the better. Best friends can become your worst enemies since they know every dirty little secret you had confided in them before, and can exploit your very weakness to gain an advantage, so one can find it easy to identify with the predicament of both sides.

Those who suffer will nonetheless be the common friends, who have to sit on the fence and not take sides. The trailer has spelt out the storyline and laid out the best jokes on the table, so unless you're really hard up for jokes that you know the punchline to, this may be just an average chick flick. Having it rated PG (instead of the original NC-16) also meant that some of the more coarse dialogue in Marion St. Claire's meeting with the girls, get chopped off quite abruptly.

One of the worst movies of 2009

[Velociraptor256 · 1/10 · 14 February 2010]

When Bride Wars first came out, the critic Mark Kermode was so confident that it would be on his Top 10 worst movies of 2009 that he declared he would give up movie reviewing if it wasn't (it was). Having now seen it myself, I see exactly where he was coming from. This is a horrible, horrible movie. There is nothing at all good about it.

The plot is totally nonsensical. Two best friends getting their weddings booked on the same day, and immediately turning on each other with pranks and sabotage efforts? How does that sound like a good movie concept?

But many things combine to ensure that nothing can be salvaged from this awful premise. It's no good as a comedy: none of the jokes are funny. The acting is as bland as it gets. And the characters themselves are wholly unlikeable: they are just selfish, two-dimensional people who have skewed priorities and are never properly called on it, and it is impossible to understand just why they're being so horrible to each other.

Regardless of your gender, do not watch this movie.

It was enough for me

[keremgunel-06030 · 6/10 · 27 August 2021]

This movie has some good actors and actresses. But the characters are a little bit stupid and the story is meaningless. However, i didn't get bored while watching it. I think it worth a try.

I tried to like it, but it just doesn't work

[TheLittleSongbird · 2/10 · 31 March 2011]

I have no problem with romantic comedies and chick-flicks when they are done right. Unfortunately, as much as I wanted to like Bride Wars, apart from some striking filming and a beguiling soundtrack, it doesn't work.

What was it that didn't work? The story was one definite flaw, it was very uninteresting and predictable. The characters are shallow and despite a talented cast I felt indifferent to every character that came across the screens. I also didn't like how some of the characters are treated, not that it was sexist or anything like that, but Bride Wars when it comes to the writing pretty much shrugs its characters off as though they are just little ornaments, well no characters in movies are quite important. The pace starts off well, but slackens quickly so the romantic elements especially are filled with tedium.

Which brings me to the writing. In my opinion, Bride Wars' biggest failing. It aims to be funny and romantic, it succeeds at neither sadly. The comedy elements are mean-spirited and unfunny and the romantic elements are frothy and slushy. The direction in my view is rather slack, and I didn't think much of the acting. Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway are lovely women and both try their best with poorly developed characters but when it comes to the chemistry it never catches fire, and in more ways than one I blame the script and direction for that. The supporting cast range from so-so to pretty poor.

Overall, had potential and I wanted to like it, but because it was so badly written I couldn't even enjoy it. 2/10 Bethany Cox

you will like this movie if

[fliphop · 9/10 · 17 January 2009]

i will tell you what happened at -my- theatre, full of young folks apparently on dates and so forth, packed to the gills, in flyover America.

people laughed. there were some very funny moments in this movie. i did not know there was a 'butter of the month club'. this is a line that could be found in any of the ben stiller, or Judd apatow, or will Ferrel, or Seinfeld or Larry David shows. and here, i find it just as funny.

Kate Hudson does a very good job of playing her role, and this whole 'overeating' thing is a perfect example... in the theatre i was in, it worked, the audience did, in fact, laugh out loud.

Anne Hathaway is a great movie star, because she can play the buddy thing... i mean to say that she is not trying to take over the movie, even though she could, and i loved that.

people will say she is 'wasting' herself playing these types of movies. well, maybe she should go shoot people or blow things up and make big bucks, but maybe she doesn't want to. the parts she is playing are very hard to do well, she brings so much to them. it is hard to play this ordinary life stuff.

the characters around the main are good as well. i especially liked the devious little assistant to Kate Hudson's character, he played that perfectly and it was written well, and got a good number of laughs for his antics. the crazy school colleague had several good lines, talking about "i do so much for you". very funny. and unusual. i liked seeing this type of psychology in a movie role because we all know people who act like that sometimes, but you don't see a lot of it in the movies.

why do people, then, hate this movie so much? well, i personally found the ending rather unsatisfying... it 'shocked' me out of my "suspension of disbelief"... i didn't see how things could be so 'resolved' after 10 years of courtship, to dump it all out in a few minutes. it seemed a little silly to me. I'm not saying it couldn't happen, but the way it was written did not hit home with me, the way the rest of the movie did.

i can only surmise that people who hated it, found the entire thing to be what i found the last minute or two to be... a little bit too trite and neatly wrapped up.

but, i am willing to let all that slide... because at the core of the movie is a good story about relationships... which is what all movies are really, even Star Wars. OK, i don't know about Hostel because i didn't see it. but Im just saying, this movie might look superficial but it is not really.

i know they talk about dress designers and shoes and crap like that, but to some people, that stuff is the equivalent of the Rambo 'strapping on his weapons' scenes, or scenes in other movies where they go on and on about types of weaponry, or guns or techno babble on star trek episodes or whatever. or... sports. you all know the person who plays fantasy football and can go on for hours about it, well thats how these people are with weddings and everything that goes around weddings. but i think that is kind of the point..... the movie is not about weddings, its about the relationships between people.

anyways, if you are into stuff like 27 dresses, or that movie with the t-mobile lady and the dude from 'thank you for smoking', or nanny diaries, or other stuff like that... you will probably dig it, or at least parts of it. i would even go so far as to say fans of "meet the fockers" might find something in this film worthwhile.

now the other problem i had with the movie was envy, i envied these people with all their lifelong friendships and so forth and so on. but eventually it all breaks down and they find themselves just as lost as the rest of us... what can i say. i don't understand why people hate this movie so much, just like i don't understand why people hated the nanny diaries. oh well.

Bride Wars is a battle no audience can win.

[Jerique · 6/10 · 12 January 2009]

The movie starts off with Emma (Anne Hathaway) and Liv (Kate Hudson) planning to have their dream weddings at The Plaza in June. Their respective partners, propose and the planning commences. Marion St. Claire (Candice Bergen) is the planner and her assistant accidentally screws up the dates of their weddings and books them both on June 6. At first it's friendly, but eventually, Emma forces Liv to gain five pounds so she can't fit her dress, Liv books Emma's favourite band, but Emma fights back by dying Liv's hair blue.

It's not so much a comedy or a romance. It's halfway of each. It's more about friendship than anything else. The movie foreshadows the ending with a flashback to 20 years prior to the movie's occurred events at the start. You'll laugh a few times, you'll say "oh my God" a couple times, you'll utter "aww" here and there and you'll maybe have a good time watching it.

It's a decent film, but it's nothing special. It's a chick flick that some guys can connect to. You can figure out who's gonna 'win' the war pretty easily. You can also figure out Emma's subplot quickly too. The comedy is good enough to keep you smiling. The romance is good enough to keep you interested. The rest of the movie is good enough to see through to the end, but this one won't be remembered in twenty years. I hardly think anyone will watch this more than two dozen times during their lifetime.

I recommend you pass on this one and look for something better in the box office because odds are there's a better movie playing at the same time.

Absolute waste of tape

[LazySod · 2/10 · 2 March 2009]

Two best friends. Both living with their boyfriends, both waiting for them to pop -the- question they live their daily life. When one day they both end up proposed to the planning starts for two perfect weddings. Little do they know that human frailty is against them - and what starts as the perfect adventure soon turns into the most horrible nightmare imaginable. From there what once was the best possible friendship slowly turns into a terrible war.

A meager story at best, the above is the backing line of this film. It could have been enough if it had been worked out some better, but quite sadly this comedy fails to be funny and that is IMO one of the prime requisites of a comedy - making the audience laugh out loud a good number of times and keep them amused until after the ending credits.

This film fails to be funny. The two main characters and their actions are not entirely badly chosen - but the way they are acted out are just too much of a cliché or too clearly acted. There's also too little moments that could have worked out - there's far too many soft spots where the film just rolls on without anything happening.

The most positive effect of the film was the side role played by Kristen Johnson who turns every scene she appears in into a short lasting hilarious feast. It isn't enough to save the film though - it's still a piece of rubbish.

2 out of 10 bridal tragedies wasted

Mediocre at Best

[swinktorxer · 3/10 · 29 January 2009]

Honestly, how many angry bride movies can Hollywood come out with? I thought 27 Dresses had a pretty good plot, even though it was way way way predictable, the characters were likable and different. There were no strip club bachelor/bachelorette parties, no fights that left you hating both of the women in the movie, and some pretty good acting. However,in Bride Wars, Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway have reached a low point in their career, dreadfully overacting and dramatizing every little detail to the point of me losing interest. The three male leads were decent, but for the most part, left a lot to be desired. Their characters were somewhat shallow, possibly due to a predictable and weak screenplay and script. This reminded me too much of all the bride movies and over-hyped chick flicks of the past. When will Hollywood come out with another Notebook romance?

Bride Wars (2009)

[craigsomerville · 9 January 2009]

Bride Wars (2009), I potentially thought this movie could turn out to be one of those quirky, funny, well thought out and acted comedies that occasionally come out of Hollywood. To be honest that is the only reason I agreed to accompany my Girlfriend to the movies to see it.

However my enthusiasm was quickly suppressed, and I realised early on that the movie might actually turn out to be like so many other, forgettable, overly sentimental and almost pointless comedies that Hollywood are also famous for producing.

What didn't I like.

Well its not very funny, there is pretty much ZERO laugh out loud moments in the entire movie. From start to end.

The men the two lead (and talented) actresses are marrying are cardboard cutouts with ZERO character development and thanks to that are totally unlikable. How can we care about their individual engagement's and marriage's if there is no bridge built between us and them.

The "War",or more like the "playground type spats" are also extremely disappointing. No originality or real fun attached to anything they do to each other.

The "I could see it coming from 10 minutes in" ending, the whole Brother/potential failed marriage issue, once again completely unoriginal.

I also couldn't quite get it round my head that two life-long friends that plainly love each other could actually be so cruel to each other.

The WTF moment....the dance off scene, what were they thinking?? Cringe cringe and lets all cringe again.

I do however agree that both Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway (particularly) are fine actresses, and are both very pleasing to the eye. The scene in which they "make-up" is actually quite touching and well acted. Shame about the rest of course.

Overall a pretty poor effort at a romantic comedy. The fact there is no romance and no comedy probably explains why.

Its not a complete car crash, but its a very empty film which I'm sure I will quickly forget I actually seen. Then one day I will spot it in the TV listings and have a vague memory of watching it.

Hopefully this is only a one time bad blip on Anne Hathaway's otherwise impressive career to date. As for Kate, well lets just think about a new agent, bad movies are becoming part of the course for her career as late.

3/10 Watchable....but only just. In my opinion not for shelling out cinema prices to experience. Leave this one for viewing via TV, rental or bargain basement DVD prices.

Nott hat bad what were people waiting for?

[steph_0213 · 7/10 · 21 January 2009]

I saw this movie yesterday,even after reading some comments on this site. I found it pretty good.it's certainly not the movie of the year,but since when a comedy is?The movie is light and there are some funny moments. If you're looking for something light to watch, something just for not thinking for 90 minutes, then it's that kind of movie. I don't know what people here were awaiting for this movie?Something that would make your brain working?If yes, well they were wrong go seeing this movie. It's not Davinci Code. This movie is about two young girls dreaming of a wedding in a hotel in particular. I think the movie just shows what some little girls, when kids, were dreaming of.I think, few or many years ago, it was common to see little girls dreaming of it and maybe the movie just shows the audience what was once a dream and now with the society,well the wedding is getting a bit something people forget about,the true goal of it maybe.There might be parts of the movie that married people would find funny as maybe it was their case. I'm not talking about all the bi***y parts of it between the two girls of the movie!Yes there are some cruels pranks and some are like "come on!idiot!"and you're starting a bit to think that it's a bit over exaggerated about all the pranks.But it also showed, above all these cruel and stupid pranks, what even best friend can do to the other one. I didn't think the acting was bad. In fact,it's a C-O-M-E-D-Y!Not a big drama or action movie or something like that!I think the acting was good and I personally don't really look at the acting when I watch a movie,I'm more interested about the movie and what's happening than the acting,except if it's a really bad acting like in some movies I saw and forgot the tittle. So I think, to have a clear opinion on that movie,you should go and see it by yourself and make you own opinion than making your own only by reading the comments. It's not a big theater movie and it will probably stay a long time so maybe wait for it to come on DVD if you're not sure about seeing it or not.

I feel very stupid...

[insomniac_rod · 2/10 · 13 February 2010]

...because I wanted to watch this movie when it came out in theaters. Then I didn't rent it at Blockbuster for reasons I can't remember.

I watched it when it aired on HBO. And man, what a letdown.

The gorgeous Anne Hathaway was the main reason for me to watch this pile of crap. She doesn't save the day. Kate Hudson does her job but it isn't enough.

There isn't a single funny moment. This shouldn't be considered as a comedy or drama, or anything.

It's a dull, silly, pointless movie that doesn't delivers a single positive message for it's audience.

The sexy Anne Hathaway at least shows some skin during her dancing sequences and I thank her for that.

The humor is bland and you won't even smile. What was the intention of this movie?

The ending that deals with the pregnancy was an insult for cinema.

Soul Mates in "Bride Wars" Win Out

[jon.h.ochiai · 7/10 · 9 February 2009]

Okay, I liked "Bride Wars". Admittedly "Bride Wars" is not any sort of Oscar threat. It is a funny and sweet, albeit clumsy erratic romantic comedy. Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson are great. In particular Anne Hathaway provides the emotional anchor in this fluffy romance. Director Gary Winick directed "13 Going on 30" a few years back which was really well done. "Bride Wars" is not as good. However, I think it redeems itself for its heart and sentiment. Hudson and Hathaway play childhood best friends Liv and Emma, who always dreamed of getting married at the Plaza Hotel in New York. 20 years later Liv and Emma find themselves engaged and hire Wedding Coordinator extraordinaire Marion St. Claire (classic Candice Bergen). They get their wish: dream June Weddings at The Plaza Hotel. Liv and Emma being soul sisters, of course will be each other's Maid of Honor.

Predictably due to a glitch by Marion's assistant Liv and Emma's weddings are booked on the same day. Of course type A driven corporate attorney Liv (Hudson) initially expects "nice girl" school teacher Emma (Hathaway) to acquiesce. But neither will back down. Thus, begins the "Bride Wars". This is nearly as ridiculous as "The Clone Wars", although intentionally funny. We witness catty exchanges. Emma says, "Your wedding's gonna be huge, just like your ass at prom." Liv replies, "Your wedding can suck it." Not always inspired repartee. There is a hilarious bit where Liv expounds the Zen quality of Vera Wang.

When Liv and Emma are at each other's throat there are hysterical moments. Liv causes Emma to turn orange at a tanning salon. Emma fattens up Liv by sending gift food baskets to her office-- Liv thinking they are from her fiancé Daniel (understanding Steve Howay). They include cookies and sweets. But the classic is that Liv actually consumes the butters of the world mix.

Despite the unevenness, writers Greg DePaul and Casey Wilson delve underneath the high jinx: looking at whether Liv and Emma have found their respective soul mates in Daniel (Howay) and Fletcher (Chris Pratt). It's not entirely what we expected. At a narrative catharsis the vulnerable Hathaway's Emma exclaims, "I can't do this…" This goes to perhaps the underlying theme expressed so eloquently by Bergen's Marion,"… the one person who knows you sometimes better than you know yourself is the same person who's been standing beside you all along."

The shortcoming of "Bride Wars" is not sustaining this eloquence throughout, when it deserves it. Hathaway infuses some of the needed poignancy here: As she really looks at her life when she talks with her dear friend, who also is Liv's solid brother Nate (charming Bryan Greenberg). Hudson, although seemingly having a bad hair movie, is at her quirky and spirited best playing the strung too tight Liv. What "Bride Wars" misses is more quiet time between gags, so Liv and Emma can just be. It's hysterical seeing Hathaway pole dancing. But it is also touching seeing Liv hug Emma's Dad.

Hathaway, Hudson, and Bergen make up for much of the rougher spots of the screenplay. "Bride Wars" works, because it is the story of best friends and soul mates who get distracted from what is really important—love. In the end "Bride Wars" gets it right.

Ill-Conceived and Executed from All Perspectives

[chron · 2/10 · 11 January 2009]

This is easily in the bottom 20 movies of all time for me. I was a captive audience member and would not have chosen it myself. I expected a lighthearted romantic comedy, which I can tolerate although that's not my favorite genre.

For starters, who in the world is the target demographic for this disaster? I would guess it's tweener girls, but I wouldn't want my daughters to see women acting petty and selfish. The two lead characters are awful people acting in cruel ways. I sort of like dark comedies, but this didn't play as a dark comedy, either.

The premise is horrible. The writing doesn't take it anywhere. The acting even wasn't all that great. There was nothing special about the direction.

This is a real dog. As I yelled to the groom in the movie, "Run away. Just run away!"

A fun bride comedy

[LetsReviewThat26 · 6/10 · 20 March 2023]

Bride wars was a fun movie. Up there with bridesmaides. In this movie two woman called emma and liv have been with their boyfriends for years. Emmas proposes with a fortune cookie, whilst liv forces hers to propose after finding the ring in the wardrobe. But there is one big problem when it gets to the wedding. Not only do they want the same venue, but after a mixup they are getting married on the same day. Things spiral from there as the two battle and end up trying to ruin eachothers wedding so they can have it all to theirselves. There are some lighthearted bits and overall bride wars was a good comedy with strong leads and just fun overall.

A story of two girls with a bright dream

[Alex_Traveller · 4/10 · 22 March 2009]

The movie tells a story of two childhood friends who had a dream of a perfect wedding ceremony in a Plaza Hotel. When the girls are already young and beautiful women and the day comes that they are both engaged, they start to plan their perfect wedding in Plaza. Thereby the are confronted with different problems and even try to ruin each others wedding.

"Bride Wars" doesn't really stand for movies I usually watch. Although I wanted to watch it, mainly because of Anne Hathaway. I was told she is a good actress and is playing quite good in that movie. Well I can partly agree with that. Her performance in "Bride Wars" was surely satisfactory, however I believe her role was not really challenging. For the rest, I have to confess that the story of the movie is quite poor. It is obvious that the idea of the movie is to show us how two childhood friends deal with their friendship when their most desired dream seems to come true. However this appears unrealistic in the movie. Two best friends who know each other for over twenty years wouldn't try to spoil each others lives. "Bride Wars" appears also not that funny as it probably should be. The jokes are even a bit dumb and absolutely not funny.

Summing up I think that "Bride Wars" is a motion picture made more for girls who also have bright thoughts about their wedding.

Take the film for what it is and you'll laugh and have a good time!!

[Robert_duder · 8/10 · 28 February 2009]

I honestly can't believe how serious some reviewers (most of them women) are taking Bride Wars. They are calling it feminist set back, chauvinistic and unrealistic. God forbid anyone let go of reality for a couple hours to enjoy a film especially a comedy and as a comedy, chick flick or not, a fun, hilarious, slapstick movie that anyone could enjoy. It's ridiculous to think that the movie is trying to anti-feminist or even try to stereotype anyone. Instead it's simply an amusing, slapstick ride about two best friends. My expectations for the film weren't all that high, I expected predictability and probably nothing too far from the beaten path but I was pleasantly surprised that the actors pulled off a riot of a movie and the story was watchable and not dragging. Screenplay co-writer Casey Wilson comes from Saturday Night Live which certainly helps with the comedy aspect but I think the style and character to the film is the lead actors. While neither actor really gets a lot of depth to her character they still have good solid chemistry and both are talented comediennes.

Anne Hathaway has really come a long way as an actor. I instantly fell in love with her style and comedy in The Princess Diaries and have enjoyed her in a lot of other roles. She is a very talented actress but she can also let loose and just have fun and that's what her role in Bride Wars is all about. She is the more serious, down to earth of the two and although some have reviewed her character as weak I think she just shows a softer side than Hudson. Kate Hudson lets loose as the darker perhaps more mean spirited side of the two. She doesn't really go so far as to make you dislike her but she certainly isn't the more likable. Still she does a decent job but honestly I think Hathaway makes Hudson look better. Hathaway just has a style for physical comedy. Chris Pratt and Steve Howey play their significant others and I'm sure they both are decent actors but this doesn't really showcase their ability. The film focuses on the two girls. Candice Bergen could have been pretty spectacular because she is a very talented comedienne but she doesn't get a lot of screen time or character development. Kristen Johnston on the other hand is hilarious as the naive and abrasive friend to Hathaway.

The key to really enjoying Bride Wars is to not take the film seriously. I mean it is a comedy and perhaps a "chick flick" but the film was made for a certain demographic and it works!! Hathaway and Hudson are great together and you will laugh out loud and just really enjoy the film. It is probably true that a female director might have made the film different but Gary Winick is not new to the concept having worked on female favorites like Ugly Betty and the film 13 Going On 30. I think it's ridiculous and to call a film chauvinistic because it features two women who have dreams of their wedding which happens to be a little bit old fashion perhaps? Point is guy or gal, date, or Saturday Night alone this film will make you smile. 8/10

Classic Chick Flick

[allanah-64973 · 6/10 · 14 September 2019]

The perfect movie for a girls night in, or to keep on in the background as you do other things. Predictable plot, little character development, but it still makes me smile every time.

The worst romantic comedy I have eve seen in my life

[lisafordeay · 3/10 · 28 September 2010]

Re-edit 5th February 2024

Bride Wars is a 2009 romantic comedy starring Kate Hudson,Anne Hathaway,Candice Bergin and Chris Pratt.

The story is about two best friends named Liv (Hudson)and Emma(Hathaway)who are both getting married to their long time partners but when they book their weddings with the wedding councilor Mrs Sinclair(Bergin)they are horrified when they discover their wedding dates are booked on the same day June 5th.

Of course they fight about it and they get their own back at one another like Liv's hair turns blue thanks to Emma adding in blue dye instead of blonde and Emma becomes orange after a fake tan session went horribly wrong as Liv hacked the tan machine.

The whole film was so bad. I love both Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway but by god here it was so bad.

Another thing that bugged me was that they both became pregnant in the end on March 6th.