Bride Wars

If nothing else, Bride Wars provides telling glimpses of one star ascending and another in decline. This insipid comedy casts Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway as lifelong BFFs whose mutual dream is to get married—and be each other's bridesmaids—at New York's glamorous Plaza Hotel. So you can imagine how delighted both are when, thanks to the serendipitous timing found only in Hollywood movies, their respective fiancés propose almost simultaneously, after which a high-class wedding planner (Candice Bergen) instantly secures mutually desirable dates for the ceremonies. Unfortunately, a booking mishap results in both weddings being scheduled for the same day, and when each woman refuses to change her date the friends fall out. The obvious solution would be for these bosom buddies to stage a joint wedding, but that would result in a much shorter movie, so they instead attempt to sabotage each other by resorting to pranks that even a fifth-grader would find puerile. Neither actress is exactly covered in glory here, but the talented and personable Hathaway fares much better than Hudson, whose shrill, eyeball-rolling histrionics only remind us of how she has steadily squandered the potential she exhibited in Almost Famous. Bergen, meanwhile, seems bored and the two male leads are practically invisible, reduced by director Gary Winick to shaking their heads in bewilderment—as will viewers of this distinctly unsatisfying comedy. Not recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include the five-minute featurette “The Perfect White Dress,” three minutes of deleted scenes, and trailers. Exclusive to the three-disc Blu-ray release (which includes the standard DVD and a bonus digital copy of the film) is a “Something Old, Something New and What That's Gonna Cost You” pop-up trivia track, seven minutes of deleted scenes, a “Meet Me at the Plaza” location featurette (7 min.), character segments on stars Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway (6 min.), three minutes of improvisations, and three “Caught On Tape” character featurettes: “Man-den” (5 min.), “Maid of Honor” (5 min.), and “Amanda-Cam” (4 min.). Bottom line: a skimpy extras package for a forgettable romantic comedy.] (E. Hulse)