Something Borrowed is exactly the movie you would think it is before entering the theatre. Following along the common premise of the genre; boy meets girl, girl falls in love with boy and a tangled love triangle begins. It follows a tried and true formula. Ripe with cliches and predictability, this feels like very familiar territory and it turns out to be just another summer rom-com that will please its niche market, but leaves a lot to be desired for audiences looking for quality filmmaking.
Based on the original New York Times Best Sellers List novel Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin, this film offers little in the way of imaginative. The opening scene enters with the main character Rachel played by Ginnifer Goodwin walking into her surprise 30th birthday party put on by her best friend Darcy (Kate Hudson). As the party rages on into the night, we begin to meet some of the other characters including Darcy’s finance, Dex (Colin Egglesfield), the focal point of the story’s love triangle. Dex, the classically charming and handsome male protagonist was introduced to his finance by Rachel as they were both students studying at NYU’s law school.
After a few too many drinks, Darcy is forced to leave the party with Dex but seemingly forgets her Chanel purse at the party. When Dex, being the perfect fiance he is, returns to retrieve the purse, he encounters a lonely Rachel. Well as the standard story goes, Dex and Rachel, the long lost lovers they are, sleep together which begins the mess that makes this chick flick exactly as expected. Does Dex really love Darcy? Or should he have been with Rachel the whole time? These questions are the painstaking glue for which the film relies on leaving the audience with many predictable and obvious moments.
In the film, Rachel’s male best friend Ethan, played by John Krasinski is one of the only true bright spots. As Rachel’s best friend, he is the only one giving her some true and candor advice as to how to deal with the situation she is in. From this point on Rachel continues on with her secret relationship with Dex, and Ethan makes every attempt to clue Darcy in as to what is really happening. With some quirky and comical remarks, Krasinski plays his role perfectly almost lifting the movie as a whole. For fans of his work on NBC’s The Office, you’ll find he offers the same charm and humor here, making him just as enjoyable to watch.
As the film slowly comes to an end, everything as it always does in these movies, things work out exactly how you had hoped for. No surprises, nothing interesting, nothing out of the ordinary. It plays out like every other romantic comedy. And if that’s what you go in hoping for, you may be happy with the end result.
http://youtu.be/7_w-dyV9bJM
