Bride Wars – DVD Review

“Sometimes you really can find that one person who will stand by you no matter what.” - Marion St. Claire, wedding planner

A Bride’s Wedding Day is always important, no matter if it is a ceremony in a field of flowers, or in the case of this movie, a full blow-out celebration at the famed Plaza Hotel. Planning and orchestrating the event is stressful enough for the couple, but in Bride Wars, a glitch in the process turns life-long friends into sworn enemies. If you believe “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” wait until you see the anger of Brides who may be forced to give up a portion of their “dream” wedding.

Anne Hathaway (Emma) and Kate Hudson (Liv) have been friends all their lives. When they were about eight years old, their mothers took them to lunch at the renowned Plaza Hotel, where they saw a wedding. From that moment forward, that was their goal, to have a June Wedding at the Plaza Hotel. We see some sweet scenes of the children Emma and Liv playing at weddings, and then they are grown. Liv has become a wealthy aggressive corporate lawyer, while Emma is a school teacher. Both are in serious relationships, and within 24 hours of each other become engaged. First step of course is to visit Marion St. Claire (Candace Bergen) the Wedding Planner for the Plaza. The dates are chosen, one in early June the other later in the month, and all proceeds as planned. The Vera Wang dress is purchased for one, and the traditional wearing of Mom’s dress is set for the other. Then they receive the news from Marion St. Claire, revealing THE GLITCH which will force one Bride to give up the dream of a June Wedding at the Plaza. Which will it be?

A best friend knows everything about you, good and bad, and that can be a comfort, or it can be a liability! Liv and Emma stop at nothing to sabotage the wedding plans of the other. Some of this is really funny, and other bits rather scary. Passion, fury, selfishness, all seem to be at the top of each girl’s list of character traits. Eventually, things boil over, and peace is restored, not exactly as one might expect, but that is part of the charm of this film. It is entertaining, well acted, and Ms. Hathaway and Ms. Hudson have a great chemistry, as friends and as enemies.Bride Wars is presented in widescreen format with a running time of 90 minutes. Special features include deleted scenes, and a nice featurette on the popularity of designer Vera Wang for today’s bridal gowns. The film is available in English, French or Spanich and is rated PG. This may not join the ranks of the most romantic wedding movies, but it certainly will be one that audiences return to for multiple viewings. Ms Hathaway and Ms Hudson are convincing as best friends and mortal enemies. As a side note, some of the Bridal Shower participants were the wives of Boston Red Sox players, and were convincing as the somewhat perplexed friends of Emma and Liv. This movie is good fun!