CAST: Kate Hudson, Ginnfer Goodwin, John Krasinski, Colin Egglesfield, Steve Howey, Ashley Williams, Sarah Baldwin,Grace Capra, Shirley Dluginski, Jill Eikenberry; DIRECTOR: Luke Greenfield; WRITERS: Jennie Urman, Jordan Roberts; GENRE: Romance; RUNNING TIME: 103 minutes.
Technical Assessment: 3
Moral Assessment: 2
CINEMA Rating: For viewers age 18 and above.
Dex (Colin Egglesfield) and Darcy (Kate Hudson) are getting ready for their wedding. Darcy’s best friend Rachel (Ginnifer Goodwin) is to be maid of honor. But one night at a party, one drink too many leads Rachel to disclose to Dex that she had a big crush on him in law school. Little did she know that Dex also felt the same but had kept silent about it. Apparently each one thought the other was too good for him/her. The discovery of a secret long kept leads to a regrettable situation: they sleep together for a night, and since then lies and deception become the order of the day, compounded by the conflict between guilt and self-preservation. Unable to handle the situation any further, Rachel confides to friend Ethan (John Krasinski) who prods her on to do what makes her happy, but Rachel does not have the heart to hurt Darcy who has been her BFF since childhood.
Based on a novel by Emily Griffin, all Something Borrowed needs is to be dubbed in Pilipino for it to pass for a (mediocre) Filipino romantic comedy. It has self-centered wishy-washy lead characters who are supposedly smart but exhibit an IQ of 40 when it comes to managing their (love) lives: a pathetic and irritatingly loyal friend, a best friend with an ego the size of Antarctica, an extremely rich love interest who is so undecisive he ought to be in a Shakespearean play. About the only almost level headed character here is the guy who gives almost-sound advice but whose love will remain unrequited. There is really no one in this movie that you can root for. The story, in fairness, could be a hit as a local TV telenovela, given its length (too long at one hour and 53 minutes), its script (dragging), its acting (ho-hum!).
Up to a certain point, loyalty to a friend (as that which Rachel has for Darcy) is commendable. Genuine concern, too, for another human being (exhibited by Ethan) is good. But in Something Borrowed, these two things are merely used to advance a nonsensical story which unfortunately ends in a distorted “win-win” situation. After all that tug of war between right and wrong, between conscience and concupiscence, the movie concludes with this message: “It’s okay to cheat for love’s sake, others do it, too, anyway.”
