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Summer is a time for romance…for weddings…and for breezy romantic comedies. But if you’re looking for all three from Something Borrowed—one of the first chick flicks of the summer movie season—you’ll be in for a heavy, uncomfortable surprise.
Rachel (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Darcy (Kate Hudson) have been friends forever. Ginnifer has always been the smart, stable, responsible one, while Darcy has always been the crazy, outgoing, pretty one—the one who got all the attention and all the guys. Now, Darcy is about to marry Dex (Colin Egglesfield), the man of Rachel’s dreams—or at least he was in law school, when Rachel introduced him to her best friend and lost her chance with him forever. Or maybe not.
On the night of her 30th birthday party, Rachel offhandedly tells Dex about the feelings that she had for him in law school. The next thing they know, they’re waking up together in Rachel’s bed.
Rachel is thrilled to find that Dex felt (and still feels) the same way. But with the wedding countdown underway, Dex doesn’t know how to break the news to his fiancée—and Rachel doesn’t know how she can keep such a huge secret from her best friend.
Based on the novel by Emily Giffin, Something Borrowed isn’t the typical fluffy summer chick flick. If it were, hilarity would ensue, and everything would simply resolve itself in a barrage of silly one-liners and slapstick scenarios. But that’s not how it works here. Instead, most of the characters spend the entire film feeling conflicted and guilty and uncomfortable—and audiences will feel that same discomfort.
Something Borrowed is a difficult drama. It’s honest and emotional, and the characters all seem perfectly genuine. But that doesn’t mean that you’ll like the characters (no matter how real or honest they may be)—or that you’ll enjoy watching their whole excruciating story play out.
Hudson’s Darcy, especially, makes it difficult to watch. She’s is a selfish, demanding character—and she’s so obnoxious that you’ll wonder why poor Rachel has put up with her this long. No matter how cute and fun-loving Kate Hudson may be, you’ll still cringe whenever she appears—because the character is just that annoying. Still, for most of the movie, Darcy is the only one who’s truly happy—though it’s just because she’s too self-centered to notice what’s going on around her.
Meanwhile, Dex’s excitement at having fallen for Rachel is dampened by the pressures and expectations placed on him by himself, his family, his fiancée, and even by the woman he loves. And Rachel’s excitement is dampened by her own oppressive feelings of guilt—as well as the fact that Dex just can’t commit, which means that she has to spend the summer watching him with Darcy. Sure, it’s hard to feel sorry for them, since they got themselves into this mess. But every moment of romance and happiness is balanced out by what feels like one big, crushing kick in the stomach.
Thank goodness, then, for John Krasinski, who lightens the mood a bit as Darcy and Rachel’s witty childhood friend, Ethan. Though he has his own moments of sadness, he generally gives the film some much-needed comic relief.
If you’re expecting some fun, light-hearted romance from Something Borrowed, you’ll most likely be disappointed by this surprisingly awkward and heavy drama. It’s an honest film with flawed characters and a lesson to be learned in the end—and I can definitely respect that. But it doesn’t necessarily make for an enjoyable summer chick flick.
