Review: Bride Wards

This screechy comedy is barely viewable even for loyal fans of the two female leads. They (Hudson-Hathaway) portray brides-to-be celebrating their upcoming nuptials at one of Manhattan’s plushiest hotels, writes Rashid Irani.

Bride Wars
Cast: Kate Hudson, Anne Hathaway
Director: Gary Winick
Rating: * & 1/2

HT Image

This screechy comedy is barely viewable even for loyal fans of the two female leads. They (Hudson-Hathaway) portray brides-to-be celebrating their upcoming nuptials at one of Manhattan’s plushiest hotels. After all, the childhood friends had always vowed to have a dream wedding.

But wait. Their marriages are inadvertently scheduled on the same day at the same time. Instead of sorting the matter out with the hoity-toity wedding planner (oldtimer Candice Bergen, effervescent as ever), they resort to all-out war.

With all the subtlety of a Godzilla rampage, they now attempt to sabotage each other’s wedding preparations. The wannabe attorney (Hudson) replaces normal tan lotions so that her former galpal turns to a dark shade of orange. On her part, the schoolteacher (Hathaway) wreaks vengeance by furtively dyeing her rival’s hair blue.

There’s hardly a chuckle or smile to be had from the ditzy duo’s shenanigans. Mouldy dialogue alternates with a cloying music score to grate on the nerves. The sitcom-pat resolution is even more annoying.

Kate Hudson, who also co-produced, delivers a career-low performance. The biggest disappointment, however, is Anne Hathaway. On the evidence of her astonishing turn in Jonathan Demme’s Rachel Getting Married (filmed around the same time as this dreck), the spirited actress is capable of so much more.

Ultimately, Bride Wars lowers the bar on what passes for comedy nowadays.