I have read the novel Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin, admittedly a while ago, and I was excited to see the movie version of it. The book has a sequel as well, Something Blue, which tells the story of Something Borrowed from Darcy's (Kate Hudson's) perspective, and so if the film does well it's possible that this will be made into a movie too. Luckily, the film did not disappoint.
Rachel (Ginnifer Goodwin, TV's "Big Love") and Darcy (Kate Hudson, "Nine") have been best friends forever, and it was Rachel who introduced Darcy to her fiancee, Dex (Colin Egglesfield, TV's "Melrose Place"), whom she met in law school. Darcy throws Rachel a big 30th birthday party, and Rachel and Dex end up sharing a cab afterwards ... and they end up making one stop instead of two. The next day, Darcy is racked with guilt, especially since Darcy and Dex's wedding is very soon, but she and Dex can't deny how they feel about each other, and how they have felt ever since law school. Rachel's friend Ethan (John Krasinski, TV's "The Office") tells her to go for him, and that if the situation was reversed, Darcy wouldn't even hesitate, but Rachel has always been the "good girl" type and can't make herself break up their engagement. As the clock is ticking down to Darcy and Dex's wedding, Rachel must decide if she wants to be a good friend or finally put herself first, for once
I really liked how the film showed Dex and Rachel's law school days in flashbacks, rather than starting out when they were in law school - it was a smart choice and really helped strengthen the movie overall. John Krasinski is actually the character that steals the show, providing comic relief, as he and Hudson's characters dislike each other, and Steve Howey (TV's "Shameless") stars as Marcus, a slacker-type that Darcy wants to set Rachel up with. The movie had a lot of great acting by Goodwin, Hudson, and Egglesfield, as well - Hudson has played this type of role before but always shines in it - and Goodwin was perfect as the kind of mousy best friend.
Yes, see this film. My only complaint with it is that it starts to run a little long, but I think that's because they were trying to squeeze the entire book into the movie. The movie was very cute, and the plot is plausible, in that I could see it happening in the real world (ie, it wasn't a "soap opera" as some rom-coms tend to be). Although there weren't a lot of "laugh out loud"-type moments, for the most part the film moves along smoothly, and if you like romantic comedies, you will enjoy this movie.
Something Borrowed is in theaters today, May 6th.
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Liz Parker is a 2009 graduate of the University of Michigan. She currently works as an Assistant Medical Editor for a pathology website. Visit her at her movie blog Yes/No Films
