Something Borrowed

What we have with Something Borrowed is a movie that is frustratingly conventional in a lot of ways, and yet kind of interesting in others. As someone who has sat through more than his share of romantic comedies, I feel the need to applaud the film for having lead characters who come across as being slightly smarter than what we usually get, and actually has an ending that isn't a 100% inevitable conclusion. But there's more than enough stuff here to drag those qualities down, so while not a total success, it will have to settle for a near miss.

Lead heroine Rachel (Ginnifer Goodwin) is a mousy lawyer who is used to being overlooked by others for her pretty, blonde, popular best friend, Darcy (Kate Hudson). It's been that way since they first met as kids, and as Rachel hits her 30th birthday and realizes she still hasn't found love, she figures it will always be that way. A chance cab ride with Darcy's fiance, Dex (Colin Egglesfield) could just change all that. A few drinks, and some honest talk about their feelings, and Dex is soon passionately kissing Rachel, and they wake up in bed with each other just weeks before Dex's wedding to Darcy is set. We learn through flashbacks that Rachel and Dex went to law school together, and had a relationship budding, until Darcy came along and Rachel willingly let him go, figuring she would never stand a chance with him next to her friend. Although Dex has been attached to Darcy for years, his feelings for Rachel apparently never left.

This brings about an interesting dilemma - Rachel and Dex have feelings for each other, but also don't want to hurt Darcy. Do they go along and pretend nothing has happened, or do they risk it? The movie's not quite prepared to probe such a situation deeply or maturely, but it's smart enough to raise more than a few questions, mostly asked by Rachel's other friend and co-worker, Ethan (John Krasinski), who watches from the outside, and tries to figure things out along with us the audience. The film also walks an interesting tightrope. These are all flawed characters, and the slightest misstep could make Rachel and her actions in the film entirely detestable. But, the film does give her plenty of chances to question what she's doing, and the various choices she is faced with. The movie gives the characters no easy answers, and although there are certainly some major contrivances to make things easier for Rachel to make up her mind, things never quite seem black and white as is usually the case in these films.

Where the movie falters is with the character of Darcy, who constantly comes across as a caricature, and never as developed as Rachel. She's the hard-drinking, hard-partying type who never quite grew up, and while Hudson is fine enough in the role, the character never really gets her side of the story told. We're faced with Rachel's problem, but when it is revealed that Darcy maybe has some secrets of her own, they seem more like plot contrivances, rather than character development. It's not until the film's final moments that the script finally starts to get a hold on the character, and we get some interesting scenes. The last time we see her is surprisingly poignant, and leaves things resolved, while also a little open ended, which was unexpected to me. It made me wish that screenwriter Jennie Snyder had explored these sides of her earlier.

The true stand out of the cast turns out to be John Krasinski as Ethan. Much like his performance in the underrated Away We Go, he brings a certain maturity to his role as a man who seems to be on the outside looking in on the whole situation, but holds quite a lot of wisdom for Rachel, and often seems to be speaking for the audience when he talks bluntly about her situation with Dex. As Rachel, Ginnifer Goodwin is quite charming and attractive, maybe a bit too much so for a character who is supposed to be a "plain" woman who is not noticed much. Whenever she talks about how she's not hot enough to get the kind of guys that her friend Darcy gets, we find it personally hard to believe just by looking at her. Maybe she needs some self-esteem boosting or something. Whatever the case, she's winning in the role, and I would like to see more of her.

Something Borrowed works best when it goes off the beaten path, something it doesn't do nearly enough for me to recommend it, but I also can't say I'm sorry I saw it. It runs a bit long, especially when it starts trying to wrap up its multiple characters and plots, but it also hits some nice notes that I was not expecting. Even if I'm giving this film a near miss, I can see this movie doing well with the romantic comedy crowd, and maybe inspiring some discussion when it's done.

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