Candice Bergen

Blu-Ray Review: Kate Hudson, Anne Hathaway in Loathsome ‘Bride Wars’

BrianTT — Thu, 07 May 2009 13:43:08 -0600

CHICAGO – Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson star in the awful “Bride Wars,” an alleged comedy with a great 3-disc Blu-Ray edition that still can’t hide the awful movie underneath.

Blu-Ray Rating: 2.0/5.0

Liv (Hudson) and Emma (Hathaway) are best friends who have always dreamed of getting married at the Plaza Hotel. When their nuptials are accidentally scheduled for the same date, they begin torture campaigns against each other, trying to see who will flinch first and move their date or cancel their wedding altogether.

Bride Wars was released on Blu-Ray on April 28th, 2009.
Photo credit: Fox

What were they thinking? Kate Hudson has made some bad choices in recent years, but would the young actress who shined so brightly in “Almost Famous” please come back? And Anne Hathaway should simply know better. It’s not hard to believe that “Bride Wars” hurt her Oscar campaign for “Rachel Getting Married”. It’s as drastic a leap from best film of her career to worst as nearly any actress has taken with back-to-back movies.

Bride Wars was released on Blu-Ray on April 28th, 2009.
Photo credit: Fox

I have to admit that I was dreading “Bride Wars”. The commercials seemed toxic and the 24 on Metacritic is shockingly low. Yes, that’s 24 out of 100. Judged on a very low bar of expectations, “Bride Wars” slid over, coming off as dull more than offensive or awful. What’s shocking about “Bride Wars,” except for the offensively stereotypical portrayal of marriage-hungry women, is that it’s just dull, dull, dull.

When the boredom of “Bride Wars” is shattered, it’s only done so because of loathsome behavior on the part of the two lead characters, two women who deserve to fall in an open sewer grate about as much as they deserve the wedding of their dreams. For the most part, “Bride Wars” is about as exciting as watching someone else’s nuptial videos.

Spreading pregnancy rumors, messing with spray tans and dye jobs - no ONE does this kind of thing to another human being and there’s just nothing funny about it. It’s a sad statement about what Hollywood thinks of women, especially brides. When these two Oscar-nominated actresses are reduced to a sexy dance-off on a strip club stage, it produced much more sadness than laughter.

Bride Wars was released on Blu-Ray on April 28th, 2009.
Photo credit: Fox

And the worst thing about “Bride Wars” is the classic move of these loathsome comedies in that the writers and director actually want you to cheer when the film comes to its predictable happy ending. There’s nothing funny about this dull, predictable, unlikable comedy, one that you should only see if you’re a giant Kate Hudson or Anne Hathaway fan. But don’t be surprised if you’re no longer after suffering through one of the most unremarkable comedies in years.

The movie may be horrible, but the 3-Disc Blu-Ray is truly impressive. The first disc features the HD version of the film and hours of extras. The second disc includes the standard DVD version of the film and the third disc is the digital copy.

The film is presented in 1080p with a 1.85:1 aspect ratio with an English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track.

Special features include “Something old, Something New and What That’s Gonna Cost You” Pop-Up Trivia Track, deleted scenes, improvisations, “Meet Me at the Plaza,” “The Perfect White Dress,” “FOX Movie Channel presents In Character with Kate Hudson,” “FOX Movie Channel presents In Character with Anne Hathaway,” “Caught On Tape: Man-den, Maid of Honor, and Amanda-Cam”. The DVD version includes deleted scenes and the “White Dress” featurette as well.

‘Bride Wars’ is released by Fox Home Video and stars Kate Hudson, Anne Hathaway, and Candice Bergen. It was written by Greg DePaul and Casey Wilson & June Diane Raphael and directed by Gary Winick. The film was released on April 28th, 2009. It is rated PG-13.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Slideshow: 16-Image Gallery For ‘Bride Wars’ With Anne Hathaway, Kate Hudson

BrianTT — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 15:32:00 -0700

CHICAGO – This 16-image slideshow contains official press images for Fox’s “Bride Wars,” which stars Kate Hudson, Anne Hathaway, Bryan Greenberg, Chris Pratt, Steve Howey, Candice Bergen, and Kristen Johnston from writers Greg DePaul and Casey Wilson & June Diane Raphael and director Gary Winick. The film opens on Jan. 9, 2009.

“Bride Wars” is a comedy about two best friends who become bitter rivals when they both happen to schedule their upscale weddings on the exact same day. The comedy is rated PG and opens on Friday, January 9th, 2009.

You can click “Next” and “Previous” to scan through this slideshow or jump directly to individual photos with the captioned links below. All photos credited to © 2008 Twentieth Century Fox and Regency Enterprises. Photo credit: Claire Folger.

BrideWars01: Liv (Kate Hudson) finds the perfect wedding gown.
BrideWars02: Emma (Anne Hathaway) reflects on the joyous occasion of the wedding of her best friend.
BrideWars03: Liv (Kate Hudson, left) has mixed reactions to best friend Emma’s (Anne Hathaway) engagement.
BrideWars04: Best friends Live (Kate Hudson, left) and Emma (Anne Hathaway) take in the action at a friend’s wedding party.
BrideWars05: Liv (Kate Hudson, top) and best friend Emma (Anne Hathaway) exalt in their catching of the wedding bouquet.
BrideWars06: Liv (Kate Hudson, left) and Emma (Anne Hathaway) delight in catching the bouquet at a friend’s wedding.
BrideWars07: Emma (Anne Hathaway, left) and Liv (Kate Hudson) can’t wait to hear what a wedding planner has in store for their respective nuptials.
BrideWars08: Liv (Kate Hudson, left) and Emma (Anne Hathaway) share peaceful and friendly moments before their bride wars get underway.
BrideWars09: Emma (Anne Hathaway, left) shares in the joy of her best friend Liv’s (Kate Huson) marriage to Daniel (Steve Howey).
BrideWars10: Battling brides Liv (Kate Hudson, left) and Emma (Anne Hathaway) have an emotional reunion at Liv’s wedding.
BrideWars11: The calm after the storm: Emma (Anne Hathaway, left) helps make the wedding of her best friend Liv (Kate Hudson) a memorable one.
BrideWars12: Battling brides Liv (Kate Hudson, left) and Emma (Anne Hathaway) have an emotional reunion at Liv’s wedding.
BrideWars13: The “bride wars” between Liv (Kate Huson) and Emma (Anne Hathaway) come to a memorable conclusion at Liv’s wedding.
BrideWars14: Emma (Anne Hathaway, left) and Liv (Kate Hudson) go shopping for bridal gowns.
BrideWars15: Emma (Anne Hathaway) leaves little doubt as to what her answer will be when boyfriend Fletcher (Chris Pratt) pops the question.
BrideWars16: Actor-producer Kate Hudson confers with director Gary Winich on the set of Bride Wars.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Blu-Ray Review: Remake of ‘The Women’ Fails on Every Level

BrianTT — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 07:55:51 -0700

CHICAGO – The long-delayed remake of “The Women”, the 1939 classic film that has been in the pipeline for years, should have stayed in terminal development hell. The grating, unbelievable dramedy from writer/director Diane English wastes a talented cast including Meg Ryan and Annette Bening on a two-dimensional, cliche-ridden screenplay and the Blu-Ray release for the film represents a rare misstep for Warner Brothers.

A lot of big releases have hit the marketplace hoping to grab a little bit of the Christmas dollar, but I think “The Women” is in the mix just because its producers and studio want it to get buried in the rush. Maybe no one will notice that “The Women” is one of the worst movies of 2008 and we can all move on to bigger and better releases in 2009.

Whoever first had the idea to turn “The Women” into a modern “Sex and the City” rip-off about a group of female friends battling infidelity, broken friendships, motherhood, and careers deserves the brunt of the blame for the failure of this project. Every frame of the film feels like a project that was a failure from conception and viewers are just being subjected to the inevitable result of some truly misguided planning. The big-screen “SATC” may have had its flaws but it looks like Shakespeare compared to this effort.

“The Women” is about a group of Manhattan socialites, many of whom love to gossip over getting their nails done at Saks and carry around their yappy dogs. Over a manicure, Sylvie Fowler (Annette Bening), a fashion magazine editor, hears that her best friend Mary Haines (Meg Ryan) is being cheated on with a girl (Eva Mendes) who happens to work at the perfume counter. Mary discovers the infidelity and is supported by two other friends, a lesbian played by Jada Pinkett Smith and a mother trying desperately to have a boy played by Debra Messing. Candice Bergen, Bette Midler, Carrie Fisher, and Cloris Leachman co-star in small roles.

Based loosely on Clare Boothe Luce’s Broadway hit and the 1939 movie of the same name, the creator of “Murphy Brown,” Diane English, has chosen to update the original story in the most superficial ways imaginable. Most viewers wouldn’t want to spend a few minutes with any of the egotistical, obnoxious females who populate “The Women,” making rooting for their success in the film impossible.

English makes the classic screenwriting mistake of never choosing a tone, leaving “The Women” in-between screwball comedy and realism, neither funny nor genuine. Even the usually charming Bening comes off grating and mis-directed. There’s not a single moment of witty dialogue or character-driven revelation. Why would we possibly care about the trials and tribulations of these cat-fighting women when we wouldn’t want to spend more than five minutes with any of them?

The Blu-Ray release for “The Women” matches the ineffectiveness of the film itself. The video transfer in 1080p High Definition with a transfer ratio of 1.85:1 is surprisingly flat for Warner Brothers, the studio that usually produces the most vibrant and colorful pictures on the market. It can be difficult to tell if it’s the bland color palette employed by English or the transfer, but “The Women” barely looks HD on Blu-Ray. And the sound is also a weakness, almost entirely mixed to the front speakers, even the score.

As for special features, “The Women” includes a few deleted scenes and two featurettes - “The Women Behind the Women” and “The Women: The Legacy”. It’s not surprising that there are no commentary tracks on “The Women” as that would require the people who made the film to sit through it again. Follow their lead and pretend “The Women” never happened.

‘The Women’ is released by Warner Brothers Home Video and stars Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Jada Pinkett Smith, Debra Messing, Eva Mendes, Candice Bergen, Bette Midler, Carrie Fisher, and Cloris Leachman. It was released on December 21st, 2008.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com