I know, I know. I hate to admit it, but I went and saw Something Borrowed last week. Romantic comedies frustrate the crud out of me...I think they're just a cheap way to make a lot of money without really trying to do anything new or creative with this incredible medium we have in film.  I crept into the theater all stealth-like in hopes that no one I knew would see me in the lobby of the Alamo Drafthouse. I saw the trailer months ago, and there was just something about it that was intriguing to me. I confessed this cinema-blunder to my fellow radio-television-film grad friend Carrie and she told me she kind of wanted to see it too. Instant relief...

With that being said, what's possibly even more embarrassing is that I actually liked the film. No, I didn't love it...I didn't think it had a unique or creative story line or anything. I could predict every single plot turn. I didn't think that the directing or mis-en-scene was particularly fabulous, but it was engaging and entertaining. The plot moved along nicely. If there's any way to ensure I like a film, it's to make sure the plot doesn't drag. When you don't have a great story, you had better have great casting. And luckily this film's casting directors Sari Knight and Mandy Sherman did a great job.

Let's start with Ginnifer Goodwin. She is just so precious, and I think the fact that she starred in this film was one of the main reasons I wanted to see it. Also John Krasinski. Oh, John Krasinski. He played his typical type-cast John Krasinski role, but he just does it so well that I haven't yet tired of it. I think he should start playing some more challenging roles now though, lest he be caught in Amy Adams' blunder and not be believable as any other sort of character. He was really funny and really endearing. Kate Hudson played Kate Hudson. She does it well, but I just don't like her very much. I want to, but she is just annoying. One of the other major stars was Collin Egglesfield whom I've known about since his All My Children days. Yes I watched that show, and yes I'm devastated it's cancelled...even if I don't watch it any more. On a side note, I always feel this odd internal sense of pride whenever I realize an actor/actresses is about to get super famous after I had been watching them for years on soap operas. Take Josh Duhmal for instance...I was totally in love with him before Fergie was ever around and way before he ever started doing some-what legit stuff. And Kelly Rippa...Holla! She will always be Hayley in my heart.

Ok, soap box done...pun intended. :) As you might know, this film is based off of a book. I haven't read it myself but my friends told me that it stayed true pretty closely until the end. There was one scene that was particularly annoying that occurred between Krasinski and Goodwin's characters, and apparently it never happened in the novel. Also, if I never see another Heineken bottle I'll be completely fine. There was so much product placement for this brand that I never want to drink that beverage out of sheer annoyance!

I don't really have anything else to say about this film. It's your standard run of the mill rom-com.  I wouldn't spend $7-$10 to see in in a theater, but it's worth a watch at some point. The reason why it was successful in my opinion, is that it was cast really well. I enjoyed watching these people play these characters. There was a lot of chemistry and I appreciated the people who made the film's recognition of this.