Bride Wars MPAA Rating: PG Entertainment: +1 Content: -3

Director: Gary Winick. Main Actors: Kate Hudson, Anne Hathaway, Candice Bergen, Kristen Johnson, Chris Pratt, Michael Arden. Genre: Romantic comedy

SYNOPSIS: Liv (Kate Hudson) and Emma (Anne Hathaway) have been best friends for 20 years and now 26 years old, both still dream of getting married at The Plaza in Manhattan. Both work in Manhattan and live with their boyfriends. Their considerable differences have not affected their closeness. Aggressive Liv practices law and is on a path to becoming a partner; gentle Emma teaches school, always getting stuck taking on one more duty. When both become engaged at the same time, it looks like their dream weddings are definitely on the horizon. They schedule their weddings through Marion St. Claire (Candice Bergen), the most sought after wedding planner in the city. A clerical error books both weddings on the same day, and neither is willing to have a double wedding.

Suddenly Liv and Emma’s friendship becomes a “fiendship.” These young women could teach a graduate course in nastiness, rudeness and obnoxious behavior. Calling it a comedy is the only funny thing about Bride Wars.

PREVIEW SYNOPSIS: It’s painful to watch the incessant meanness as Liv and Emma betray each other, cause chaos and ultimately tear each other apart as they wrestle in the aisle as the wedding procession begins. Young girls who fantasize about their own weddings will probably be Bride Wars’ biggest audience, but this movie isn’t appropriate for them. Along with the silliness and meanness, marriage is presented as a special day to be the center of attention and not a ceremony of commitment for the rest of your life. The fiances, equally shallow, just shrug their shoulders as if to say, “Whatever.”

The expression, “oh, God” rolls off tongues with no awareness of how offensive it is. Other crude expressions pepper the dialogue frequently. Even Emma mutters “mother-f” under her breath once. Also offensive: the girls have lived with their boyfriends for years and all of a sudden demand an engagement ring. How romantic is that?

Deb (Kristen Johnson), a teacher at Emma’s school, is crude and bawdy as well as an alcoholic who drinks champagne, or anything she can find, right out of the bottle. At a bacherlorette party male strippers wearing only briefs make suggestive moves to the delight of the guests. Then the honoree performs a pole dance.

Don’t waste your money on Bride Wars.

Preview Reviewer: Mary Draughon
Distributor: 20th Century Fox