BRIDE WARS

BRIDE WARS: When this Kate Hudson / Anne Hathaway chick flick played in theaters last year, critics wanted more than a divorce – they wanted an annulment; pointing out the film’s shallow characters, weak script and curious lack of laughs for a purported “comedy.” All of which is true, but much more forgivable when you haven’t planned a whole date night around it. The story pits BFFs Liv and Emma (Hudson and Hathaway respectively) against one another when a clerical error schedules both of their dream weddings on the same day. When neither woman will back off, a battle of underhanded tricks ensues to sabotage the other’s special event. The scenario screams out for slapstick humor and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels-style plots, but Bride Wars doesn’t have the heart to be that mean-spirited. And therein lies the root of most of its criticism. Lacking the courage to become a full-blown satire or a low-brow spoof of the “Bridezilla” craze, the film waffles between tepid catfights and maudlin cosmo-bonding. Kate Hudson has never looked or acted more like her mother, but she lacks that inherent sweetness. So at least as a producer she smart enough to cast herself as the “bitchy” friend, letting Anne Hathaway walk away with most of the sympathy and special moments that give the film some heart. You’ll never mistake Bride Wars for an American movie classic...but at least it doesn’t star Matthew McConaughey. Fox’s Blu-ray also stretches your buck by providing a high-def version, standard DVD and digital copy in one package. Extras include a pop-up trivia track that keeps tabs on what these dream weddings actually cost, as well as featurettes on the Plaza Hotel setting and featured Vera Wang dresses among others.