Blu-Ray Review: SOMETHING BORROWED Is A Cliched, Unfunny, Morally Dubious Mess

It's no small irony that they'd call this film Something Borrowed given how liberally it magpies from almost every rom-com we have seen over the past years, and you could perhaps forgive its brazenness if it wasn't for the fact that the film does nothing with the established tropes and cliches of the genre other than trot them out like some badly thought-out attempt at comfort through familiarity. Strictly speaking, it would probably have been easier to create something entirely original, because the commitment to plagiarism seems monstrously committed - as if it would take a lot of work to copy this much without trying to hide the fact even slightly. The film was marketed squarely at lovers of chick-lit - an unfair generalisation, since some of them are actually far more intelligent than association with this film would suggest - and is something of a modern riff on A Midsummer Night's Dream's will-they-won't-they couples dynamic. But it's difficult to root for anyone to get exactly who they deserve when no-one sticks out as empathetic or even engaging. While Darcy, Rachel, Ethan, Dex and zany friend Marcus (Steve Howey) try to navigate the veritable mine-field of romance that blurs the lines between morality, humanity and downright emotional abuse, the lasting question is not how will it all end, but who the hell cares? Modern rom-coms seem perpetually obsessed with the idea of the lovers as idiosyncratic to the stage that they go well beyond simple quirkiness and into downright mental illness or sociopathy (see Love and Other Drugs) - every other film committed to the genre needs a slightly off-kilter hook, rather than just being about two or more people's blossoming relationships. Something Borrowed is a case in point, as director Luke Greenfield and writer Jennie Snyder Urman knowingly build a "complex" relationship environment that in reality only includes one-dimensional characters, under-developed plotting and a lax attitude to the sanctity of marriage (or at least engagement to marry) that leaves an oddly bitter after-taste. I have an issue with the whole idea that infidelity is fine as long as the two adulterers have always been in love, and the cuckold involved isn't really that much of a nice person, and it would make the male dallier's mother more depressed if he was to call off his engagement to said not-nice-fiancee. It's a despicable thing to promote, no matter how much the cheaters fret over their activities (though never quite enough to stop putting bits of themselves in one another) and to present their attempts to creep around as "comedy" is even worse - though in truth there aren't any laughs to be had anyway. The characters are badly-formed and off-putting, aside from John Krasinski's comparatively likeable Ethan (though his story arc is ridiculously predictable and pretty much entirely superfluous), and it is Kate Hudson's Darcy who is the most at fault. She is highest billed -erroneously in fact, because it is Ginnifer Goodwin's Rachel who is positioned as our "heroine" - and yet is completely unlikeable, insufferable and occasionally idiotic to boot. She is so off-putting in fact, that it is near impossible to work out how it was that she was somehow able to form the relationships with Rachel and fiance Dex (Colin Egglesfield - who Rachel is dallying with behind her best friend's back) in the first place. It seems Hollywood has long-since banished Hudson to the Davey Jones' Locker of tepid, cliched rom-coms like this, and it is a shame when you look back to Almost Famous to think that young talent is now stagnating among "cookie" characters like Darcy and woefully thin plots like Something Borrowed. Because it's all been done so many times before, the success of rom-coms these days shouldn't be judged on the film's ability to throw a curve-ball (which invariably just leads to horrible characters if recent offerinsg are any kind of indication), but to use the established conventions perfectly and focus on character development and relationship dynamics. Because that's what we want as rom-com fans (yes, I am one, believe it or not), not another attempt to offer something slightly different that simply ends up souring the good name of romance. Quality Visually not terribe, but the rom-com genre is one which has the least at stake when it comes to the high-definition transfer stakes, unless we're talking a classic that is coming to the format after ten or fifteen years. But for modern rom-coms, it's hard to make something either particularly terrible, or very good, because aesthetics are rarely high on the director's agenda, particularly in something as cliched and stoically typical as Something Borrowed. It's fair to say there's nothing destructive in the transfer, nor anything that detracts from the film (which some might call unfortunate), but there's little to really set it out as particularly impressive either. Extras A veritable cornucopia of underwhelming promo material, all of which is entirely superfluous, and none of which add anything to the experience of the film. Even for the most sickly sweet of the rom-com fan brigade will find little of great value here, though if anyone is particularly invesed, they might enjoy the five minute featurette of author Emily Griffin and some fans riding around New York city in a tour bus, talking through the movie, the book on which it is based and the real-life Darcys and Rachels of the world. Everyone else will probably find it a horrific experience. On Location Tours (HD, 5 mins) Inside Something Borrowed (HD, 3 mins) Something Old? (HD, 4 mins) What is "Something Borrowed" (HD, 2 mins) Left Off the Guest List (HD, 8 mins): Deleted scenes - "I'm Sorry We Haven't Had Time to Talk," "This is Already the Best Weekend I've Ever Had," "Rachel and Ethan in London" and "When Were You Going to Tell Me?" Marcus' Guide to the Ladies (HD, 7 mins) Gag Reel (HD, 6 mins) DVD Digital Copy Something Borrowed is available to buy on Blu-ray and DVD now.