Something Borrowed

Based on the novel by Emily Giffin, Something Borrowed follows Ginnifer Goodwin’s Rachel as she celebrates her 30th birthday by drunkenly sleeping with her best friend’s (Kate Hudson’s Darcy) hunky fiancé (Colin Egglesfield’s Dex) – with the film subsequently detailing Rachel and Dex’s ongoing efforts at carrying on a full-fledged affair right under Darcy’s nose. Filmmaker Luke Greenfield does a nice job of immediately establishing an amiable, easygoing vibe, with the uniformly likable performances certainly going a long way towards perpetuating the movie’s effortlessly agreeable feel. (Goodwin is certainly quite charismatic in the central role, although there’s little doubt that John Krasinski, cast as Rachel’s heterosexual (?) friend, steals every single one of his scenes and walks away with the title of MVP.) It’s just as clear, however, that Greenfield’s almost excessively lackadaisical sensibilities wreak havoc on the film’s momentum, as the sluggishness of the midsection effectively highlights the repetitive nature of Jennie Snyder Urman’s screenplay. (Such problems could have, of course, been avoided with some judicious editing, as there’s no need for an endeavor like this to run longer than 90 minutes.) The uneven atmosphere is allayed by the periodic inclusion of stand-out sequences (eg a friendly badminton game goes awry), and it’s also worth noting that the movie’s romantic elements prove instrumental in buoying the viewer’s interest on an all-too-regular basis. The end result is a passable romcom that just barely gets the job done, with the post-credits promise of a sequel not quite as offensive as one might’ve feared.

**1/2 out of ****