I have a confession to make: I sat down to write this review an hour ago but instead ended up watching John Krasinski interviews on YouTube and planning how best to do away with the real-life Mrs. Jim Halpert – Emily Blunt. And I don’t regret a single second of it. Nor – unlike 85 percent of critics, according to Rotten Tomatoes – do I regret watching the surprisingly delightful new romantic comedy Something Borrowed.
After a horrendous week, I was in the market for a laugh, and Something Borrowed didn’t disappoint. And despite its 15 percent rating – really, 15 percent – the entire theater seemed to be in agreement. Maybe it was just because my friends and I saw this movie on opening night, but the audience was really getting into it. Initially drawn to Something Borrowed by the promise of some quality time with Jim sans Pam and a possible He’s Just Not That Into You-style performance from Ginnifer Goodwin, this movie ended up being what any truly entertaining movie should be – a two-hour escape from life.
However, a warning to all the guys out there: This should go without saying, but there was a boatload of estrogen in that theater. I’m not saying you should go see Tron – but really, you should go see Tron.
The combination of cliché rom-com plot and Kate Hudson, almighty titan of horrible movies, should equal the kiss of death for this film. But like a dryly humorous, understated white knight, John Krasinski rides in to the rescue. The story follows Rachel (Ginnifer Goodwin), a lawyer in New York City whose best friend (Kate Hudson) basically controls her life and steals her man. Dang girl, life is rough. But when Rachel discovers that said man was – surprise – really in love with her all along, she is faced with the classic “Should I try to steal back my BFF’s fiancé?” dilemma.
Krasinski plays Rachel’s devoted childhood friend, and in classic rom-com fashion there is will-they-or-won’t-they sexual tension between the two throughout the whole movie. And while I didn’t personally like the ending, it wasn’t entirely predictable either, so that’s good, right?
My friends and I all left the theater with smiles on our faces, and that’s really all you can ask from a movie like Something Borrowed. But beyond that, it’s one of the most fundamentally enjoyable movies I’ve seen in a long time. And hey – it’s that time of the quarter when we could all use a mindless laugh or two.
