At The Movies - Something Borrowed

Something Borrowed

This book has really stayed with me since I read it back in August 2009. When I heard there was a movie coming out, I was more than ecstatic. I was just hoping they would do a good job. Sometimes those Hollywood folk get carried away and do their own thing a little too much. When a book is made into a movie, the heart of the book really still needs to be there. Luckily, all of that is in this movie and then some. My post has a spoiler but I will point it out before you accidentally read it :o)



Dex and Darcy are getting married. Rachel, old college friend of Dex and best friend of Darcy, has always had more-than-friendly feelings for Dex but never said anything. On the night of her surprise 30th birthday party thrown by Darcy, Dex and Rachel end up together and wonder if it was a mistake. Lo and behold, neither of them think it is and confess romantic feelings from back in the day. Will it work out? Can Rachel hurt her best friend, even though Darcy is self-centered and always gets her way? Then there is Ethan, Rachel's go-to guy pal, and Marcus, Dex's best friend and potential boyfriend for Rachel in Darcy's eyes. Is life as simple as we think? Is right and wrong always black and white? Everyone learns more about life and themselves in this novel/movie.


I mentioned before that I was fairly worried about Kate Hudson playing Darcy in this movie. Never once while listening to this book did I think, "Man, I see Kate Hudson when I think of Darcy." I see now that I should have been more worried about Colin Egglesfield (Dex) and the chemistry between Ginnifer Goodwin (Rachel) and him. The more I think about it the more I feel like he probably really is the picture of Dex I saw in my head, but the acting, to me, was not good enough. Hudson, on the other hand, had Darcy pegged. She was over the top whiny, self-centered, selfish, and mostly ridiculous. Sounds bad, but that's Darcy for you! Also, Steve Howey, who to me is known for his stint on Reba, was a total skeezebag. His hair was gross, but he was hilarious as Marcus. He made me laugh a couple times with his antics. And Ashley Williams was very funny as the overly go-get-'em, confident Claire.


Ethan, though, portrayed by John Krasinski, was excellent! I thought he was great, and I truly loved the beach scene after Rachel hit him with the badminton racket. SPOILER ALERT I don't remember Ethan confessing his love for Rachel in the book, though. I could be wrong, but knowing what we know about Something Blue, it doesn't make sense. Either way, I really enjoyed his performance in this movie, and I thought Rachel and Ethan meshed better than Rachel did with Dex. And Goodwin was a fabulous Rachel. Sometimes in the book I thought she was more subdued, but here she comes across just right. She's a bit of a push-over but she learns to find her footing.

The movie followed the book pretty well. It covered the summer before the upcoming wedding, starting with the birthday party and subsequent "mistake." The movie follows them to the Hamptons for weekends, going to the bars, and hanging out on the beach. It shows the back and forth between Dex and Rachel, Rachel straining to keep it together for her friendship with Darcy, and Ethan really getting on Rachel's case about making a decision. I remember thinking that winning feels like losing with Giffin's books sometimes. Do you really want good-natured Rachel to end up with a cheater like Dex? However, do you want Darcy to win everything and get Dex? Do you want Dex to get anyone when he cheats? It's a fine line, as they say.


One of my favorite parts, though, has to be when Marcus and Rachel are on a bench in the park chatting, and the lady on the bench next to them is none other than Emily Giffin herself, reading Something Blue! How cool is that? Watch for it, because if you miss it after the camera is off her, she doesn't come back. Very neat though!


All in all, I thought this was a pretty great movie adaptation! I hope everyone who read the book goes to see the movie, and I hope everyone else sees the movie anyway! I sincerely look forward to Something Blue with Kate Hudson and John Krasinski and the rest of the gang!