''Bride Wars'' is a 2009 American

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typic ...

film directed by

Gary Winick Gary Scott Winick (March 31, 1961February 27, 2011) was an American filmmaker whose films as a director include ''Tadpole'' (2002) and '' 13 Going on 30'' (2004), and who also produced such films as ''Pieces of April'' (2003) and ''November'' ( ...

and written by Greg DePaul, June Diane Raphael, and

Casey Wilson Cathryn Rose "Casey" Wilson (born October 24, 1980) is an American actress, comedienne, and screenwriter. She starred as Penny Hartz in the ABC comedy series '' Happy Endings'' for which she was twice nominated to the Critics' Choice Television ...

. The film stars

Kate Hudson Kate Garry Hudson (born April 19, 1979) is an American actress and businesswoman. She has received numerous awards and nominations, including a Golden Globe Award, a Critics' Choice Movie Award and a Satellite Award, as well as nominations f ...

and

Anne Hathaway Anne Jacqueline Hathaway (born November 12, 1982) is an American actress. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award, she was among the world's highest-paid actresses in 2 ...

with

Kristen Johnston Kristen Angela Johnston (born September 20, 1967) is an American actress. Best known for her work on television sitcoms, she twice won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Sally Solomon in ...

Bryan Greenberg Bryan Greenberg (born May 24, 1978) is an American actor and singer, known for his starring role as Ben Epstein in the HBO original series ''How to Make It in America'' as well as a recurring role as Jake Jagielski in the WB series '' One Tree ...

and

Candice Bergen Candice Patricia Bergen (born May 9, 1946) is an American actress. She won five Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards for her portrayal of the title character on the CBS sitcom ''Murphy Brown'' (1988–1998, 2018). She is also kno ...

in supporting roles. In the film, two childhood best friends, who have made many plans together for their respective weddings, turn into sworn enemies in a race to get married before the other. ''Bride Wars'' was theatrically released on January 9, 2009, by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

. The film was panned by the critics but became a box office success grossing $114.7 million on a $30 million budget. A Chinese remake of the same name was released in 2015.

Plot

Emma Allan and Olivia "Liv" Lerner are childhood best friends who have planned every detail of their weddings, since first witnessing a wedding 20 years ago at the

Plaza Hotel The Plaza Hotel (also known as The Plaza) is a luxury hotel and condominium apartment building in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is located on the western side of Grand Army Plaza, after which it is named, just west of Fifth Avenue, ...

. They both have made it a top priority to be married in the same location in June. While hanging out at Liv's apartment in the present day they find a Tiffany box hidden in the closet. Both friends are excited knowing that Liv will soon get a proposal from her boyfriend. That same night Emma's boyfriend proposes to her. Liv gets restless waiting for her boyfriend to pop the question and eventually confronts him the morning after Emma's engagement. He replies he was planning on doing it that night but then asks her on the spot. Both women start planning and expect to be each other's maid of honor. They schedule a meeting with New York's most famous wedding planner, Marion St. Claire, who tells them there are three spots open at The Plaza in June: Two on the same day and one a few weeks later. They each choose a different day but due to a clerical error, wind up both scheduled to have their weddings on the same day, June 6 (three and a half months later). The two of them ask the third bride, Stacey, to switch her June 27 date with Emma. Stacey refuses, resulting in Liv fighting with Stacey while she is registering for gifts and causing Liv and Emma to be escorted out of the store. A week of passive-aggressive hostility passes before the two women make it clear to each other that neither will compromise. Emma's fiancé, Fletcher, begins to show signs of being controlling. The two women declare war after a slight misunderstanding that Liv already announced her wedding date, outraging Emma who set her date as well, which Liv becomes aware of at their shared bridal shower. The two exchange threats and insults in front of their friends who decide not to take sides. Both attempt to sabotage the other's wedding, including Liv changing Emma's dance instructor, Emma secretly sending Liv candy to make her too fat to fit into her dress, Liv making Emma's spray tan bright orange, and Emma changing Liv's hair dye to a shocking blue-white color, Liv registering Emma on

Babies R Us An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...

and spreading rumors that she is pregnant, with the end result of Emma showing up to Liv's invite-only bachelorette party to outdance her. Emma and Fletcher get into an argument regarding Emma's maniacal behavior, sabotaging Liv's wedding and their friendship, and how Emma has changed since they first met. The couple undergoes strains in their relationship because of Emma's newfound outspokenness and self-confidence. In contrast, Liv has learned to be more sensitive and expressive. However, due to her stress about the wedding and strained friendship with Emma, she ends up being demoted from her job as an attorney. Both brides-to-be are shown to be in the Plaza very shortly before they are due to be wed, separately. Right before Liv leaves to begin her march to the altar, she encounters Emma's father and receives his blessing; immediately she regrets setting up a wild spring break DVD to play at Emma's wedding. She sends her assistant Kevin to replace the DVD with the right one, filled with childhood memories. Thinking that the DVD is for a prank, he does not do so. Before the brides enter their respective venues, they share a brief moment of reconciliation as they both smile at each other. Emma begins her walk down the aisle but stops when the footage of her spring break is shown. She loses her temper and tackles Liv at her wedding on the other side. The two brides wrestle in their dresses on the floor to the shock of the guests, Fletcher, and Emma's parents who are standing in the doorway. Emma stands up and walks over to Fletcher who is upset at her behavior. Emma tells him that she is not the same person he fell in love with 10 years ago and that she has changed over the years. With that, the two decide to call off their wedding. Liv's wedding resumes after the two friends talk things out and reconcile. Emma, now Liv's maid of honor, is later and dancing with Nate, Liv's brother, and a well-known magazine journalist. The film picks up a year later when Liv and Emma meet up for drinks, where it's revealed that Emma married Nate. Liv offers a toast to marriage but Emma says she's not drinking. When Liv says she's not either, it dawns on them that they are pregnant and their due dates are the same: March 3. The best friends squeal with excitement and hug happily.

Cast

as Olivia "Liv" Lerner, a successful attorney at

Ropes & Gray Ropes & Gray LLP is a global law firm with 13 offices located in the United States, Asia and Europe. The firm has more than 1,500 lawyers and professionals worldwide, and its clients include corporations and financial institutions, government agen ...

who is used to getting her way, and won't settle for anything else. She attempts to be perfect instead of taking things lightly, ever since her parents died when she was a child. It was shown that she is protective and extremely caring of Emma. ** Zoe O'Grady as Young Liv *

as Emma Allan, a middle school teacher who takes care of everyone, but forgets about having some time for herself due to her sweet but slightly meek nature. Liv remarked that she is the one who always "gives in" when they both have conflicts with each other. ** Shannon Ferber as Young Emma *

Chris Pratt Christopher Michael Pratt (born June 21, 1979) is an American actor. He rose to prominence for playing Andy Dwyer in the NBC sitcom '' Parks and Recreation'' (2009–2015). He also appeared in The WB drama series '' Everwood'' (2002–2006) ...

as Fletcher Flemson, Emma's fiancé. Fletcher is an accountant and the two of them met ten years prior to the film's events. Throughout the film, he is shown to be very controlling, becoming aggravated by Emma's assertive behavior, and begins to have a lot of differences with her. * Steve Howey as Daniel Williams, Liv's fiancé and a hedge fund manager. Unlike Fletcher and Emma, he became closer with Liv during the wedding planning process and embraced his fiancé's changes in her attitude particularly her newly discovered vulnerability. *

as Nathan "Nate" Lerner, Liv's brother who is in love with Emma. *

as Marion St. Claire, New York's most sought-after wedding planner, to whom both women turn when planning their wedding. She also serves as the narrator of the story. *

as Deb Delgado, an obnoxious, lazy woman who is one of Emma's colleagues. She continually unloads her entire workload on Emma. She eventually becomes Emma's maid of honor. She is the one who suggested to Emma that she should fatten Liv with expensive chocolates, and other calorie laden treats. *

Michael Arden Michael Jerrod Moore (born October 6, 1982), known professionally as Michael Arden, is an American actor, singer, musician, and theatre director. Early life Growing up in Midland, Texas, he was active in the Pickwick Players, Midland Community ...

as Kevin, Liv's assistant at work, whom she recruits to be her "Mister of Honor." He gave Liv the suggestion that she should mess up with Emma's dance lessons by replacing her instructor with an eccentric one. He is seen getting romantically involved with Amie near the end of the film. * June Diane Raphael as Amanda, a friend of Emma and Liv's who gets married at the start of the film. She is shown to be frank and expresses her regret in getting married in comical ways, ending with her and her husband getting divorced at the end of the film. *

as Stacy Kindred, another bride and one of Marion St. Claire's clients. Liv and Emma tried to persuade her to give up her date, which ends up in a fiasco in a store. *

Paul Scheer Paul Christian Scheer (born January 31, 1976) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, director, and podcaster. Scheer is a SAG award-winning actor known for his roles in Showtime's comedy series '' Black Monday'' and FX/ FXX's ''The ...

as Ricky Coo, dance choreographer who calls himself "The Doctor of Dance". *

John Pankow John Pankow (born April 28, 1954) is an American actor. He began his career on-stage in New York, in numerous Off-Broadway and Broadway plays including Peter Shaffer's ''Amadeus'', John Patrick Shanley's '' Italian American Reconciliation,'' a ...

as John Allan, Emma's dad. *

Hettienne Park Hettienne Park (born March 7, 1983) is an American actress and writer, having played roles in ''Year of the Fish'' (2007), ''Bride Wars'' (2009), '' Blindspot'' (2018), '' The Outsider'' (2020), her most notable role being Beverly Katz on the Psy ...

as Marissa, one of Emma and Liv's closest friends. *

Lauren Bittner Lauren Bittner is an American actress. Life and career Bittner was born in New York City. She is best known for her role as Julie in ''Paranormal Activity 3''. Bittner has also appeared in '' The Thing About My Folks'', '' Flannel Pajamas'', '' ...

as Amie, one of Emma and Liv's closest friends. She is seen getting romantically involved with Kevin near the end of the film. * Dennis Parlato as Dance Instructor * Billy Unger as Additional voices *

Colin Ford Colin Ford (born September 12, 1996) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Josh Wheeler in '' Daybreak'', Joe McAlister in '' Under the Dome'', the voice of Jake on ''Jake and the Never Land Pirates'', Mikey on ''Can You Teach My Al ...

as Additional voices

Production

Raphael and Wilson completed the shooting script of ''Bride Wars'', from an original screenplay by

Greg DePaul Greg DePaul is an American playwright and screenwriter, best known for the romantic comedy ''Bride Wars''. Biography DePaul grew up in Maryland and graduated from NYU. After college, he worked as a private investigator and wrote for '' The Washi ...

, before the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike began. Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith also contributed to the screenplay. Some principal photography took place at the Peabody Essex Museum in

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the ...

. Most filming occurred in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and in

Music

The score to ''Bride Wars'' was composed by

Edward Shearmur Edward Shearmur (also known as Ed Shearmur; born 28 February 1966) is a British film composer. Born in London, England, at age seven he sang in the boys' choir at Westminster Cathedral. Educated at Eton College, he studied at the Royal College ...

, who recorded his score with a 77-piece ensemble of the

Hollywood Studio Symphony The Hollywood Studio Symphony (sometimes the Hollywood Freelance Studio Symphony) is the credited name of the symphony orchestra behind many major soundtracks, including '' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'', ''Suck ...

at the Newman Scoring Stage at

. In the beginning of the film, the song " Somethin' Special" by

Colbie Caillat Colbie Marie Caillat (; born May 28, 1985) is an American singer-songwriter. She rose to fame through social networking website Myspace. At that time, she was the number one unsigned artist of her genre. After signing with Universal Republic ...

was played, however this version had different lyrics than the Beijing Olympic Mix, suggesting that it was the original mix. As the film did not have a soundtrack, the original version remained unreleased until Caillat's album ''Breakthrough'' was released, where the song appears as a bonus track on the Rhapsody edition. There is also the song "Dream" by

Priscilla Ahn Priscilla Ahn (born Priscilla Natalie Hartranft; March 9, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She released her single "Dream" from her debut album, '' A Good Day'', produced by Joey Waronker for EMI's Blue Note Reco ...

and "Scared" by Duffy.

Reception

Box office

In its opening weekend, the film grossed $21,058,173, ranking at number 2 at the box office. As of May 26, 2009, it has made $58,715,510 in the United States and Canada, $55,982,521 in foreign countries and a total of $115,049,554 worldwide — a financial success despite its largely negative reviews.

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

the film has an approval rating of 11% based on reviews from 147 critics, with an average rating of 3.50/10. The site's consensus reads, "''Bride Wars'' takes the already wearisome concept of battling bridezillas, and makes it thoroughly insufferable via a lazy script and wholly detestable characters." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

the film has a score of 24% based on reviews from 30 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...

'' named it one of the top 10 worst

chick flick Chick flick is a slang term, sometimes used pejoratively, for the film genre catered specifically to women's interests, and is marketed toward women demographics. They generally tend to appeal more to a younger female audience and deal mainly ...

Manohla Dargis Manohla June Dargis () is an American film critic. She is one of the chief film critics for ''The New York Times''. She is a five-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. Career Before being a film critic for ''The New York Times'', ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' called the film "dopey if largely painless". She said that Hathaway's presence meant "that there's a little acting in it, along with a few human emotions" and wondered what the film might have been if the writers had explored a potential

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

subtext suggested by the opening scenes. Carrie Rickey of ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pen ...

'' wrote, "How bad can a movie be, with Goldilocks Hudson and Cinderella Hathaway? So excruciating that Hudson's sunshine can't warm it and Hathaway's rose redolence can't mask its stink." Ty Burr of ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' was disturbed by the film, claiming that it was "...a chick flick that makes its chick characters — and by extension its chick audience — look like hateful, backward toddlers, and there is something wrong with that." Longtime

BBC Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station Broadcasting of sports events, covering sport in ...

critic

Mark Kermode Mark James Patrick Kermode (, ; ; born 2 July 1963) is an English film critic, musician, radio presenter, television presenter and podcaster. He is the chief film critic for ''The Observer'', contributes to the magazine '' Sight & Sound'', pr ...

was notably harsh toward the film on his ''

Kermode and Mayo's Film Review Kermode is a surname of Manx origin. It may refer to: I Surname * Robert Kermode (1812–1870), Tasmanian politician * P. M. C. Kermode (Philip Moore Callow Kermode, 1855–1932), Manx antiquarian and historian * Alexander Kermode (1876–1934) ...

'' show, going so far as to say that he would quit film criticism if ''Bride Wars'' did not end up in his list of 10 worst films of 2009. By the end of the year, even when Kermode included ''

Terminator Salvation ''Terminator Salvation'' is a 2009 American military science fiction action film directed by McG and written by John Brancato and Michael Ferris. It is the fourth installment of the ''Terminator'' franchise and serves as a sequel to '' Termi ...

'' and ''

Couples Retreat ''Couples Retreat'' is a 2009 American romantic comedy film directed by Peter Billingsley marking his directorial debut, and written by Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn, and Dana Fox. Vaughn and Favreau star with Jason Bateman, Faizon Love, Kristin Davi ...

'' on his list by popular demand, ''Bride Wars'' still finished eighth, allowing him to keep his job. In one of the few positive reviews of the film, ''

'' critic Mary Pols wrote, "At least, and this is something to be grateful for, ''Bride Wars'' deviates from the usual wedding-flick routine of maids of honor who should be the bride (or groom). And even though the catfighting goes over the top, the notion that a passionate female friendship can turn ugly in a heartbeat is, sadly, realistic."

Awards

The film was nominated for 2 awards at the 2009 MTV Movie Awards: Best Fight (Anne Hathaway vs. Kate Hudson) and Anne Hathaway for Best Female Performance. It also had several Teen Choice Award nominations.

was nominated for a

Razzie Award The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic under-achievements. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, ...

as Worst Supporting Actress for her performance in the film. ; Won * 2009 -

Teen Choice Awards The Teen Choice Awards is an annual awards show that airs on the Fox television network. The awards honor the year's biggest achievements in music, film, sports, television, fashion, social media, and more, voted by viewers living in the United ...

for Choice Comedy Movie Actress (''

'') ; Nominated * 2009 -

for Choice Comedy Movie Actress (''

'') * 2009 -

for Choice Movie Hissy Fit (''

'') * 2009 -

for Choice Movie Rockstar Moment (''

'') * 2009 -

for Choice Movie Rumble (''

'') & (''

'') * 2009 -

MTV Movie Awards The MTV Movie & TV Awards (formerly the MTV Movie Awards) is a film and television awards show presented annually on MTV. The first MTV Movie Awards were presented in 1992. The ceremony was renamed the MTV Movie & TV Awards for its 26th editio ...

for Best Female Performance (''

'') * 2009 -

for Best Fight (''

'') & (''

'') * 2010 -

Razzie Awards The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic under-achievements. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, ...

for Worst Supporting Actress (''

'') * 2010 -

People's Choice Awards The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show, recognizing people in entertainment, voted online by the general public and fans. The show has been held annually since 1975, with the winners originally determined using Gallup Polls until ...

for Favourite Comedy Movie

References

External links

* * * {{Gary Winick 2000s buddy comedy films 2000s English-language films 2000s female buddy films 2009 romantic comedy films 2009 films 20th Century Fox films American buddy comedy films American black comedy films American female buddy films American films about revenge American romantic comedy films Dune Entertainment films Films about weddings in the United States Films directed by Gary Winick Films scored by Edward Shearmur Films set in Manhattan Films shot in Boston Films shot in New York City Regency Enterprises films 2000s American films