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The Decoy Bride2011 | 89 min | Not rated | 2.39:1
“The Decoy Bride” is as formulaic a movie as can be, working with trite romantic comedy clichés and a premise that will likely cause more seasoned filmgoers to break out in hives. It’s a harmless trifle with a Scottish slant, but there are no surprises to be found, leaving the heavy lifting to the cast. Mercifully, the actors collected here are charming and willing to please, with star Kelly Macdonald a lifesaver, giving punishing predictability a light spin with her bright personality and commitment to even the hoariest of sitcom situations. She’s the miracle “The Decoy Bride” needs to remain afloat. 
The most famous actress in the world, Lara (Alice Eve) is eager to marry author James (David Tennant), who made his fortune writing about Hegg, a small Scottish island. Hoping to evade the paparazzi, Lara and James sneak away to Hegg for a secret ceremony, only to find their plans thwarted when a persistent photographer reveals himself, forcing the actress into hiding. Going into panic mode, agents Steve (Michael Urie) and Emma (Sally Phillips) conjure up a decoy bride in Katie (Kelly Macdonald), a Hegg native who’s recently returned to her hometown after a failed relationship and vocational blunder, spending her time writing up an island guidebook. When their sham marriage develops into a very real issue of legality, James and Katie hunt for a quickie divorce, only to find themselves developing feelings for each other along the way. Scripted by Phillips and Neil Jaworski, “The Decoy Bride” is an easy target for film critics, with its painfully mild sense of humor, hackneyed premise, and one-dimensional characters. It’s an audience picture, providing the basics in European delights without presenting anything unsavory to disrupt digestion, not meant for those who see scores of the same type of movie every year, watching filmmakers essentially walk in one another’s footprints. Purposeful mediocrity established, I don’t think “The Decoy Bride” even works as mindless pap, rarely revealing a charismatic side that would erase much of the picture’s banality. The screenwriters don’t push themselves here, content to manufacture a sleepy who-married-who premise, depending on the cast to make magic with a broken wand. 
Fortunately, director Sheree Folkson has hired an appealing ensemble to help emphasize the merriment that never quite arrives. In a nothing role, Eve manages to insert some glamour and sparkle into her work as Lara, a crafty actress who’s capable of convincing make-up work to help conceal her beauty as she infiltrates Hegg to study the pandemonium her arrival has caused. Better is Tennant, effectively capturing unease as James walks around an island he made famous in his best seller, though this marital visit is actually his first time in the area, leading to extreme bouts of paranoia. In the lead role, Macdonald is loose and funny, showcasing an unexpected comfort with silly business and phony developments of heartbreak. She’s the closest thing to a magnetic element in “The Decoy Bride,” flooding the film with Scottish appeal it wouldn’t otherwise have on its own. Thank goodness the production had the sense to cast her. 
Heading into wearisome areas of slapstick and romantic entanglements, the movie doesn’t bring anything fresh into view, observing Katie and James gradually warm up to each other while in a mad dash to break up. It doesn’t take a genius to know where this story will land. The production doesn’t hold any interest in challenging expectations, giving itself over to strained melodrama and a few oddball subplots (Katie’s physically disabled mother is desperate for money to fund her desire to travel) that never shine as intended. “The Decoy Bride” is a woefully pedestrian effort, meant for background noise at a bridal shop, not a feature film that requires the purchase of a ticket. Starring: Kelly MacDonald, David Tennant, Alice Eve Director: Sheree Folkson » See full cast & crew |
 
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