Bride Wars Blu-ray delivers great video and audio in this fan-pleasing Blu-ray release
Liv and Emma are best friends who since childhood have planned every detail of their
respective weddings. At the top of their bridal "must have" list: a ceremony at New York's
ultimate bridal destination, the Plaza Hotel. Now, at age 26, they're both about to get
married; they're about to realize their dreams; and they're about to live happily ever after.
Or maybe not. When a clerical error causes a clash in wedding dates--they're now to be
married on the same date!--Liv, Emma and their lifelong friendship are put to the ultimate
test. Liv, a successful lawyer who is used to getting what she wants, including the perfect
job and the perfect man, won't settle for anything less than the perfect wedding she has
dreamed of for years. Emma, a schoolteacher who has always been good at taking care of
others, but not so much in looking after herself, discovers her inner Bridezilla and comes out
swinging when her own dream wedding is imperiled. Now, the two best friends who'd do
anything for each other find themselves in a no-holds-barred, take-no-prisoners struggle
that threatens to erupt into all-out war!
"Bridezilla" -- the word that strikes fear into the hearts of grooms, maids of honor, bridesmaids,
friends, store clerks, wedding planners, pastors, and parents -- is taken to the next level in
Bride
Wars, the aptly-titled film starring Anne Hathaway (Passengers) and
Kate
Hudson (My Best Friend's
Girl)
as best friends who see their relationship torn apart when their dream weddings are scheduled for
the same date. Something of a novel twist on the Chick Flick, Bride Wars isn't really a
Romantic Comedy but rather a Romantically-themed Comedy that sees its leads tempt, tease,
and
torture one another in the name of the perfect wedding while forgetting that love, relationships,
understanding, and compassion -- the key elements in any wedding, between husband and wife,
or even lifelong best friends -- is what really makes each and every day the happiest day of one's
life.
Nothing could ever come between us!
Best friends forever Liv (Hudson) and Emma (Hathaway) have always dreamed of June weddings
at New York's famous Plaza and serving as each other's maid of honor. When their boyfriends
each pop the question around the same time, the girls find themselves happier than ever before.
They hire the famed wedding planner Marion St. Claire (Candice Bergen, The Sand Pebbles),
the only woman in the city who can squeeze them into the always-booked Plaza. Marion is able
to offer the girls two different June dates -- Liv takes the first Saturday in June and Emma the
last. All is well until they receive word from Marion of a terrible mistake: the girls have
accidentally been booked for the same day. When another of Marion's clients who was
erroneously given Emma's date won't budge, the once-inseparable friends wage war on one
another, determined that if they both cannot live their dream, neither will.
The latest in the recent batch of snazzy, trendy, funny, and entertaining Chick Flicks, Bride
Wars engages audiences with slapstick humor, infectious dialogue, and a few tender
moments
that reinforce the importance of friendship even in the face of chaos. Like several of its
contemporaries, including 27 Dresses, Made of Honor, and
13 Going on 30,
Bride Wars is strong enough for a man, but pH balanced for a woman. There is no doubt
as to the film's target audience, but Bride Wars features just enough testosterone in its
many tit-for-tat war games, not to mention a fairly original plot and good performances from its
leads, to make it a passable watch for the men in the audience, particularly those well-versed in
the ways and means of modern marriage.
Bride Wars features solid and sometimes irresistible performances from Anne Hathaway
and Kate Hudson. The pair seem to embrace their parts, revel in the absurdity of the experience,
and focus their energy in all the right places, delivering sometimes gut-busting lines one moment
and expressing heartfelt and dramatic overtones the next. While the movie's emotional
bookends are ancillary to the crux of the film -- the back-and-forth, comically-inclined conflict
between best friends -- they nevertheless merge rather effortlessly into the story and add just a
hint of weight to an otherwise light-as-a-feather movie with no real purpose other than to
entertain its audience and, for 89 minutes, help them to forget the troubles of the world outside
the theater
and revel in some good-old-fashioned slapstick comedy. Bride Wars features unobtrusive
direction from Gary Winick, a typical New York setting that neither helps nor hinders the film, and
a nice selection of popular music that does manage to add to most every scene it accompanies.
Most importantly, though, the script is pitch-perfect for the tone of the movie. Dialogue ranges
between "good" to "fantastic." It's mean-spirited and tasteless, but in a comedic, lighthearted,
and tongue-in-cheek way that is never offensive or meant to be taken all that seriously. The end
of the movie is never in question, though the exact circumstances surrounding the ending do
manage to elude the audience until partway through the final act. Bride Wars isn't deep
or mysterious, nor is it completely shallow and meaningless. It is certainly no The Curious Case of Benjamin
Button or The Wrestler, but
it's a solid all-around effort for what it needs to be.
Bride Wars scratches and claws its way onto Blu-ray with a quality 1080p,
1.85:1-framed
transfer. The transfer offers solid detail throughout most of the movie; up-close shots of the lace
on a wedding dresses, for example, reveal intricate textures. The girls' flowing hair stands out
nicely, too, each strand seemingly visible in close-up shots. Outdoor cityscapes are also nicely
detailed. Nevertheless, detail isn't quite as impressive in a few scenes. The interior shots of
Emma's school look a bit flat, though in its defense the setting appears naturally pedestrian and
uninteresting. Colors in such scenes and throughout the movie, however, are sufficient,
particularly the blues of the lockers and trim that adorn the school's hallways. Like many films of
this sort, though, colors are
warm but not overly vibrant. There is a noticeable red and golden push to the palette. Flesh
tones take on a rosy appearance in most instances. The print is practically blemish-free with only
one or two small white speckles noticed, and the image is nicely rendered on Blu-ray with a
quality cinematic look and feel, finished off by a noticeable but unobtrusive layer of grain. Still,
the transfer is above-average and captures the intended look of the film nicely.
Bride Wars features a quality DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Rich, satisfying music
accompanies the opening credits with a small bit of rear channel support playing against the crisp,
delightful, and incredibly clear presentation across the front, with a good, thick layer of bass thrown
in for good measure. Popular music throughout shines in similar fashion. Otherwise, the track is
mostly front-heavy and uninteresting with little in the way of atmosphere, save for a raucous
sequence as heard in chapter 18 during a bachelorette party that belts out the beats from every
corner of the listening area, alongside a hefty amount of bass. The film is primarily dialogue-centric,
the soundtrack highly typical of films of this sort. Dialogue is presented without any discernible
hiccups, and considering the inherent qualities of the track, this lossless offering sounds about as
good as one
might expect of it.
Bride Wars and Blu-ray tie the knot, the result a three-disc set. Disc one begins with
Something Old, Something New, and What That's Gonna Cost You, a pop-up trivia track
that keeps tabs on Liv's and Emma's wedding expenses (including a few "miscellaneous" items
meant to make their weddings extra-memorable) as well as some basic facts on weddings and
marital custom history. Next up are a collection of seven deleted and alternate scenes (1080p,
7:04) and two improvisations (1080p, 2:47). Meet Me at the Plaza (1080p, 6:47) is a
very brief piece that looks at the use of the famous New York Plaza as a central location and plot
device in the film. The Perfect White Dress (1080p, 4:37) examines the importance of
the wedding dress to modern matrimony with particular emphasis on the dresses of designer
Vera Wang.
In Character With Kate Hudson (480p, 2:14) and In Character With Anne
Hathaway
(480p, 3:23) feature the actresses discussing their characters in the film. Man Den
(1080p, 4:13) is a comical piece showing how the men of the movie cope with being in a Chick
Flick and their attempts to remain manly in the midst of the experience. Maid of Honor
(1080p, 4:23) looks at how a man tackles the role usually reserved for a lady.
Amanda-Cam (1080p, 4:14) features the not-so-happy character sharing words of
wisdom with the brides-to-be and remembering the night of the wedding while in a drunken
stupor. Concluding disc one are 1080p trailers for Marley & Me and The Pink Panther 2.
Disc two of this three-disc set features a standard-definition DVD copy of the film, presented in its
original 1.85:1 aspect ratio and accompanied by a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. Bonus features
on
this disc include carryovers from the Blu-ray: three deleted scenes (3:47) and The Perfect
White Dress (4:38), and trailers
for
Marley & Me, Legally Blonde, The Pink Panther 2, and Burn Notice: Season
Two). Disc three contains a digital copy of Bride Wars. Replayed on a second
generation
iPod Touch, the film's many popular music beats retain a peppy, clear, and nicely-defined edge,
and dialogue, too, is adequate but sounds a bit detached, kind of like a mediocre drive-in
presentation.
Visually, the image is solid, with good colors and detail and only minimal blocking in most scenes.
Bride Wars never really captures the imagination like Director Gary Winick's best effort,
13 Going on 30, but for a straight genre picture, this one is a relative success. Funny, and
sometimes infectiously so; to-the-point; featuring above-average performances from its leads;
dramatic when need be and in just the right dosage; and well-paced at a brisk 89 minutes, Bride
Wars makes for a solid all-around outing that doesn't raise the bar for films of its kind but
certainly accomplishes all that is asked of it. Likewise, 20th Century Fox's Blu-ray release is more
than adequate. Featuring a quality cinematic transfer, a lossless soundtrack that delivers
all
that is required of it, and several extras -- including DVD and digital versions of the film -- Bride
Wars' Blu-ray release should please fans of the film. Innocent, charming, and sometimes even
curiously appealing, Bride Wars makes for a great date night movie. Just be cautious of
scheduling conflicts.
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has announced the technical specs and special features for the upcoming Blu-ray release of 'Bride Wars', which is due to hit store shelves on April 28th, day-and-date with the DVD release. This three-disc set, which will be presented ...
