The Decoy Bride
Everyone has had those days and coming up to December, those days feel longer as they get shorter. The cold wet months, the dribble noses, soaking feet and having to push through crazy shoppers who are clambering over one another to get the latest sales. People are more like to cram into buses, ruining your peace of mind and your head is pounding from the crazy day. You walk home, make a hot drink and all you want to do is zone out. You turn to the pile of DVD’s; bollocks. Everything is arty or intelligent and you don’t want to think; you want the ice in your heart thawed.
May I introduce you to a cuddly gooey and warming movie that is pretty decent?
The Decoy Bride.
Written by Sally Phillips (Smack The Pony,) The Decoy Bride is famous American actress Lara Tyler (Alice Eve,) who is getting married to her writer boyfriend James Arber (David Tennant.) When the paparazzi get wind of her wedding, they are determined to get the shots for their magazine. Lara choses the most isolated place she knows, the island Hegg which is the setting of James’ most famous book. However, the journalists find her and in order to escape them, they enlist heart broken and single Katie (Kelly McDonald.)
Why Is It Bad?
Picking up this movie, you may automatically think “oh, naff.” And you’d be right. The whole thing whiffs more than a mouldy piece of Stilton in Richard Curtis’ fridge. It is downright predictable, cheesy and as a romantic comedy it is pretty poor. The storyline will drag and even reading the blurb you could tell me the ending, who ends up with who and all that jazz. It feels all a little bit strained especially when Alice Eve, who is British, is playing an American, Sally Phillips, who is British, is playing an American and David Tennant, who is Scottish, plays an Englishman despite the whole thing being set off the Scottish Coast! Plus there is Michael Urie from Ugly Betty fame who is completely underused.
Why Is It Good?
The film is actually pretty decent. Ok, so it fills all the clichés of a romantic comedy but our leads are ridiculously loveable. Kelly McDonald is utterly absorbing, charming and a funny real woman who takes our leading roll. She is delightful to watch and brings some hilarious humanity to it. Similarly, David Tennant is as his charismatic best and utterly believable as the stuck writer who feels he has to love the perfect woman. It’s teaming with a lot of comic timings and one liners. And the scenery is beautiful, with idyllic landscapes and gorgeous.
The Decoy Bride isn’t the best romantic comedy, it certainly doesn’t hold a candle to movies such as Four Weddings or When Harry Met Sally. But sometimes, you have to say, “Who cares?” This movie will make you feel warm inside, melt the icicles of life and make you curl up. You’ll chuckle and make you go “nawhhhh!”
And sometimes,
That’s all you need.
TTFN
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