Someone Bothered

Romantic comedies are one of those genres that are generally regarded as crap by critics and even the general public, although the latter's judgement is probably because their formula runs toward women unlike the equally formulaic action blockbuster audiences go crazy for every summer. However, a gem can be found in this genre every year or so through the many horrible movies that are produced in this genre. Unfortunately, Something Borrowed is definitely not that gem.

Something Borrowed is the tale of a lawyer, played by Ginnifer Goodwin, who is turning 30 at the beginning of the film. Her obnoxious best friend, played by Kate Hudson, easily takes over the party she is throwing for Goodwin to talk about her wedding to Colin Egglesfield. We learn through a series of flashbacks that Goodwin and Egglesfield both liked each other when they were in law school but allowed Hudson to interfere with their potential love because they really both lack the personality to take charge in any situation. Back in the present, they sleep together and begin the film's big love triangle. Will Egglesfield stay with Hudson and marry her despite loving Goodwin? Will Goodwin continue to betray her best friend and get the guy of her dreams? Will Hudson continue to remain completely oblivious as every character in this film seems to be lacking an awareness of the world around them? The real question though is how unlikeable can these characters become?

The film takes this last question and goes as far as possible with it, making sure that by the end of the film, you don't care about any of the characters and are praying for the film to end. Goodwin and Egglesfield both lack any sort of personality as she perfects looking on the verge of tears for no visible reason and he masters the deadpan almost sad look that would be great for a model but not an actor. The flashbacks are one of the most frustrating elements of the film because the multiple scenes where they are about to kiss result in an awkward moment for no visible reason. Do they just both lack any ability to lean forward and kiss? The chemistry is obvious and they later admit that they both felt the same thing and assumed the other did. If this is so, why didn't they kiss and stop this entire mess from happening? This huge flaw prevents the story from seeming anywhere close to reality and adds a whole other layer of frustration to the film.

Kate Hudson's character is a complete contraction in the film. On the one hand, she's presented as a terrible friend for constantly stealing the spotlight from her friend and stealing the guy of her dreams without seeming to care for her feelings. However, in the present world, she is never the one who really commits the wrong acts. She does cheat on Egglesfield and is generally an obnoxious mess that audiences will naturally dislike. However, her horrible behaviour is completely obvious to the audience and the writers while Goodwin and Egglesfield complete lack of disregard for the world around them seems to swept under the carpet. The treatment of Hudson seems unfair compared to the two leads.

Finally, in an attempt to further the confuse and anger the audience, John Krasinski plays a completely unnecessary fourth wheel in the film whose role only seems to be to make gay jokes and give Goodwin a sad attempt at a self-esteem boost. He also helps to further our hatred for Hudson but his attempts seem completely without grounds so he fails in that department. Krasinski decides to pretend to be gay at one point to get rid of a girl he does not have the confidence to reject. This obviously leads to many supposedly hilarious situations but also begs the question that if Hollywood is so accepting, how long are we going to be given homosexuality as a joke? It might have given more depth to Krasinski's character if not only was he not the gay best friend to Goodwin but he didn't have to pretend to play against himself to gain laughs. Overall, his character was completely pointless and slightly offensive.

Something Borrowed is a mess of a film filled with unlikeable characters and a frustrating plot. If you think the ending will be happy, you'll be sorely disappointed when you realize half-way through the seemingly never-ending film that there is no way for the film to properly resolve itself. The actual ending is so flawed and incomplete that it is neither satisfying or happy in any way.

The Freedom To Love

Every year, Hollywood makes countless movies, many of which are searching for critical attention to gain them awards and prestige. Every once and a while, Hollywood goes beyond making decent efforts in these categories and not only makes a truly fantastic movie but also an important one. Film is a medium that allows us to visually portray stories in a way that allows audiences to completely connect with them. This medium should be used to present many different types of stories and since it's such a popular medium, it should also be used to tell stories that seem uncommon or are misunderstood by the general public.

The film, Boys Don't Cry, directed by Kimberly Peirce, tells the story of trans-gendered man, meaning he was born a woman, and his struggle to find love and freedom. Based on a true story, this movie is a touching tale of this person and their struggle to find acceptance. From the very beginning of the film, we can see how people ostracize him and how even his family does not truly accept him. There is a lack of love and support in his life and he searches hard to find these things that are so necessary for human beings.

Luckily, Brandon finds a new group of friends who adopt him as one of them. For a while, this seems to go well for him and he even begins to have a little crush. Of course, everything turns sour once he starts to fall for this girl and her ex-boyfriend is insulted and eventually, the truth about Brandon comes out. One of the most striking things about this story is that Brandon's girlfriend, Lana, does not seem to stop loving him once she finds out his gender at birth. She only seems to want to save him. Having read about the author, she claims that this story is a love story about star crossed lovers similar to the tale of Romeo and Juliet and it is hard to look at this film without seeing the deep love between these two characters. Of course, their fate is that they cannot be together and they suffer in a similar way to Romeo and Juliet.

However, this story is much more important than your typical love story. The tales of trans-gendered people are rarely found in the media, especially in such a mainstream Hollywood film. Its origin may not have been as a huge Hollywood production but the fantastic performances of Hilary Swank and Chloe Sevigny have elevated the movie to such a level. It's important for transgendered people of all ages to see their stories depicted on the screen. They may not face the exact same struggles as Brandon did in the film but they can take strength from the deep love found within the story and can see somebody who is similar to them and has faced a similar struggle. As a gay teenager, I understand the importance of seeing depictions of yourself in the media. It helps to give you role models and see that you are not alone within the world.

On the flip side, presenting these stories is important for the rest of the population too. People are only familiar with the stories of people they see in their everyday lives and those in the media. Since trans-gendered people often keep their pasts to themselves and are foreign to a lot of people despite their much larger presence within the world, it's important to show their stories in the media to allow for the rest of the population to become accustomed to these stories and understand the ways others live. The media has the power to present life in many different ways. I believe that the media should present a vision of the world that is not just the regular way of being that we all know but challenges these boundaries and tells unique stories. I applaud Kimberly Peirce and this film for doing just that.