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Sad, Little Dream

January 10th, 2009     by Diandra Oliver     Comments

If Friday is still “date night” I’m sure legions of couples spent last night in movie theatres dealing with the fact that they just lost $12 and about 2 hours of their life.

I have yet to see the film, but a quick watch of the Bride Wars trailer and the CBC review seal its fate. Katrina Onstad, the author of the article, is my new hero. She considers bride/wedding movies in general, and not without the sarcasm (love it):

“We have come to await the main character’s transition from competent, professional woman to lunatic bride (My Best Friend’s Wedding; 27 Dresses). We await the dress montage; the squealing, handholding bridesmaid jump-around; the bouquet toss to the ravenous wolf pack of single gals. (Hey, Portly, don’t bother!) We await the gay-ish friend or relative poised at the ready to break out the sass. We await – oh yes – the Motown.”

And when rehashing the crux of the film:

Bride Wars is about two best friends, Liv (Hudson) and Emma (Hathaway), who share a lifelong dream of getting married at Manhattan’s schmancy Plaza Hotel in June. Let’s measure dreams, shall we? Martin Luther King: big, worthy dream. Plaza wedding: sad, little dream.”

Lastly, Onstad hits it right on the nose:

But no – the wedding movie’s destiny was sealed from the first time two grown women honked like baby seals and jumped up and down clutching their bridal magazines. The good Lord knows: No. One. Does. This.

We should hope for more as girls, young women, and contributors to the very culture that tries to sell us not only the $12 ticket and the DVD (special edition no less), but the disgusting, insidious, and hefty morale: that your need for the perfect wedding is so important that you’d sabotage your community, friends, and your partner just to have your sad, little dream.

Tags: film reel, media savvy

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