Taglines: It’s a thin line between love and friendship.
Rachel (Ginnifer Goodwin) is a talented attorney at a top New York law firm, a generous and loyal friend, and, unhappily, still single—as her engaged best friend Darcy (Kate Hudson) is constantly reminding her. But after celebrating her 30th birthday, perpetual good girl Rachel unexpectedly ends up in the arms of the guy she’s had a crush on since law school, Dex (Colin Egglesfield)… who just happens to be Darcy’s fiancé.
As one thing leads to another in the frantic weeks leading up to Darcy’s wedding, Rachel finds herself in an impossible situation, caught between her treasured friendship with Darcy and the love of her life. Meanwhile, Ethan (John Krasinski), Rachel’s constant confidante and sometimes conscience, is busy evading the affection of Darcy’s hopelessly love-struck friend Claire (Ashley Williams) while harboring a secret crush of his own; and the charming and irrepressible Marcus (Steve Howey) has designs on Rachel that don’t necessarily exclude any other woman who catches his eye.
About the Production
“Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue…” So goes the traditional rhyme promising good luck for brides-to-be who carry these things down the aisle. But what if something borrowed is the groom? That’s the question posed by Emily Giffin’s best-selling novel Something Borrowed, about the complications that arise when long-platonic friends Rachel and Dex realize their true—and truly inconvenient—feelings for one another on the threshold of Dex’s marriage to someone else. Especially as that someone else is Darcy, Rachel’s best friend since childhood.
“What I like about it is how volatile and unpredictable things can get,” says director Luke Greenfield, who brings Giffin’s story to the screen in “Something Borrowed.” “It’s a great mix of comedy and romance, a character-driven ensemble about real people in a tricky situation. We wanted to put audiences into Rachel’s shoes so they could feel what she’s feeling, and think about how far they might go, given the same circumstances.”
More than a love story, or even a love triangle, “Something Borrowed” also tests the once-unbreakable bond between Rachel and Darcy, which raises the stakes for everything that happens next.
Kate Hudson, who stars as the charismatic Darcy, explains, “These two girlfriends have grown up together and Rachel has always been the one person Darcy could count on, her rock. She’s the one who does everything right.”
Darcy would never believe, or even suspect, that somewhere along the line, Rachel’s feelings for Dex began to take on a life of their own. It kind of takes Rachel by surprise, too.
“Rachel has mapped out her entire life. She lives according to a list of things she would and wouldn’t do,” says Ginnifer Goodwin, starring as the more introverted and self-contained of the two. But as the night of her 30th birthday party winds down and Rachel shares a final toast with Dex, something snaps. “Suddenly, she finds herself sort of nowhere. She’s lonely. So she does something that is off her moral compass…and after that, it’s a bit of a roller coaster.”
“Rachel’s arc is a big self-discovery,” says Molly Mickler Smith, one of the film’s producers. What Smith and her producing partner Hilary Swank found most compelling was the story’s depiction of relationships, particularly those with history, “and all the turmoil, humor and heartbreak that naturally entails,” she continues. “This is why there are so many avid readers of Emily’s books, because she writes such flawed, well-rounded characters. Everyone has wanted someone they couldn’t have, or felt they were out of someone’s league, or screwed things up beyond belief—boy or girl, we’ve all been there.”
“It’s rich with romance and the complexities of when and how people fall in love,” says Swank. “Intertwined with that is a friendship between two women that really resonates. What do you do when you find your soul mate, and he happens to be engaged to your best friend? When it feels so wrong and so right at the same time?”
The spark that ignites this powder keg is timing. If Rachel’s feelings for Dex have lain dormant for years, what prompts her to reveal them now, if not the momentous occasion of her Big Three-O? Granted, 30 isn’t what it used to be, but the number still packs a significant cultural punch if for no other reason than it’s a handy plateau from which to survey the past and future, and assess how our lives measure up against the fantasies we spun in our teens and 20s. In Rachel’s case, that assessment is brutal.
Producer Broderick Johnson notes, “There’s a sense of urgency that takes over when you’re 30. You start to examine your life and the decisions you’ve made that have gotten you here, and question what could have been. Rachel is having a crisis of conscience about what she’s doing but it’s probably the path she should have followed originally.”
Even so, there could be a statute of limitations on this kind of course-correction and Rachel must face the possibility that her moment has passed. Or, that by pursuing it now, she could ruin everything. “You don’t know what’s going to happen and that’s an unusual quality for a romantic comedy,” says producer Andrew A. Kosove.
“Something Borrowed” is also about taking chances—big ones, not only with the possibility of falling flat on your face but of taking others down with you. John Krasinski, who stars as Rachel’s level-headed and wickedly funny friend Ethan, says, “It’s a time of making big choices in your life and living with those choices.”
Emily Giffin, who wrote both the best-selling Something Borrowed and its sequel, Something Blue, found herself at a turning point just prior to her own 30th birthday and opted to leave her job as an attorney in a large law firm to be a novelist—a brave move that resulted in her first book, Something Borrowed. “For Rachel, it was about following her heart with Dex. For me, it was about pursuing my dream of becoming a writer. It was the first time in my life I had taken a significant risk and not the safe path. There are strong emotional parallels; the realization that you only have one shot in life,” she recounts.
Screenwriter Jennie Snyder Urman, who adapted the novel, says, “I was a huge fan of the book so I wanted to make sure to stay true to it, while making the few changes that would help the translation to film. Of course, all the fundamental relationships remain intact because I know readers are very passionate about that—as am I.”
“I love this movie,” the author states. “It’s true to the spirit of the book and captures the characters in all their shades of gray.”
As much as Giffin touched readers with real-life dilemmas they could appreciate, Greenfield sought to strike the same chords with moviegoers. “As in the book, events unfold from Rachel’s perspective,” the director says. At the same time, he puts the core connection into context in a way Rachel cannot, saying, “You often find that the most high-maintenance people surround themselves with selfless counterparts, and that’s how this friendship has worked since they were ten. It was important for us to offer a glimpse, in the movie, of little Darcy and Rachel, aged 10, because it’s funny to see how they relate to each other just like they did in the fifth grade. Except now, they’re 30. This crazy, flawed friendship…it just had to come to a head.”
“It’s a rich topic to explore, what it means to be loyal to a friend and loyal to yourself. Often there are no right answers,” admits producer Aaron Lubin. Also, as producer Pamela Schein Murphy suggests, “It’s interesting how you come away thinking certain things are okay when you understand the choices. You may find yourself standing behind something you never thought you would support.”
The bottom line, Greenfield declares, is “Go for it! If you really love someone, don’t wait. Rachel and Dex waited six years for their chance but it doesn’t happen like that for most people. All they have is a ‘what if.’ What if I had gone for it? What if I had just talked to that girl? Given that choice, I believe you have to go for love.”
Something Borrowed
Directed by: Luke Greenfield
Starring by: Kate Hudson, Ginnifer Goodwin, John Krasinski, Colin Egglesfield, Steve Howey, Ashley Williams, Jill Eikenberry, Sarah Baldwin, Leia Thompson, Lindsay Ryan, Kirsten Day
Screenplay by: Jennie Snyder, Emily Giffin
Production Design by: Jane Musky
Cinematography by: Charles Minsky
Film Editing by: John Axelrad
Costume Design by: Gary Jones
Set Decoration by: Leslie E. Rollins
Music by: Alex Wurman
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sexual content including dialogue, and some drug material.
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Date: May 6, 2011
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