Luke Greenfield

SOMETHING BORROWED Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 6th, 2011 at 5:47 am

Romantic comedies aren’t designed to challenge their audience.  They’re meant as the most disposable of mainstream movies where a couple or an aspiring couple can go on a date, look at the love they want to have, and then leave for a night of necking and heavy petting.  If it were a more mature film and not the cinematic equivalent of a tissue, Something Borrowed would trust its audience to understand that the lead characters are good people who have done a bad thing but not an unforgivable thing.  Instead, the movie twists itself into knots trying to clear our consciences, get us to root for male and female lead, and hate Kate Hudson with every fiber of our being.  John Krasinski does his best to save the film, but it’s not enough to overcome the conceit of watching two people do their best to keep their love alive while sparing the feelings of their obnoxious friend/fiancée.

Director Luke Greenfield Sets Up Action-Comedy at Fox

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: April 28th, 2011 at 9:11 pm

I remain bullish about the prospects of the May 6 romantic comedy Something Borrowed in the face of overwhelming cynicism, in part out of respect for director Luke Greenfield.  Greenfield’s credits suggest a knack for rising above a dubious premise — The Girl Next Door is the most noted example, and his hand in crafting the Aliens in America pilot and producing Role Models further suggest a trend of projects that are better in execution than on paper.  (Greenfield gets a pass on The Hot Chick, his first feature.)  Until it disappoints me, I expect the same from Something Borrowed.

In the meantime, Greenfield is setting up his next project, an untitled action-comedy, at 20th Century Fox.  According to Variety, Greenfield wrote the script with Nicholas Thomas as a vehicle for two high-profile male stars.  Whether or not the premise is will require the Greenfield Treatment remains to be seen, “action-” tends to be preferred over “romantic-” when hyphenating comedy around these parts.

Simon Kinberg (Jumper) will produce the project as part of his overall deal with Fox.  Production is tentatively scheduled for this fall, so expect an update soon on the high-profile stars Fox is pursuing.

First Trailer for SOMETHING BORROWED Starring Ginnifer Goodwin, Kate Hudson, and Colin Egglesfield

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: February 17th, 2011 at 7:07 pm

I love a good romantic comedy, and so harbored high hopes for Something Borrowed since the early stages of development.  I have heard good things about the Emily Giffin novel/source material, and generally believe Ginnifer Goodwin can do no wrong.  But Kate Hudson in a rom-com is enough to caution anyone familiar with her work over the last decade.

The good news: Hudson is meant to play an awful person, and even gets the biggest laughs in the new trailer despite the presence of John Krasinski.  (Well played, casting director Mandy Sherman.)  See for yourself after the jump.

New Posters for SOMETHING BORROWED and A BETTER LIFE (Formerly THE GARDENER)

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: February 1st, 2011 at 11:47 pm

We have new posters for a pair of films I’m really rooting for in 2011.  The first is Something Borrowed, an adaptation of the first in a series of novels from Emily Giffin.  Ginnifer Goodwin, Kate Hudson, Colin Egglesfield, and John Krasinski star.  Hudson’s name is a big red flag, but there are hints that Something Borrowed could be more than your average romantic comedy.

The second is A Better Life (formerly titled The Gardener), the latest from Chris Weitz.  For a brief minute, Weitz was the promising co-director behind the charming About a Boy before he was swallowed up by the big budget filmmaking of The Golden Compass and New Moon.  A Better Life scales things back down to the indie level: a gardener (Demian Bichir) and his son (Jose Julian) scour Los Angeles for a stolen truck vital to their livelihood in this tale inspired by The Bicycle Thief.  Hit the jump to view both posters.

Posters and Synopses for STEP UP 4EVER 3D, BROTHER’S JUSTICE, HYBRID, and SOMETHING BORROWED

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: November 3rd, 2010 at 9:27 pm

Continuing our intense coverage of the American Film Market this week, we’ve got posters and synopses for Step Up 4Ever 3D, Brother’s Justice, Hybrid, and Something Borrowed. In what has to be one of the hardest titles to type in the history of film, Step Up 4Ever 3D lacks a director and hasn’t even started production yet but Summit Entertiainment has released a promo poster and brief synopsis. Underrated actor Dax Shepard (Parenthood) makes his feature screenwriting and directorial debut with the comedy Brother’s Justice, starring Bradley Cooper, Tom Arnold, and Jon Favreau. We’ve also got the Kate Hudson-starred Something Borrowed, directed by Luke Greenfield (The Girl Next Door), and One Missed Call director Eric Valette’s Hybrid which is about a murderous, serial killer car (seriously). Hit the jump for the posters and fairly thorough synopses.

Colin Farrell In Talks to Join Ginnifer Goodwin, John Krasinski, Kate Hudson, and Colin Egglesfield for SOMETHING BORROWED

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: April 9th, 2010 at 11:25 pm

Warner Bros. is keeping me intrigued in their upcoming romantic comedy Something Borrowed with some savvy casting, and not in that everyone-has-an-Oscar way.  I’d travel to Hades and back for female lead Ginnifer Goodwin.  John Krasinski is consistently great on The Office, and his supporting role in Borrowed could be the one that sends him over that darned feature film hump.  I don’t know much about co-star Colin Egglesfield, and they lost me a bit in signing Kate Hudson for the best friend role.  But a tweet from Production Weekly recaptures that energy with word of a wild (in every sense of the word) card in talks for the role of Marcus:  Colin Farrell.  Hmm.  Let’s talk about this in more detail after the jump.

John Krasinski In Talks To Star Alongside Ginnifer Goodwin in SOMETHING BORROWED

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: March 9th, 2010 at 10:26 pm

The Office‘s John Krasinski may be out of the running for Captain America, but he is in negotiations to star alongside Ginnifer Goodwin in the romantic comedy Something Borrowed, a fate with its own pleasantries.  According to THR, Goodwin is a New York lawyer with an unwavering moral compass who falls for the fiance of her best friend on her 30th birthday.  The film is an adaptation of the first in a series of novels by Emily Griffin, which means a sequel (Something Blue) awaits in case Borrowed is successful.  Krasinski’s role as Goodwin’s confidant is of the supporting persuasion in Borrowed, but according to the source material he would be promoted to male lead in the theoretical Blue.

The logline doesn’t sound all that fresh, and director Luke Greenfield has a spotty track record which includes the loathsome Rob Schneider vehicle The Animal.  But Goodwin and Krasinski are all kinds of affable, which could do wonders to elevate the material.

Robert Altman’s M*A*S*H and Luke Greenfield’s THE GIRL NEXT DOOR Blu-ray Reviews

by Andre Dellamorte    Posted: September 26th, 2009 at 6:29 am

You know 20^th Century Fox used to be a pretty good studio. It’s hard to believe with all the crap they release these days, but there was a time when people used to get excited about the 20^th Century fanfare. Back when they worked with artists, back when they seem to be after something more than proficient mediocrity. M*A*S*H and The Girl Next Door are two of their winners, and my review of them is after the jump.

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