Starring: David Tennant, Alice Eve, and Kelly MacDonald
The Decoy Bride is a British romantic comedy about Lara Tyler (Alice Eve a.k.a. the braless nanny from Sex and the City 2), an international movie star who is attempting to marry British writer James Arber (David Tennant). Unfortunately for Lara, the paparazzi is hounding her every move and journalists from all over the world are hell bent on snapping pictures of the wedding. One photographer even hides in the altar of a wedding chapel for weeks, literally relieving himself in water bottles, so that he can covertly take pictures during the wedding. To avoid the press, Lara’s agent Steve (Michael Urie of Ugly Betty fame) must find a remote wedding location that even the most relentless photographer cannot find.
Enter the Hegg. The Hegg is a sparsely populated, cold Scottish island, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Everyone is married and everyone knows everyone else in the Hegg. Katie (Kellie MacDonald) grew up on the island and left to find adventure. At 32 years old, she returns to her home island after a failed engagement has driven her “vegan”—no men. Katie and Lara’s worlds collide when Lara decides to have her wedding in the Hegg. Caught up in a plot to fool the press, Katie winds up pretending to marry James Arber. Unfortunately for her, the more she gets to know the groom, the harder it is for her to remember why she swore off men.
The Decoy Bride is a witty romantic comedy with a fair amount of endearing moments. MacDonald really shines in this film. Her self-deprecating humor and musical brogue are quite charming. The problem with the film, however, is that the leading man just does not seem worth the hassle. Tennant is a fine actor, but I just did not see him as someone you move heaven and earth for. I just did not buy that he had a gorgeous international movie star desperate to marry him, and the adorable MacDonald swooning as well. His character is not even that likable. Arber is sort of clueless, dorky, snobbish and at times rude. Thus, it was hard for me to root for him to end up with MacDonald.
Overall, it was a light-hearted comedy that I would recommend viewing with a cold Scottish ale. Cheers!
