Surprisingly Charming (my review)

I recently reviewed this movie on my blog Rom Coms and the Real World: http://realworldromcom.blogspot.com/2012/11/review.html

"Unless you’ve been exclusively watching rom coms and Doctor Who episodes, you’ve probably never heard of this movie. If you’re nerdy passions happen to align with mine, then chances are high that Netflix Instant has constantly been flinging this movie in your face too. You see, this is a rom com starring the Doctor himself, David Tennant, and it’s cheap looking poster has been staring out at me for weeks on the “Netflix Recommends” page. The Decoy Bride is about as formulaic as they come. It’s the kind of convoluted yet predictable plot you might find in an ABC Family made-for-TV movie you spend the afternoon half-watching as you clean your living room. Its UK roots, however, give it a certain kind of charm and a couple of really lovely performances kept me way more engaged than I expected. I fired up my Netflix, fully expecting this film to be terrible. That might be part of the reason I enjoyed it as much as I did.

To fill you in, The Decoy Bride is a small film produced by a British production company called Ecosse Films and made on a shoestring budget. If you want to get a taste of what you’ve been missing, you can check out the trailer here. The plot is fairly silly, even for a rom com. Since I’m again assuming you’ve never heard of this one, I’ll fill you in on some of the highlights. Famous actress and it-girl Lara Tyler (Alice Eve) is determined to keep her wedding to author James Arber (David Tennant) paparazzi-free. Deterred by freakishly dedicated photographers in the past, Lara decides to move the wedding to the tiny Scottish island of Hegg ,where James theoretically spent time doing research for his one and only successful novel. Turns out, however, he’s never actually been to Hegg (“You googled the entire book!”) which leads to one or two lost-on-the-island jokes and not much else.

Hegg, as we learn, has a population of 75 people and the most exciting thing to happen recently is the drowning of one of Donald’s sheep. Yet this is where Katie Nic Aodh (Kelly Macdonald) calls home. Katie is a writer whose biggest gig so far was writing the description of pants for a catalogue. She’s got a rough history with men and after her most recent break-up, she moves back in with her mom, reclaims her job at the local convenience store, and declares herself "man vegan." She also reclaims the title of only-single-girl-under-50 on the island.

Katie is the film’s heart, a down-on-her-luck girl who manages to be both self-deprecating and optimistic. Kelly MacDonald is truly a delight and I was shocked to find out this was her first and only rom com. She’s got great comedic timing and her quirkiness never feels put on. Two-thirds of the way through the movie, Katie’s mom asks if she likes James. Katie replies, “He's an emotionally retarded arty-boy who’s in love with another woman. Of course I like him.” I don’t know if I’ve ever related more to a rom com heroine.

There are a whole lot of plotlines in The Decoy Bride, most of which are...."

Read the full review at: http://realworldromcom.blogspot.com/2012/11/review.html