Movie Review: The Decoy Bride starring David Tennant and Kelly MacDonald

So. I have Netflix. I was really resistant at first. Wait, let's talk movies and DVDs because it is all related.

I used to go to the movies every week. My taste wasn't always so discerning, but if I really loved a movie, I would buy it when it came out on DVD. Likewise, if I really wanted to see a movie, but missed it in the theater, I would buy the DVD.

This was, of course, pre-Netflix, but post-Blockbuster. I just don't really like renting things so many people have touched. But I digress...again.

Anyway, my though process was always that if two people go to the movies, it would actually be cheaper to buy the DVD. (This was also before Blu Ray.) Also, there was always the idea that if you had a party of people over to watch something it would be nice to be able to say "Yeah, we got that." and pop in the movie and everyone would have a grand old time. Of course, the tragic flaw in that logic is that you actually need to have a party of people over to watch a movie. Sigh!

Anyway, with the never ending saga of the storage facility and my rather large collection of everything, I have begun to question my need to acquire things. Terri, no "I told you so"s please. And no, I'm fairly certain my collection of precious things could not buy a house. Perhaps a new car, though.

As a result, I do not buy DVDs or Blu Ray discs very often anymore. For good things like the Avengers, yes, but now if I miss the movie, I miss the move until it is on cable. We recently got a Netflix account. It doesn't cost much and you have access all the time to what ever they got in their catalog. (BTW, for those of you thinking about it, the Netflix version of North and South is edited. See, for that I am glad I got the DVD. Otherwise, I'd never have known.)  The reason I was reluctant was when I first started scrolling through their offerings, I found all the things I wanted to watch I already own and there was very little I actually wanted to watch.  Now I'm starting to find things to watch and I can stream Doctor Who and Farscape when I have the opportunity to work from home, like next week.

But anyway, as it was I was clicking through the categories and my eyes fell upon a movie called The Decoy Bride. It stars David Tennant (of Dr Who fame, the 10th and best Doctor in my opinion, but who's asking), so I figured. How could I go wrong? Besides, it's free...sort of.

I have to tell you I am so glad I watched it. Unfortunately, now I have to buy the DVD so I can watch it while on the elliptical.

From Amazon:
Editorial Reviews
When the wedding of internationally famous film star Lara (Alice Eve, Men In Black III, Sex and the City 2) to English author James (David Tennant, Doctor Who) is sabotaged by a paparazzo, they decide to relocate the event to the remote Scottish island of Hegg. But the press will not be so easily shaken, and the couple has to take more drastic measures to ensure their privacy. Enter local girl Katie (Kelly MacDonald (Boardwalk Empire, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2), who's selected as a decoy bride to lure the press off the trail. But when Katie meets James, sparks fly, dresses get ruined and suddenly love gets complicated. Featuring an all-star cast, DECOY BRIDE is a charming romantic comedy about the pratfalls of finding true love.

My Review:
Katie (Kelly MacDonald, voice of Merida in Brave) is from an island called Hegg which is the outer most island of the Hebrides in Scotland. She is down on her luck, just got dumped by her fiance has to move back in with her mother, her ex-boyfriend is now marrying someone else and she has to ask for her old job back kind of luck. In fact, she can't get much lower, that is until and entourage of Americans come to the island for a "Marketing Convention".

James (David Tennant) is an author of a book called The Ornithologist's Wife which was written about the island of Hegg. It was written some time ago and his he has yet to write the follow-up. He is marrying Lara Tyler, an American award winning actress, but the paparazzi stalk her and they can't seem to elude the press long enough to actually tie the knot.

Lara (Alice Eve, She's Out of Your League) is actually a little out of touch with reality. She is tired of being stalked by the press all the time and gets a little violent when one crashes what should have been her wedding. In desperation, James and Lara leave the country and head for a secluded location so they can finally say "I do".

Cut to Hegg. The Laird of the island is Lara's boss and he has devised a plot. He wants Katie to write a guide book that they can sell with the "Marketing Convention" coming to the island. The Marketing people are even renting the Laird's castle as is. No surprise that the "Marketing Convention" is actually Lara's entourage with James in tow so they can finally get married.  She loves the book by they way, which is why she thought to go to Hegg. The trouble is, James has actually never been there before even though he wrote about it and the Laird's castle is run down and doesn't look anything like the book describes it to be.

The scene is set.

Katie while out on a note taking excursion in the local toilet reputed to be haunted by the ghost of a cow encounters James who introduces himself as John Johnson. It is not what you would call a happy encounter at all, more like a close encounter. He first mistakes her for being a married woman, he then mistakes the toilet for her home, he later calls her a toilet attendant.

Lara, while out jogging spies her nemesis, a photographer who is relentless in his pursuit of her. She freaks and disappears with not much time before the wedding. The wedding must go on as planned in order to throw the paparazzi off the trail so Lara and James can have their real wedding after she's found, but of course, nothing goes off as it should and things don't always go according to plan. You can guess where it goes from here.

This movie had a great cast of characters, some of the sweetest being a deaf couple dancing to James trying to play the bagpipe, but as long as he holds it to his mouth, they think he's really playing. While James was a bit of an ass for half the movie, he's the Doctor, so I can forgive him. I love Katie.  She just has such a dry sense of humor. She's intelligent and a lot more interesting than Lara Tyler. The thing about Lara is you don't say no to her...ever.  But I have to feel sorry for her because she can't ever get a moments peace from the paprazzi stalking her and making her life hell.  She has no privacy.  All three go through a bit of a metamorphosis and it is interesting to see how they all end up.

I loved the fact that everything about the Ornithologist's Wife is wrong and it is a theme that keeps coming up all throughout the movie. Does James ever write his follow-up novel or will he have to give back the advance? Will Lara be arrested for assault and battery of the press? Will Katie every find out if the toilet is really haunted by the ghost of a cow? All these questions will be answered and more. It's just a fun movie that for me is a keeper. And I don't have too many of those any more. Hope you enjoy!