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2011, 05-05:
Review of film: “SOMETHING BORROWED” + Q&A with star COLIN EGGLESFIELD
The “PRELIMINARY” Events BEFORE the Movie...
Chicago’s radio station “THE MIX” (101.9 fm) held a contest wherein members of their listener’s club 21 & over could win a 2-person pass to a “SPECIAL EVENT”: attendance at the “NIGHT OF STYLE” at the SHOPS OF NORTH BRIDGE (in the NORDSTROM building) at 520 N Michigan Avenue on May 5th...
... Along with that, you’d get a pass to attend an advance screening of the about-to-be-released film “SOMETHING BORROWED”, followed by a special in-person Q&A with its star COLIN EGGLESFIELD who’d grown-up in the CHICAGO area...
... Upon arrival, people had to show their photo I.D. at a check-in table (shown in the photo below) to get the VIP pass and a wristband and coupons for food and drinks...
... The food included tables (shown below) offering sausage and bacon-wrapped chicken appetizers from Texas do Brasil, pita bread and salad from California Pizza Kitchen, cans of Diet Pepsi, plus samples of Chambord vodka and Korbel Champagne...
... You could register to win prizes from various boutiques (mostly female-oriented) and to see various FASHION presentations (as shown below)...
... Pepsi passed out some small “SWAG BAGS” to attendees. Some of them contained items like a miniature “Champagne” glass, or some CUBS baseball tickets, or other small souvenirs... But, the “later” bags handed out were at times completely EMPTY...
... After the event, people walked few blocks east to the AMC21 River East movie theater to see the FILM, using the “VIP” lanyard pass everyone got as an entry... Most sat in a “reserved” area above the center aisle...
(o_
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The MOVIE itself = Review of “SOMETHING BORROWED”
Most romantic comedies have a fairly simple “formula”, more or less along the lines of “Guy finds girl, guy loses girl, guy gets girl BACK”... But, this movie is more complicated than that, going thru a bunch of ADDITIONAL “stages” (tho the “bottom line” tends to “carry on” the basic “recipe”)...
... The “Tagline” of the movie is “It's a thin line between love and friendship.”, & that’s a pretty accurate “description” of the story...
... Rachel (GINNIFER GOODWIN) is an intellectually bright lawyer, but also a sort of “mousy”, confused, unassertive woman...
... She regularly “kow-tows” to Darcy (KATE HUDSON), a loud-mouthed, “pushy” woman who’s been her “best friend” since childhood (as we see in various flashbacks)...
... Kate invites Gin out, & it turns out it was to give her a surprise 30th BIRTHDAY Party... At that event, we meet Gin’s best friend, Ethan (JOHN KRASINSKI), from her law office...
... And, we meet Kate’s handsome fiancé, Dex Thaler Jr. (COLIN EGGLESFIELD)...
... During the Birthday Party, we quickly learn how Kate always needs to be the “Center of Attention”, as pointed out by both John and Colin... She treats Gin as almost an “after-thought” as she works to “pump-up” her OWN “presence”...
... As the movie goes on, we learn that Dex and Gin were best friends in law school, having a fine, “easy-going”, trusting relationship...
... In fact, it was when Colin was out at a restaurant with her that Kate “inserted” herself into the gathering & made clear she wanted to be WITH Colin (which Gin typically “acquiesced” to, tho she wasn’t very “thrilled” about it)...
... In fact, it was when Colin was out at a restaurant with her that Kate “inserted” herself into the gathering & made clear she wanted to be WITH Colin (which Gin typically “acquiesced” to, tho she wasn’t very “thrilled” about it)...
... We in time see that Colin has more than “platonic” feelings towards Gin (who, as usual, is “oblivious” and “fearful” about what’s going on)... In taking Gin home after the nighttime outing, things go “FURTHER” than Gin was expecting, & she’s horrified at what Kate might “think” about what had transpired between her & Colin...
... After the party, Kate insists that Gin & John join her and Colin for weekends at a summer house they’ve rented in New York’s ritzy “Hamptons” area. Gin isn’t too eager, but, as usual, she goes along with what Kate wants...
... Gin is very turned-off by the aggressive actions of Colin’s friend Marcus (STEVE HOWE) who’s joined them at the house. He’s boorish (with his mind usually “gutter”-bound), fake, & fancies himself a “ladies’ man” (shown by the way he’s always “hitting” on some female in the area)...
... As Gin tries to “avoid” very loud Steve, John is similarly trying to avoid one of Kate’s friends, Claire (ASHLEY WILLIAMS), who seems to have a “thing” for him when visiting the house... He eventually tries to evade Ashley by telling her he’s actually “GAY”...
... Colin grows more & more fond of Gin, especially when she admits that she had similarly liked him in school but was afraid to do anything to let him KNOW that for fear of hurting KATE... While he makes clear he thinks the upcoming marriage to Kate would be unwise, he regularly does nothing concrete to END it...
... When he talks to his Dad to get advice, instead of listening to how Colin thinks & feels, his stuck-up dad is more concerned about what’ll “LOOK” good to others & doesn’t even want to HEAR Colin’s thoughts, offering a statement like, “That’s not the kind of people we are...”
... Colin sincerely tells Gin he loves her – but she’s afraid to really “RESPOND” to that in kind... He seems sincere, but doesn’t do anything “solid” to end things with Kate... Thus, he & Gin keep breaking up & getting back together, over & over again (to her increasing PAIN)...
... Gin has confided in John as to what’s been “going on” between her & Colin, but, as her friend, he gets ANGRY at the way she & Colin are indecisive & how she has low SELF-ESTEEM. He dislikes how she keeps deferring to whatever KATE might want in life, commenting that, “You let her WIN all the time!...
... Colin keeps vacillating in his actions, telling Gin how much he wants to be with HER, but then continuing to have beachside outings in the Hamptons with KATE (with Gin & the others around)...
... Gin keeps procrastinating about “speaking-up” honestly to Kate & Colin, saying, she doesn’t like “hurting” other people... John complains to her at one point, saying, “Tell your boyfriend to make a DECISION!... You deserve to be HAPPY!...”
... John eventually confides to Gin about how much HE cares for her as a person... But, he’s decided to move to LONDON to further his career in writing...
... Since Gin keeps declining opportunities to tell Colin how she feels, JOHN tries to “FORCE” the situation by encouraging people at the cottage in the Hamptons to play badminton & reveal a “SECRET” every time they lose. Gin’s at wit’s end when he volunteers that he HIMSELF will tell some to Colin & Kate, which Gin tries to stop his doing...
... Will Gin speak-up to Colin about HER real feelings about him?... Will John really leave for England?... Will Kate and Colin learn of “SECRETS” that each has been keeping from the other?... Will Colin really “DO” anything about his considering whether to CALL-OFF the planned wedding to Kate?...
... Some might call this movie a “chick-flick”. While it’s certainly designed to be “appealing” to women (such as by utilizing Colin who’s been a heartthrob on the TV soap “ALL MY CHILDREN”), I found it to be much MORE than that:
... It’s an often-very-FUNNY movie, mainly thanks to the words & actions of John & Steve (& at times Kate). And, not only women were laughing heartily and frequently, so were a number of the men in the audience (including 2 sitting directly to my right)...
... While the main characters are “pigeonholed” in some ways, there’s a believable humanity to them, with all their foibles and periodic nuttiness. Colin is INDECISIVE and a basically “good” guy, rather than a “TWO-timer” who’s just out for what he can “get” for himself...
... John is thoughtful and caring, KATE is genuine in the way her self-centered priorities are “MIXED-UP” in life, and Gin keeps being an unwavering “enabler” of others... You tend to CARE about them overall (even when you might dislike some of their inherent insecurities and weaknesses)...
... So, since there are a number of unexpected “SURPRISES” as the plot unwinds, & the film was far FUNNIER and more effective and well-done than I’d expected, I’m rating it as 8 out of 10 stars...
... And, make sure you stay thru the credits, because (once again) they’ve put in an extra scene that will give you some “clues” to the hoped-for SEQUEL being considered)!...
(o_
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Q&A Talk with star COLIN EGGLESFIELD
AFTER the film, a rep introduced star COLIN EGGLESFIELD (who’s LIVED in this area) to the appreciative audience... As she pointed out, one whole row or so of the audience contained his relatives + friends of his...
... He seemed truly thrilled to be there with many people he knew, & immediately called out (as he waved), asking just WHERE his MOM & DAD were seated (& they waved back to him happily)...
... Colin said yes, he grew up in the CRETE area south of the city, & also pointed out how his brother was there, + a number of other friends-- & even the doctor who’d DELIVERED him many years ago! (The doctor stood up upon his request)...
... Colin related how he’d gone for a pre-med degree at the University of Iowa & how it was his older SISTER Kerry who’d first been interested in acting, & how seeing her act had gotten HIM interested in it...
... As to this new movie we’d just seen, on the 1st day he arrived for the shoot, they shot the difficult scene where Gin says she LOVES him... He [a martial arts expert] had made efforts to keep in shape for his role, doing pushups a lot to help him “concentrate” & all...
... For the 1st week, he & the others “kind of found our RHYTHM” as they worked together in their roles for the first time..
... To a question asked by a lady in the audience about his own PERSONAL situation, whether he liked “wild” women like Kate’s character or preferred the quieter sincerity of Gin’s character, Colin smiled & said, “It’s COMPLICATED--!...”
... As to the woman’s asking about his “type”, he elaborated by saying: “See, that’s the thing. It’s a COMBINATION of both... [Kate’s character of] Darcy is ‘outgoing’, and gets [him as his character] Dex out of his ‘COMFORT’ zone--” & makes him “LIVE” more than he might normally...
... But, Gin’s character of Rachel is someone who makes him feel “she really UNDERSTANDS what he is—” inherently as a person... So, what he likes is to try to find people who “blend a COMBINATION of BOTH” of those qualities. He indicated, he’s seeing one or more people like that, tho things aren’t super “serious” at this point...
... To another audience question about the “To be CONTINUED—” words at the end of tonite’s movie, he said, yes, there’s a hope that they’ll do a SEQUEL: “We’re all SIGNED ON—” to do the 2nd book in the series, &, if we’ll tell our FRIENDS about the film & maybe go see it “5 or 6 times each”, that’d help get that 2nd one made!...
... Colin went back to talking about his CAREER some more. He said, he very much wanted to THANK his MOM & DAD [Kathleen & William] & younger “bro” Sean & [older] sister & friends and the public for all their SUPPORT, he’d always deeply appreciated the way people had ENCOURAGED him in his endeavors in life...
... As he said, when he went to Los Angeles to try to do more regular acting work, you’re often “on the verge of GIVING UP”, especially after going to like “4000 failed auditions” for roles... But, his family & friends regularly SUPPORTED him in his dreams, & that meant a LOT to him!...
... When a question was asked about how LONG it took to do the movie, he said, they’d worked on it for like 7 weeks of shooting time, + rehearsals, etc... As to a comment someone had made, he said, his work at times involved long hours, sometimes until like 4:30 in the morning... But, it was nothing like the difficulties his DAD faced at times taking care of patients at early hours in the morning!...
... He pointed out one of his local teachers in the audience, & commented how he was “there” when he played the role of HUCK FINN in a play while his “bro” was TOM SAWYER (which Sean in the audience agreed was true)!...
... Colin spoke more about how, rather than go into the medical field like his [psychiatrist] father had, he eventually went to ITALY to do modeling [which he started as a way to help pay for college], did runway (modeling) work for ARMANI, & then went to New York where he did more modeling & started acting (as “Josh Madden”) in the TV soap “ALL MY CHILDREN” [from 2005-2009], which he loved doing...
... To the hostess’ question, he said, yes, he has gotten into designing & selling his OWN line of CLOTHES, it’s called “SHOUT OUT TEES”, which utilizes Velcro to allow people to attach & take off LETTERS & numbers from the shirts...
... To another question from the audience, Colin said, he was sorry to hear about the cancellation of the “ALL MY CHILDREN” soap-- but no, he is NOT likely to return to the show before it goes off, tho “returns” & the like have been a staple of such shows, witness all of Susan Lucci’s husbands & the like...
[... Besides his work in soaps, including as Augie Kilpatrick in the reborn “MELROSE PLACE” in 2009-2010, he’s done various other individual stints on TV shows such as “THE $TREET” in 2000, “LAW & ORDER: SVU” in 2001, “GILMORE GIRLS” in 2004, “BROTHERS & SISTERS” in 2010 (as young William Walker), and “HAWAII FIVE-O” in 2010...
[... His feature film work has included roles of Caleb Jansen in the the 2002 TV film LOST IN OZ”, Connor in 2005’s “VAMPIRES: THE TURNING”, Alex in 2005’s TV film “12 DAYS OF TERROR”, David in 2005’s “MUST LOVE DOGS”, & Baker in 2009’s “THE GOOD GUY”]...
... To the audience, Colin spoke a bit of some of his UPCOMING roles (which includes already-completed work as Ivan # 1 in “LIFE HAPPENS”, & Tucker Longstreet in a TV movie called “CARNAL INNOCENCE”)...
... At one point, easygoing Colin joked around, bombastically speaking as his “MELROSE PLACE” character Augie, & kidding “Show me the MONEY!”, which brought hearty laughs from the crowd...
... When someone asked if he could recall a funny moment during his work on “SOMETHING
BORROWED”, he said, most of them were during working with JOHN & Steve, such as when John kept doing different versions of going up & KISSING Steve [to show he was “gay”]. He recalled that he & others kept cracking up laughing watching the takes from behind the monitors...
... Colin turned to talk to some people sitting near the front of the auditorium, pointing out that they were IN-LAWS in his family. One of the men commented that, “You did a GREAT job!” in the film we’d seen tonite, for which Colin thanked him sincerely...
... The man then asked a question-- is the house they’d used in the Hamptons available for RENT for the summer?! Colin laughed, & said, he’d “check into” that. He laughed even harder when the man kidded by repeating one of the lines from the film...
... From another question, Colin commented, he’s “got a lot of secrets”... He said, he had to be getting up to do an interview about the film on WGN-TV tomorrow at like 8 AM...
... Continuing with the subject & a question asked of him, he said, yes, he definitely would be at the PARTY being thrown for him tonite (after the Q&A) at the “PUBLIC HOUSE” restaurant, since he certainly wouldn’t miss his own party! He kidded, “I am so in trouble tonite!”, & was very much looking FORWARD to being with his family and friends & others!...
... As to his sister, she unfortunately wasn’t able to be with us tonite, being in South Dakota taking care of her “4 beautiful little girls”, & knows she’s with him in “spirit” as she always is... He wants to eventually get her into seeing the movie we saw tonite, kidding that she could see his “pandering”!...
... Then, Colin was very gracious in signing loads of AUTOGRAPHS for the crowd...
... And he gladly posed for lots of PHOTOS people wanted with him...
... Before leaving, I myself went up to him & congratulated him on the “very good work” in the film, which I quite enjoyed & would be doing a review on...
... He insisted on shaking hands & thanking me, & then went back to signing & posing some more...
... He insisted on shaking hands & thanking me, & then went back to signing & posing some more...
... It was good to see someone who could so happily ENJOY an event that was sort of a mini “This Is Your LIFE!” type of episode in the way it brought lots of history back in “front” of him in the form of his highly-regarded family, friends & people from the past...
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(o_
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