Something Borrowed
Synopsis:
Our story begins at a surprise 30th birthday party for Rachel (Ginnifer Goodwin), which was planned by Rachel’s best friend Darcy (Kate Hudson). With the party winding down and Darcy having had a few too many rounds, her fiancé Dex (Colin Egglesfield) takes her home. He returns shortly afterward to retrieve Darcy’s forgotten purse. Rachel and Dex then share a drink. Rachel admits that she had a crush on Dex before introducing him to Darcy. The feelings were mutual. Things take an interesting turn when Dex and Rachel find themselves waking up beside each other the next morning. The movie alternates from the past to the present, providing depth on the events leading up to Dex and Darcy’s wedding. How do Rachel, Darcy, and Dex reconcile what is happening?
50 Dates at 50 Take:
Here, Millennials are beginning to learn their life lessons. Boomers and Gen X will quickly identify with similar situations they’ve been in before. This movie reminds us that there is a period in our lives where we have to start taking things more seriously. It does a great job of demonstrating why we need to go out of our way to avoid certain situations, especially when it comes to the heart versus common sense.
Why You Need to Watch It:
Let’s diagnose some of these situations and the messages in them.
- Drinking alone with your best friend’s partner is never a good idea. Nothing positive will come of it.
- The conversation between Dex and Rachel in the flashback scene, before Darcy and Dex are introduced to each other, demonstrates pickup strategy. As most Boomer and Gen X men have discovered, the dating information landscape is dominated by pickup material. Bestselling author Neil Strauss immersed himself for two years in the pickup and seduction community in Los Angeles. His New York Times bestselling book, The Game, initially published in 2005, chronicles his experiences there. The Game is not a specific how-to book; rather, it provides history, reasoning, and context to the tactics and strategies pickup artists use. Readers of The Game will be able to quickly identify these strategies. It appears this book had some influence in this scene. Here, the pickup material is used not to seduce but rather as an accelerant drawing Rachel and Dex closer together.
- Ethan is “the second guy in the room,” which is a lonely place to be. Author Rachel Greenwald explains that the second guy in the room is the one women start to pay more attention to as they get older, when the first guy in the room never seems to work out. The first guy in the room is the flashy alpha male who looks great on paper.
- Marcus is definitely a student of pickup material and appears to be well on his way to fine-tuning his skills. But most women will see right through this, or it may only fool them briefly.
- Renowned pickup artist David DeAngelo asserts that attraction is not a choice. He has a valid point that we see play out in everyday life. However, there is nothing logical about it either. It’s there, or it’s not, and there is nothing that can be done about it. This explains the non-logical attraction between Darcy and Marcus.
- Marcus represents most men women will find on Tinder.
- Guys, Dex dresses nicely and properly wears his shirts untucked. Take note that some shirts are designed to be worn untucked, and some are not. Learn the difference.
- Ethan tries to make something out of his attraction to Rachel, but the reality is that he can do nothing; trying to insert yourself as a better choice, as he attempted, will never work. Rachel friend-zoned him a long way back. From that, there is very little hope of recovery.
- Ethan is a good guy. He has multiple chances with Claire but understands it’s not worth it. Many men would have taken advantage and quickly moved on.
- As the movie plays out, somehow, two wrongs make a right. That doesn’t mean you should try it.
- Keep watching through the credits for an unexpected scene to make things interesting.
-Paul
Year Released: 2011
