When the world's media descend on the remote Scottish island where a Hollywood actress is attempting to get married, a local girl is hired as a decoy bride to put the paparazzi off the scent. Despite the good cast 'The Decoy Bride' was unfortunately pretty cheesy and dumb to say the least and your typical bad english comedy that never strikes a fair punch of laughs or entertainment. David Tennant and Alice Eve are very good actors and they have proved it in various projects but this poorly written comedy does not offer them anything to do. (F)

Alice Eve has the kinda smile that could get her out of a speeding ticket. Too bad her smile is completely wasted in The Decoy Bride, a dull, trite comedy with a contrived setup that does nothing but exercise its right to be fluffy and forgettable escapism. I've come to that time in my short life of being a semi-professional film critic that I can almost identify when a film is exercising in its boundaries and when it's simply being lackadaisical and unambitious.The Decoy Bride is frothy and dreary, wasting its perfectly nimble and bright cast, who I crave to watch in stronger material. The material concerns Lara Tyler (Alice Eve), a popular UK celebrity who simply wants to marry James Arber (David Tennant), her fiancée, without the paparazzi bothering her with their clicking cameras and gossip reporters. The two vacate to Hegg, a Scottish island, where they are quickly followed by the paparazzi, and a desperate team member of Lara's suggests they stage a wedding between James and some other girl to trick the paparazzi and give the couple some peace. Hegg native Katie (Kelly Macdonald) is hired to pretend to be Lara and winds up striking an, at first, contentious relationship with James, which later turns soft and forgiving, despite his insults and her comebacks.As you can tell, we're in a very different setting, but we're experiencing pretty much the same clichés we can find back on the American market. The United Kingdom is known for their quirky sense of humor and unique brand of Television comedies, yet we see pretty much the same unforgivably bland trite we can watch on the Lifetime network or even ABC Family. The charming cast succumbs to some of the most wretched clichés on screen, and even David Tennant of people looks bored and uninterested in this failure of a project.Surely if you're considering renting this film, whether it be off of Netflix or even from the local store, you could certainly find something more appealing and insightful from The Decoy Bride same genre. If you're looking for pleasant escapism, perhaps try the classic Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan endeavor You've Got Mail. Or if you want a fantastic genre-exercise, try Annie Hall, a delightful film by Woody Allen. There are dozens of better options and there is little time to view all of them. Why settle for The Decoy Bride? Starring: Kelly Macdonald, David Tennant, and Alice Eve. Directed by: Sheree Folkson.

A warning of a spoiler is hardly necessary when the outcome is a foregone conclusion. The end result is obvious once all the actors are together on the island. This takes nothing away from the enjoyment of the movie, as it turns out. Set on an imaginary island called Hegg, a little dot amongst the Hebrides. Lara Tyler, who is one of THE most famous movie stars in the known world, is played by Alice Eve, but all she wants to do is marry her fiancé, writer James Arber, (David Tennant). Harassed to the point of distraction by all the paparazzi, especially by Marco Ballani (Federico Castelluccio), who is like a rabid dog with his obsession for Lara, they escape to the tiny Scottish island of Hegg, so they can marry in peace. However when the paparazzi tracks them down, They in fact receive a tip-off, and with the locals smelling easy money, Lara, suffering from paparazzi paranoia, becomes upset and runs off & hides. In total desperation, her management team, run by Steve Korbitz (Michael Urie), decide to stage a fake wedding, hoping the paparazzi will fall for their little trick and leave the island. Local girl Katie (Kelly MacDonald), who is back from the mainland nursing a broken heart, is recruited to pretend to be Lara. But is James Arber convinced that Lara is his one true love? Very predictable but also very funny with some poignant moments. It may have lacked the polish of a movie like 'Hook', but with a budget 67 & a half million less than 'Hook', I Think they did a good job. It should have done better than it did at the box office but I'm sure it lacked a credible PR team. I never heard of it until earlier this year, 2012, and only then because my daughter had brought the movie home. I think it will do better as time goes by but I don't think they will recoup their costs. It's a shame.

Sure it follows the standard formula of all romantic comedy films but, while I'm a fan of Romcoms and always hope they're going to be really good I find they almost never are. Unfortunately most of them score about a 3 (just watchable with a few good scenes or funny moments) down to -10 (complete waste of time). "The Decoy Bride" is a real treat. Especially if you're a Kelly MacDonald fan. Rest of cast is good too. Written by the wonderful comedian Sally Phillips who co-stars with Neil Jaworski and starring David Tennant. Excellent chick flick but a great in-home date night movie rental with your male significant other (unless he's a Vin Diesel fan in which case don't bother).You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll thank yourself for checking this movie out.