The Decoy Bride

David Tennant, Kelly Macdonald and Michael Urie in The Decoy Bride

The Decoy Bride is a delightful enough little romantic comedy.  Filmed on location in the Scottish country side, it has a quaint feel and look.  It is as predictable as any romantic comedy but all is kept light and it will leave you feeling good although not completely satisfied.

Lara Tyler is an American movie star being hounded by the press.  In order to have a private wedding to her writer fiance, James, they plan to get married on a Scottish island that James wrote about.  Lara's stalker/photographer shows up and she goes into hiding.  Her manager hires local girl Katie to stand in and throw off the paparazzi.  Things become a bit frantic for everyone as the wedding throws the entire island populace into a frenzy.   

The plot shoves Katie and James together where they argue constantly.  In romantic comedy terms, that means they fall in love.   I understand why James would fall for Katie.  Played by Macdonald, she is sweetly down to earth and extremely likable.  Tennant on the other hand is fairly lifeless.  He lacks his Doctor Who screen presence.  He just seems very bland here and uninterested in the proceeding.  Why Katie likes him is never understood.

Angus, an old flame of Katies shows up in a few scenes.  They share more chemistry together than Macdonald and Tennant.  At one point Angus wants to fight James for Katie and I was hoping Angus would kick James's dull ass all the way back to England.

All is very sweet and there are a few laughs to be found.  Early on we have a bit of the British wit. The island seems to contain many bitter old women.  At a church one elderly woman suggests Katie marry someone because, "He's keen to marry on account of his leg."  What few jokes there are though, dry up fairly quickly.  What we are left with is merely a sweet little sitcom romp, set in an ideal summer locale.

Kelly Macdonald  was born in Scotland and is thus a natural for the role.  She can also be heard as the voice of Mirada in Disney/Pixars Brave.  David Tennant is likewise Scottish but uses an English accent.  Perhaps if they had made his character Scottish he would have put more enthusiasm into his role. 

The Decoy Bride is as unoffensive as it is forgettable.  At its best it is nice and at its worst it is redundant.  You may not completely regret watching it but you will likely never want to watch it again.