Okay, so maybe claiming that Kate Hudson has an anti-charm is a bit unfair. But, generally, if you hear that a movie is going to star Ewan McGregor, even if it sounds a little stupid, your general reaction is going to be, “well, at least Ewan McGregor is in it.” And when you hear that a movie is going to star Kate Hudson, even if it looks promising, your general reaction is going to be, “well, Kate Hudson picked the script, so clearly it’s got to be awful.” What then to expect from this new romantic comedy, Born to Be King, now that McGregor is attached to star and Hudson is negotiating to be his co-star?
Seeing as the film was written and is to be directed by Peter Capaldi, an actor-turned-director who hasn’t had much experience making features (he made Strictly Sinatra is 2001), it’s hard to make a prediction on which actor’s track record will take precedence based on the filmmaker’s past work. It appears we have to move on to plot synopsis to try and make a judgment. According to the Variety article that broke the news of McGregor and Hudson’s casting, Born to Be King is about an extra on a film set (McGregor) who looks uncannily like a big star stumbling into a romance with a starlet (Hudson) who is said to be at war with her co-star.
Sounds a little silly. Is there going to be a bunch of mistaken identity stuff? The inclusion of slapstick could be troubling. Sure, McGregor has shown an ability to pull off broader material in things like Moulin Rouge! and Down With Love, but Hudson has proven to be poison with sillier comedy in things like, well…couldn’t pretty much every romantic comedy she makes be considered farce?
It’s unfortunate to say, but it’s looking like McGregor is going to have a pretty big job ahead of him if he’s going to use Born to be King to finally break the Kate Hudson curse. Our thoughts and well-wishes will, of course, be with him in these trying times to come. And you stay strong, too, Kate. We know you’ve got another movie that doesn’t suck in you somewhere!