Today begins a weekend battle between the widely despised Bride Wars (12% positive on Rotten Tomatoes, a zero rating from the creme de la creme), which is expected to do well anyway because (a) it’s a wedding comedy with Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway and (b) there are many millions of under-30 women out there with zero taste in film, and Clint Eastwood‘s well-reviewed, very fine Gran Torino, which is tracking very well among the over-35s.

Bride Wars will win, of course, but Gran Torino, many are saying, will play better over the long haul. It will ultimately end up with over $100 million , and of course it has the respect and allegiance of the Movie Gods. Bride Wars arrives at theatres already damned — excommunicate and anathema — and has absolutely nothing to look forward to, beyond the mere earning of money. Hudson is the definitive fallen angel of youngish movie actress — a woman who managed to kill all respect for herself by starring in a long series of tedious, close to unwatchable films.