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27 Dresses

Review By: Andrea Tuccillo
AndreaTuccillo@TheCinemaSource.com

If you’re a cynic you may not enjoy the sappiness of traditional weddings—the meticulous choosing of the perfect flowers, the tallest cake, and of course, the most beautiful dress. If you’re this kind of person you may also not enjoy the typical romantic comedy—the boy/girl meet-cute, the misadventures and misunderstandings of said boy and girl, and the ever-so-random but nonetheless ubiquitous song and dance number.

Cynics be damned—27 Dresses piles it all on like tulle on a wedding gown, and does so in a surprisingly sweet and stylish manner. Sure the plot is clichéd and formulaic (the script was penned by Devil Wears Prada scribe Aline Brosh McKenna), but Katherine Heigl and James Marsden are charmers and manage to spark the film with a freshness that it may otherwise have lacked. Heigl in particular proves her worthiness alongside the likes of Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Garner. Able to float between comedy and drama with ease, Heigl is poised to become Hollywood’s new go-to leading lady. And Marsden, who for so long as been “the guy who doesn’t get the girl” in films, proves he’s got what it takes to win a woman’s heart. After some noticeable roles in hit movies like Hairspray and Enchanted, Marsden is finally getting the recognition he deserves.

You’ve heard the saying, “Always a bridesmaid, never a bride.” That just about sums up Jane (Heigl), the matrimonial-minded people-pleaser who has been a bridesmaid at, count ‘em, 27 of her friends’ weddings. Not only did she don the hideous bridesmaid dresses for her friends’ sake, she also helped pick, plan, and perfect their very special day. She’s so busy watching others wed their soulmates that she has failed to find a relationship of her own.

It also doesn’t help that she pines for her clueless boss George (Edward Burns), attending to his every need in the hopes that that one day he’ll notice her. Unfortunately, he notices her younger, blonder, ditzy sister Tess (Malin Ackerman, a wannabe Cameron Diaz) instead and the two quickly become engaged. As Jane struggles to come to terms with the fact that her sister is about to get the dream wedding she’s always wanted (and that she may in fact have to plan it), she repeatedly crosses paths with a hunky newspaper columnist named Kevin (Marsden). He claims not believe in the institution of marriage and thus thoroughly gets on Jane’s nerves. Unbeknownst to her though, he pens the wedding column she’s been clipping for years.

The two trade barbs—he mocks her obsession with weddings, she nags him about being so cynical. Just like the screwball comedies of the ‘40s, clashing personalities are a surefire sign that these two are made for each other. To further complicate things, when Kevin finds out about Jane’s perennial bridesmaid status—and the 27 atrocious gowns she has saved in her closet—he decides it ...