rating:
(out of
4 stars)United States; 2007
Directed by Anne Fletcher; produced by Gary Barber, Roger Birnbaum, Jonathan Glickman; written by Aline Brosh McKenna
Starring Katherine Heigl, James Marsden, Judy Greer, Michael Ziegfeld, Edward Burns, Malin Akerman
I wish I could rate '27 Dresses' higher. It stars the sweet Katherine Heigl, but she is caught in a not-too-funny and very predictable script. I did not mind watching the film, but as soon as it was over I completely forgot about it. Even worse, I was reminded of the subplot involving Heigl's sister and boss only by my notes. I remember some moments of joy, and that's about it.
Heigl is Jane Nichols, bridesmaid for life. She hopes one day it will be her turn, with her boss George (Edward Burns) as the groom, but when sister Tess (Malin Akerman) arrives that dream falls apart. The subplot I mentioned takes off, with a lying Tess, although not really that terrible, and a George very much in love with this lie. Jane's love interest turns out to be wedding reporter Kevin Doyle (James Marsden), in her mind a brilliant writer, but a bully in person. In other words, the last person she would fall in love with.
The premise makes sure the film will hit all the usual marks when it comes to romantic comedies. Heigl tries, and you see her potential in the genre, but '27 Dresses' turns out to be a disappointment, especially considering how easy it is to make a romantic comedy work. All you need are two interesting leads, there is only one here, and some working gags. I smiled from time to time, but there was only one real laugh. Too bad, since potentially this was going to be a lot of fun.