27 Dresses (2008)

Director: Anne Fletcher

Cast: Brian Kerwin as Hal, Charli Barcena as Young Tess, Peyton List as Young Jane (as Peyton Roi List), Jane Pfitsch as Cousin Lisa, Katherine Heigl as Jane, Jennifer Lim as Bridal Salesgirl #1, Brigitte Bourdeau as Salesgirl Olga, Judy Greer as Casey, Danielle Skraastad as Bride Suzanne, Marilyn L. Costello as Bride Suzanne's Minister, James Marsden as Kevin, Michael Ziegfeld as Taxi Driver Khaleel, Yetta Gottesman as Hip Bridesmaid, Erin Fogel as Shari Rabinowitz, Bern Cohen as Rabbi

Katharine Heigl plays Jane, a woman who just loves going to weddings,
being a bridesmaid for her friends and in most cases being the go to
person when it comes to making wedding arrangements. We find out
quickly that Jane's fascination and knack for helping with weddings
came about soon after her mother died when as a very young child she
helped her sister find a bathroom, fix her hair, and used a bow in her
sister's hair to repair the bride's wedding dress. When we catch up
with Jane as an adult, it turns out that she is a bridesmaid at two
different weddings on the same night, requiring her to hire a taxi for
the evening and to shuttle back and forth between the two receptions
changing in and out of the different bridesmaid dresses while riding in
the back seat.

Enter Kevin (James Marsden). Kevin is a newspaper reporter whose
present job consists of going to weddings and then writing about them.
It's a job he loathes, but we all have to make a living somehow don't
we? Before the night is over Jane is forced to share her Taxi with
Kevin, whom she quickly decides she does not like. After Jane departs
for the evening, Kevin discovers her daily planner and finds out that
Jane has pretty much made a lifetime career of being a bridesmaid.
Twenty-seven times to be exact. Kevin convinces his editor to let him
write a story about Jane which if successful, will get him a promotion
and out of the Wedding of the Week Club.

Meanwhile on the home front, we soon discover that the reason Jane
herself may never have gotten married is because she is carrying the
torch for her boss George (Edward Burns). And no, it's not a case of
George not knowing that Jane exists. In fact, as far as George is
concerned, Jane is indispensable. It's just that he doesn't see her as
a love interest but does acknowledge that she is one of the best
necktie tiers in the country. Jane hopes all of that will change
someday, despite the fact that her co-worker and friend Casey (Judy
Greer) is constantly nagging her to move on with her life.

And if all of that weren't complicated enough for you, Jane's beautiful
sister Tess (Malin Akerman) promptly flies into town, meets Boss
George, and quicker than you can say Dress Number 28, they begin dating
and falling in love much to the chagrin of Jane. This of course leaves
Jane and Kevin to somehow begin dating even though she loathes his
cynical attitude towards marriage.

So will George and Tess get married? Or will George realize that Jane
is the girl for him? Will Kevin be the one to actually fall for Tess?
Or does he only have eyes for Jane? Will Kevin write the story about
Jane's 27 appearances as a bridesmaid? And will it be published about
the time his cynicism might be turning to love? Will George discover
that Tess isn't all she is cracked up to be and turn to Jane for
comfort? Will Jane finally tire of being a bridesmaid and wedding
planner all rolled into one? There is absolutely no doubt in my mind
that you'll be able to answer all of those above questions by the time
27 Dresses has completed about a fourth of its 107 minutes of running
time. But chances are it won't matter to you one bit that the film is
so obviously predictable, just as most of the films in the romance
genre usually are. You'll enjoy it anyway thanks to another strong
performance by Katharine Heigl.

It's one thing to star in a film of this sort and to get a few laughs
with some well written snappy dialog, but Heigl manages to go beyond
that. She has this wonderful ability to draw the audience into her
character. You can readily identify with her, laugh with her, cry for
her, be embarrassed for her, and to feel as sad and lonely as she seems
to be in the early part of this movie. We cheer her when she finally
does take a stance, but we feel her remorse for having done so when it
backfires to some extent. There are only a handful of actresses who can
manage all of that, and do it all in one film.

The supporting cast in this film aren't exactly slouches either. Malin
Akerman does a great job of making Tess the evil obnoxious sister that
you'll love to hate. James Marsden manages to somehow make his
character believable as someone who is suppose to be a jerk on the
outside, but yet gives indications that there is more to Kevin than
meets the eye. But best of the supporting players is Judy Greer as
Jane's best friend Casey. She has at least three of the films funniest
including doing her best to literally knock some sense into Jane at one
point.

The bottom line is this. Most romantic comedies are predictable. They
are only successful when they have a good but novel gimmick to make
thing interesting and when the script has enough witty and tug at your
heart string moments to make it worth your while. But most importantly,
the actors have to make you care about them and their romantic dilemma,
and to feel the same ranges of emotions that they are feeling on the
screen. And thanks in large part to another fine effort by Katharine
Heigl, 27 dresses certainly manages to do that. And when a film can
achieve such lofty goals I have no choice but to give it my grade,
which for 27 Dresses would be a B-.