By Lindsay Christ
“27 Dresses” is just another movie in the romantic comedy genre. While the premise for the movie holds potential, the film, directed by Anne Fletcher (“Step Up”), is as cliché as can be.
Jane (“Grey’s Anatomy” and “Knocked Up” star Katherine Heigl) is the stereotypical do-gooder who has always put the needs of others in front of her own. She has been a bridesmaid 27 times and is about to become one for the 28th time after her younger sister Tess (Malin Akerman) becomes engaged to Jane’s boss George (Edward Burns). The catch? Jane is secretly in love with George. One wonders why Jane doesn’t just tell her sister how she feels when Tess first starts dating George but instead, the selfless heroine just smiles and pretends that everything is fine. Of course Tess is all wrong for George, using Jane’s knowledge of his hobbies to pretend that they are the perfect match.
When Tess hires reporter Kevin (James Marsden) to cover her and George’s wedding for the wedding section of the paper, he quickly realizes that Jane’s story is a much more interesting one and, of course, begins to spend the bulk of his time getting to know her. With his help, along with the stress of planning a wedding for her sister and the man she loves, Jane finally begins to realize that she needs to start to stand up for what she wants and make herself happy. The rest of the movie is painfully predictable with an ending that ties up too perfectly to be even remotely realistic.
The movie isn’t all bad however and the acting is mostly what saves it. Marsden gives his character charisma and delivers his lines with the perfect combination of sarcasm and sincerity, showing that he has excellent comedic skills. Akerman plays the manipulative, self-centered bridezilla to a T, though falters when trying to give her character more depth. No matter how pathetic Jane might seem, Heigl is able to make her character likable and has a few good jokes of her own.
While the film is predictable and lacks substance, it’s sufficiently amusing and not a complete waste. Highlights include a drunken duet of Elton John’s “Benny and the Jets” performed by Marsden and Heigl in a seedy bar, and a revealing slideshow that Jane puts together for her sister after finally reaching her breaking point.
Though “27 Dresses” does not bring anything particularly stimulating or new to the screen, it is able to make audiences laugh and leave the theater not completely unsatisfied. However, it is doubtful that this latest romantic comedy will be anything more than just another cutesy film that barely leaves an imprint.