27 Dresses

Plot synopsis:
The movie opens with a voiceover by Jane (Katherine Heigl) as she explains when she first discovered her "calling" in life. The scene is from her childhood when she, her younger sister Tess and their father attend a realtive's wedding. This is shortly following the death of their mother so Jane must act as a mother figure for her sister. When her father asks Jane to take Tess to the bathroom, she comes across a distraught bride who has torn a seam on her dress leaving a whole at the back of the bodice that shows the upper half of her rear end. Jane has a moment of epiphany and uses her sister's hair ribbon and sews up the back fo the dress in a becoming way. The ecstatic bride then asks Jane to carry her train down the aisle as a reward.Flash forward in time to the present -- Jane is in a bridal shop with seamstresses all around her hemming a wedding dress. A woman walks in and says "The bride is on the phone" where you discover that Jane is the same size as the bride and is doing her bridesmaid duty of having the wedding dress hemmed the morning of the wedding for the panicking bride. She leaves the store, dress in hand, wearing her bridesmaid dress and hurries to the nuptials making it in time for the bride to change and get ready for her ceremony.During the ceremony, Jane continuously looks at her watch and a guest at the wedding (played by James Marsden) notices her impatience. As soon as there is a break in the festivities, Jane rushes out and hails a taxi whose driver she offers $300 for the entire night if he agrees not to look in the rearview mirror or he will suffer a deduction from that sum. Jane proceeds to change into another dress which is revealed as a traditional Indian sari that is her bridesmaid's dress for another wedding on the same night. Throughout the remainder of the night, she speeds between weddings/receptions, changing in the taxi which is seen by Kevin (James Marsden).At the end of the night, Jane is at the first wedding preparing for the bouquet toss which comes straight for her until she is tackled by some over-enthusiastic girls and knocked unconcscious. When she wakes up, Kevin (James Marsden) is leaning over her and helps her up, where she swoons, and then offers to accompany her home.On the trip to Jane's apartment, Kevin comments on her two-wedding night and proceeds to mention his opinion about the ludicrousness of the ceremony. This sparks a lively debate between the two about the sacredness of a wedding and marriage which leaves Kevin charmed and Jane annoyed. Once they reach Jane's apartment building, she leaves and Kevin discovers her "filofax", or day planner, in the taxi and decides to look through it.Kevin Doyle (James Marsden) discovers that Jane has been in 7 weddings that year and, as he is the writer of the local newpaper's "Commitments" section (under his full name Malcolm Doyle) he asks his editor if he could write a feature story on Jane (Heigl) for the front page of the section in the hopes that, if it is good enough, he can get out of the "taffeta ghetto."The next scene, we see Jane going to the office with her friend, Casey (Judy Greer), who was also in one of the weddings with her. Once inside the office, Jane is heckled for her longtime crush on her boss, George (Edward Burns), to whom she is a personal assistant. Everyone knows about her infatuation except for George, who owns the eco-friendly outdoor sports magazine business that they work for. Flowers are delivered for Jane without a note and she excitedly assumes that they are from George. When she leaves work with Casey (Judy Greer), Jane says that she has to go and pick up her sister from the airport but that she will see Casey later at another coworker's engagement party that night.At the airport, Jane picks up her sister, Tess (Malin Akerman) who has been working in Milan as a model. They go back to Jane's apartment, where Tess will be staying for a few weeks, and they talk about their parent's wedding photo which Jane has framed in her house. They agree that it was romantic but Tess dislikes her mother's dress while Jane is completely taken with the entire event -- at the boat house, at sunset, etc. Tess proceeds to pick up a pile of newspaper clippings on the counter that are featured engagement profiles from the paper written by her favorite writer of engagement and wedding announcements, Malcolm Doyle, whose sweet descriptions and feelings make his the best. As they talk, Jane invites her sister to the engagement party and Tess admits that she has plans to meet with some friends from Milan for drinks, but will try and make it.The engagement party takes place in a bar and has a gothic theme. Jane is talking with Casey when George shows up and asks Jane what he had purchased the couple (which she had obvioulsy done for him.) After a few minutes of small talk, George asks Jane if "what he put on her desk" that morning was okay since their relationship had not "been that way" before. Jane says it was okay and, once George walks away, Casey (shocked that the flowers were actually from George) demands that she walk up to George and express her true feelings. Confident, Jane begins to walk toward the bar, and George, when she notices his gaze locking on something across the room. George is captivated by Tess (Akerman) who has just entered the bar looking for her sister. The two lock eyes and walk towards each other, directly in front of the deflating Jane. As they are introduced, George mentions that Jane is his lifeline and that she had even picked up his dry cleaning which he had left on her desk that morning. George then asks Tess if she would like to get a drink at the bar, an offer that Jane had turned down from him earlier in order to seem responsible.As Tess (Akerman) and George (Burns) head to the bar, Kevin (Marsden) appears and asks Jane (Heigl) if she liked the flowers that he sent. Upset at the situation, Jane excuses herself to scream in an adjacent room which turns out to be a private anniversary party where she embarrasses herself with her outburst. When she returns to the dance floor where Kevin is waiting, holding her drink, he gives her filofax back to her and jibes her about her full-time wedding duties and asks her to get a drink. Depressed about the situation, Jane declines and goes to the bar to influence her sister to leave for the night. However, Tess asks George to go dancing instead and, though George invites Jane, Tess subtly hints at her sister to decline the offer and they leave together.Jane goes back to her apartment but cannot sleep while her sister is out until the early hours of the morning. So, frustrated, Jane gets out of bed and does sit-ups, reads a wedding magazine, brushes her teeth and ultimately begins scrubbing the stove in the kitchen before Tess returns. Trying to play-down her obvious agitation, Jane listens as her sister talks about her "wonderful" evening and asks for details about George. Jane obliges, and gives unique details about him that reveal her feelings for him, but Tess does not pick up on her sister's crush. Tess reveals that she and George had gotten kind of intimate and that he wanted to have lunch the next day. She asks her sister if this would be alright and Jane, always sacrificing for others, says that it is fine.The next day, the girls visit their father at his hardware store. While they are having breakfast in his loft upstairs, George calls Tess and she giggles with him on the phone in another room while Jane becomes upset.In the office, Jane looks over into George's office and sees her sister in a short dress leaning over the desk and flirting with George. Jane opens her filofax and sees that Kevin has written his name on every Saturday in her planner along with his phone number. She calls him and tells him to leave her alone, but he renews the offer for drinks saying if she ever wanted to hang out with someone who didn't need her to "take them to a fitting or a cake tasting" he would be available. Once Jane hangs up, Pedro (David Castro), George's "little brother" from the Big Brother program, arrives for George to take him to his baseball game. George insists that both Jane and Tess come along so they leave for the game.At the game, George, Tess and Jane go to the concession stand to order some refreshments before the game. Jane orders a chili dog and asks Tess if she would like one when Tess says that she is a "recent vegetarian". Jane scoffs as she knows that Tess is lying because of Jane's statement that George does not eat meat. Tess also proceeds to comment on her hiking trips (while Jane rolls her eyes) and her love for their dog "Tory". Jane, finally fed up with her shenanigans, corrects her sister that the dog's name was "Toby" which Tess explains away as being what she called the dog due to her lisp. George rejoins and says that he, too, had a speech impediment as a child--he stuttered.Pedro calls for George to come and "shag some flies" with him on the field and when the girls are left alone, Jane confronts her sister on lying and hating Toby. Tess justifies herself saying that she could "learn to not eat meat", she likes the outdoors for tanning and she only hated it when Toby slobbered on her. George saves her from her sister's irritation when he calls for Tess to try her hand at batting (in a dress and heels).The next few scenes are a montage of Tess and George's relationship as Jane walks in on them making out in the apartment, sees a slideshow of pictures of them on George's office computer, etc. One night in the office, after everyone else has gone home, Jane goes into George's office to straighten up and notices that he has left his wallet. Scanning his desk calendar, she hurries to the restaurant listed to give him his wallet. When she walks into the restaurant, she sees that they entire area has been rented out, there is a band and they drop a banner that says "Will You Marry Me". George comes in and says "No, guys, that's not her" and they roll the banner back up. Jane, crushed, gives him back his wallet just as Tess walks in. The whole scene replays as George has his dog, Gatsby, bring in the ring, and he proposes to Tess while Jane tries, in vain, to escape the scene.After having to bear witness to the man she loves proposing to her sister, Jane agrees to meet Kevin (Marsden) at a bar. She explains her being upset as having to do with the anticipation of being "dumped on" by her sister to work out all of the wedding details. Kevin chides her for not being able to say no to anyone and they talk about her constant need to do whatever anyone asks.Then, the girls are back at their father's apartment with George and their father says that George is his "hero" for giving Jane a job and marrying Tess since she has now decided to stay in town. Their father hurries from the room to retrieve something and comes back with their mother's wedding gown for Tess. Jane is mortified and heartbroken as Tess picks up the dress saying how honored she is to be able to wear it (regardless of her earlier comments on how she disliked the dress). Noticing Jane's face, she says "I know that you wanted to wear mom's dress first..." to which Jane replies "It's fine--it's what she would have wanted."In the next scene, Jane is walking with her sister as her sister asks her about countless details that Jane has been taking care of alone. As they walk, Tess mentions that she and George are getting married in the same boathouse as their parents, in 3 weeks (that was the only opening and she didn't really want to wait, anyway). Jane is visibly upset since that was her plan for her wedding, but she defers again. Tess, aware that she has no real friends, asks Jane if Casey would be a bridesmaid because "she's pretty and won't throw off the asthetics".Jane, Tess and George visit a custom cake bakery and Jane uses her previous wedding business with the baker to get him to agree to make the wedding cake in 3 weeks. As George walks away to take a call, Kevin (Marsden) walks in and introduces himself as Malcolm Doyle, the Commitments writer who had contacted them about writing a feature on their wedding. Jane is stunned by this revelation and accuses him of lying to her, which he denies. Tess tells Kevin that Jane is his number one fan and that she saves his articles which only embarrasses Jane (and entertains Kevin) more. Jane pulls him aside and asks if he is really as cynical as he had acted in the past about weddings and he says yes which makes Jane feel like she "just found out her favorite song was written about a sandwich."In the next scene, Kevin arrives at Jane's apartment where she is doing dishes alone. Jane refuses to let him in but he insists that he needs to talk to all of the bride's friends and family for the article and gets her to open the door for "Tess and George." Kevin proceeds to turn on his tape recorder and ask a few questions about Jane's feelings on the matter (which she gives begrudgingly) when he notices a hall closet that is bursting open with a variety of colorful fabrics. When he asks Jane what is in the closet, she runs to close the door but Kevin manages to pry them open to reveal every bridesmaid dress and accessory that Jane has ever been asked to wear. Kevin insists that they are all hideous and Jane picks out one that she thinks is becoming and goes to her room to try it on. When she shows Kevin, he snaps a picture of her and she ultimately agrees that it's not that becoming. Entertained, Jane proceeds to put on every bridesmaid dress as a sort of informal fashion show for Kevin (who takes a picture of each outfit) including such horrible themes dresses as "Gone With the Wind" and a full SCUBA outfit for an underwater ceremony.Once all of the dresses have been shown, Kevin counts the photos (27 different dresses) and asks why she keeps them and suffers through them. Jane says that she has had some good times in those dresses and she wears them because one day those people will be there for her on her wedding. Saddened by the thought of her own wedding, Jane asks to just finish the interview and puts away the dresses.Back at the office, Kevin's editor asks for the article which he has not yet finished. He sends her his working draft and she loves it, guarenteeing him a spot on that Sunday's front page of the section. Kevin begs that it be postponed for a week as he tries to delve deeper into Jane's person with the editor commmenting "if I didn't know you better I would think that you have developed a little crush". Kevin thanks her for finally conceding and agreeing to postpone the feature.Jane arrives at George's apartment looking for her sister to finalize the guest list but Tess won't let her in. When she barges in, she finds that Tess has hired Pedro to clean the apartment which would infuriate George so Pedro has agreed to keep it a secret as he wants the afterschool job.Jane and Kevin are in a store registering Tess for her wedding gifts. As they scan items, Kevin comments on Tess' outrageous abuse of her sister's services and mocks Jane's comments on the meaning of the gifts ("and this is the vase that Tess will put the flowers that George brings home just because"). As Kevin makes her progressively more angry with his cynicism, Jane says that she believes that he hates weddings because he hasn't found someone to love or he was dumped at the altar. Kevin says "bingo" as his wife had run away with his roommate from college after their big ceremony. Jane, feeling horrible about being right that his wedding had ended so poorly and made him cynical, asks if he would like to find all the ugliest things in the store and "register Tess for them."Jane receives a call from George to come preview the menu for the wedding with him since Tess would be getting her hair done and unable to attend. Jane happily joins and almost tells George of Tess' lies but decides against it at the last minute. Kevin calls Tess asking for Jane, and Tess tells him where she is (at the boathouse). Kevin shows up and sees Jane laughing with George and instantly realizes her feelings for him. He tries to sneak away but George sees him and Kevin volunteers to go with Jane to pick up vintage table linens in another city since George has to make dinner with his parents (Jane tries to get George to come instead, but Kevin is insisitent.)In the car driving in the rain, Kevin confronts Jane with her "sick" love triangle--helping her sister plan her wedding to the man she is secretly in love with. Jane becomes angry at Kevin's comments and begins to drive haphazardly. Kevin begins to get nervous at their speed and warns that they might hydroplane, only annoying Jane more. Of course, they hydroplance off of a curve, down an incline and into a tree where there car is stuck in the mud. They run in the rain to a nearby bar and find that the phones are out and they can't get cell phone reception. Kevin, deciding that there is nothing left to do but wait out the storm, sits at the bar and orders a drink. Jane joins him, defeated, and insists that she will only drink one.Next scene, and presumably many drinks later, Jane asks Kevin about a specific wedding that he had written about where the ceremony was held on the anniversary of the parents' deaths and the brother was flown in from Afghanistan for it. Kevin claims he doesn't remember it and Jane insists that he must and he's doing it all to appear "mysterious and sexy". Kevin does tell her that his favorite part of weddings is watching the groom's face while the bride comes down the aisle (which Jane had earlier recounted to George as her favorite part). Suddenly, the juke box comes on playing Elton John's "Bennie and the Jets". Kevin begins to sing with the juke box but Jane laughingly points out that he is not singing any of the right words, so she tries (only further butchering the lyrics). Suddenly, they are both standing on the bar in front of a crowd of people dancing and singing the chorus of the song at the top of their lungs. At the end of the song, the frenzied crowd helps Kevin down, who turns to help Jane off of the bar. When she comes down in his arms he admits that he "cried like a baby" at the wedding she had mentioned and they start to kiss.
Next, you see them back in the car as Jane works to take Kevin's shirt off and they fall into the back seat.The next morning, Kevin brings coffee to the car and they both walk to a nearby diner for breakfast while they wait for the towtruck. At breakfast, one of the people from the night before point them out as "Bennie and the Jets" and they laugh about the night before. The waitress comes to give them their orders and she notices Jane and says, "Hey, you're that girl!" Jane nods and says, "Yes, I'm Bennie, he's the Jets" with a smile but the waitress rushes to the counter and brings back a newspaper. Jane takes the paper and sees her pictures all of the feature story about her 27 bridesmaid experiences. Kevin suddenly realizes that his editor ran the piece early and tries to explain. Jane, upset, leaves the diner and slaps Kevin soundly in the face for using her.Back at the paper, Kevin demands to know why his editor ran the piece early since he had not even had time to tell Jane about the piece yet. The editor insists that he should be thanking her, and walks away.Jane arrives back at her apartment where her sister is fuming over the article which portrayed her as "Bridezilla". She yells at Jane and answers the phone, which turns out to be Kevin calling, and she screams at him. She then storms out of the apartment yelling, "You might want to alert traffic control because Bridezilla's on the loose!"The next day at work, Jane throws away a stack of missed call notices from Kevin and Casey comes over to talk. Jane asks that they not talk about the article when George calls her into his office. She immediately begins apologizing, but George insists that it is alright and he only wanted to make sure that she was okay. Grateful, Jane nods and George says, "No one reads that section anyway" even though it is the most popular section of the paper (as mentioned earlier in the movie).Jane arrives at a bridal boutique where Tess is standing in her underwear with a checklist. Tess says that she has decided to forgive Jane. But insists that at that night's rehearsal dinner, Jane read off of a script that Tess wrote to go along with a powerpoint. Jane agrees and the store's employees come in with Tess' wedding dress. Tess puts it on and it is a completely different dress than their mother's. Confused, Jane asks where their mother's dress is and Tess explains that she had it incorporated into the new dress and the remaining pieces of their mother's dress have been saved for Jane. Enraged, Jane demands that Tess tell George the truth about everything or she will. Tess says that Jane would never hurt her sister like that and Jane replies that Tess is no longer her sister she's just the girl who broke her heart and cut up her mother's wedding dress.The next scene, Jane comes into the rehearsal dinner and Tess hurriedly checks to make sure that Jane is still going to read only from the script. Jane nods and then goes to cue-up the powerpoint for the dinner. As everyone sits, Jane begins the powerpoint that she put together reading only the script, however, the powerpoint has pictures of Tess eating a large plate of barbeque with her engagement ring on, picking a cat up awkwardly by the legs, acting afraid of Gatsby (George's dog), etc. At the end of the show, Tess tries to explain as Casey pulls Pedro up to the front to try and save the dinner. Pedro, however, talks about how great Tess is for agreeing to help him start his cleaning business and letting him clean George's apartment. George leaves the room and breaks off the engagement while Jane feels horrible about what she has done.Going outside to escape the chaos she created, Jane tries not to cry as Kevin, who had been lurking in the back of the rehearsal dinner, comes outside to comfort her. He apologizes for hurting her and said that he came to ask forgiveness and to be there for her, which was something that he had not wanted to do for a long time. He gives Jane a palm pilot to replace her outdated filofax and then walks away, saying that he would never bother her again.Jane is in her father's store telling him that Tess will never forgive her as Tess comes in, lured by her father. The two girls have a heated argument over the situation where Tess accuses Jane of always feeling like she had to fill in as Tess' mother and Jane accuses Tess of always having everything. Tess admits to wanting to be more like Jane and that she was in town because she had been fired in Milan and her Italian boyfriend had dumped her. She had seen George as a way to start over and had jumped at the chance. Finally coming to an understanding, the two girls hug and try to decide what they are going to do now.Later that night, Jane receives a call from George asking her to fill in as his date for a business function since his recent break-up has left him without time to get a date. She shows up to the office and George, who is grateful that everything came out since the entire affair had been so rushed, asks Jane to pull up his presentation before they go since he can't find it. When she agrees and hurries to his computer, George says, "That's what I love about you, Jane, you always say yes." Suddenly, Jane stands up and looks at George with realization. She quits and explains to him that the only reason she had stayed for so long was because she had become comfortable and thought she was in love with him. George silences her with a kiss that Jane actually says has no spark. They try again but the kiss still falls short of her expectations. Just as they are standing there, her new palm pilot rings (it's a phone too) and the ringtone is "Bennie and the Jets". Smiling widely, she apologizes to George and runs from the office.Jane goes to the newspaper looking for Kevin and finds out that he is covering his last wedding (having been promoted out of Commitments due to the phenomenal response to his feature article). Jane hurries to the pier where the wedding ship is getting ready to leave. She jumps onto the ship and walks through the crowd looking for Kevin. As she searches, the bride notices her and knows her from the article and is excited that she is at her wedding (as though she is a celebrity). Jane quickly fills the eager bride in on the situation and the bride pulls her to the stage and gives her a microphone where she is spolighted for all of the guests to see. She confesses her feelings for Kevin who is watching in shock from the middle of the crowd. When she finishes, she awkwardly leaves the stage and tries to make her way to the back of the boat where Kevin stops her and they kiss.The next, and final scene, is Kevin and Jane's beach wedding. Tess is welcoming guests where George and Pedro arrive. Tess introduces herself like they had never met and says she "has a hamburger a day" and her "idea of a pet is a rock". They laugh together and George sits down. The wedding begins and Jane joins Kevin at the altar with a voice over saying that he was looking at her just as she'd always hoped her groom would. Kevin asks if it was as good as she had hoped for to which she replies, "No more, much more."The camera pans out to show that after Tess and Casey, 27 brides stand along the boardwalk each wearing the bridesmaid's dress from their respective weddings.

Tags: romantic

Review:
I also like it when the leads are played by good actors who have hardly attempted to do films romantic comedies in the past and they manage to pull it off.
It's got formulaic construction familiar in romantic comedies, yet it knows it's just harmless fluff and doesn't try to be anything more.Kathryn Heigl is certainly the strength of the film, with an exuberant approach to her "hopeless romantic" always the bridesmaid character who longs for that special day of her own.
The acting was solid the entire film, I was already a huge fan of Katherine Heigl but after watching this and 'Enchanted' I am now also in love with James Marsden!
I said EVERYONE (including guys).Katherine Heigl is great in the film as Jane, the optimistic bridesmaid who wants a shot of love for herself someday and feels the the 27 bridesmaid dresses she keeps in her closet is a calling that its time for her to get a dress of a different kind.Judy Greer, who's always "the best friend" in the movies, is very comical and sassy as Katherine's friend Casey.
'Knocked Up' will be remembered as Heigl's 'Pretty Woman' - a surprise smash that introduced her as an instantly likable, utterly lovely bigscreen presence; '27 Dresses' will be Heigl's 'Sleeping With The Enemy' - a tired, uninspired, button-pushing mess, overseen by the actresses agents and managers to ensure their property becomes a big star sooner rather than later.As the eternal bridesmaid having to endure her younger sisters nuptials to the man she's longed for, Heigl glows on screen but is reduced for much of the film to a simpering sourpuss.
The director, Step Up's Anne Fletcher, shoots her stars (including a lifeless Edward Burns, Malin Akerman, a criminally-wasted Judy Greer and a frankly insufferable James Marsden) in static midshots, as well reducing the romantic allure of New York to subdued hues and bland framing.Most frustrating is the complete lack of chemistry between the leads, compounded by long-winded, talky scenes that should bounce and end with a laugh, in true romcom tradition, but instead drag on and peter out into nothingness.I'm going to assume that the message of the film is lost on me - all I took from the film was, no matter how beautiful and intelligent you are, you are only really complete as a woman when you find a man that makes you happy.
I know its not the first romcom to espouse such traditional values, but its the first in a long-time to labour the point so heavy-handedly.Points go to the costume designer Catherine Marie Thomas for the 27 dresses of the title - they display the sense of fun, absurdity and spark of originality that the film as a whole sorely needed.I expect '27 Dresses' will open huge and turn Heigl from the small-screen IT-girl into the star she promises to be.
The cast is good, Katherine Heigl was good and James Marsden gives a decent performance, Malin Akerman was OK, I feel her a little overact and Judy Greer maybe she was the best with a role full of irony.
Kevin is a young professional with movie-star good looks and is impossibly charming, while Jane, unfortunately, doesn't notice or appreciate his charm because she is too deeply in love with her dirtbag of a boss George, played with effective repulsiveness by Edward Burns.Later, Jane's little sister shows up, a bouncy, Barbie-ish blonde without a thought in her head who comes along and charms George off his feet, and we are asked to care when this jerk and this bimbo fall in love and ask Jane to plan their wedding.
In 27 Dresses, it is blatantly obvious from the first frame how the movie is going to turn out, except for the instant transformations that George and Tess, Jane's little sister, make in the last few minutes of the movie for the sake of the Hollywood ending.
Edward Burns has an extensive list of credits and has had some hits and misses (if, for example, you ever get a chance to see him in a movie called A Sound of Thunder, don't), and as for Katherine Heigl, she has done nothing but better films than this.
27 Dresses shows every possible cliché of the romantic comedies and it does not try to do something new.Screenwriter Aline Brosh McKeena (whose previous screenplay is the one of the very overrated movie The Devil Wears Prada) shows cliché after cliché in a tedious and really uninteresting movie.Director Anne Fletcher shows nothing of artistic zeal and she makes the mercenary work of taking all the clichés of the screenplay to the big screen.Katherine Heigl has some charisma but that does not rescue a very crappy movie.James Marsden does what he can with his role.The great Judy Greer (who showed so much talent on films like The Village or Elizabethtown) is totally wasted with a supporting role.I do not pretend to find originality on the story of a romantic comedy,but what I pretend is finding some originality on the execution and 27 Dresses does not have that.Some women may like it but this movie bored me with an uninteresting and clichéd story..
And then, after smattering the name of the bride in a popular news paper (that we're supposed to believe would run such a pointless story) -- going as far as calling the bride-to-be "bridezilla", he actually gets invited to another wedding party where the oh-so-predictable scene where the lovers come together takes place.This has to be one of the best examples of bad film writing I've come across.
And that's where this one fails - it brings a standard story with a next to standard grace and that just isn't good enough any more.It does show potential in some parts of the film and I am sure that if it had held on to the pace and dialog in those parts that it would have become one of the best films of the year so far, but now, it's a thirteen in a dozen that is best watched on DVD during the more boring parts of the day.5 out of 10 wedding dresses smudged with bleakness.
Katherine H.'s character Jane only will kiss Kevin Doyle (played well by James Marsden) when he admits he cried at a wedding.The acting was fine, there were a few funny moments, but the story was lacking..
It has the I'm-better-than-you younger sibling, the supportive parent(s), and the complete opposite best friend(played by Judy Greer, once again).The middle consist of the turning point where the main character begins to fall for the leading male role(to my surprise, James Marsden played the lead and not the "other man" this time around) but completely denies it until the ending of the middle, which is usually followed by the embarrassing climax of the movie...
James Marsden and actress Katherine Heigl (Grey's Anatomy) acted so well, there was chemistry between the characters and it made the movie so much more enjoyable.
27 Dresses - After serving as a bridesmaid 27 times, a young woman (Katherine Heigl) wrestles with the idea of standing by her sister's side as her sibling marries the man she's secretly in love with.
There's nothing new here.What you will get, however, is a cast full of secondary characters from hit TV shows: There's Gay Indian Guy from 30 Rock and Weeds, the Crazy Secretary from Arrested Development, Michael's Girlfriend from The Office, and probably a bunch more whom I've never seen nor heard of.I'll just come out and say what I was thinking throughout this entire movie: 27 Dresses is a movie for dumb girls ages 15-25 who don't care if a movie is actually well-written as long as it (1) continues the myth that they will all end up happily married/engaged/dating, (2) makes them think that all good-looking assholes really have a sweet side, and (3) portrays romantic overtures (from guys whom the female character barely knows) as "amazingly cute" rather than the more-realistic "amazingly creepy.".
Yes, the story is formulaic and even a bit corny at times, but in a sea of films out now that are dark and dreary, it is just great to watch the beautiful, intelligent and talented Heigl appear in wedding after wedding in 27 DRESSES until she meets the man of her dreams.
Hollywood likes to tie all the loose ends too much for its artistic good.That being said, Katherine Heigl and James Marsden are excellent, very funny, and easy to relate to.
27 Dresses is what happens when people run out of ideas but want to make a movie about that anyway.Katharine Heigl's character is completely uninteresting.
The movie itself was a little funny and sometimes hilarious so it was a mostly pleasant experience though I did perk up a little bit when leads Katherine Heigl and James Marsden did a karaoke to Elton John's "Benny and the Jets".
Doesn't hurt when your simple, predictable lines are played out by Katherine Heigl, Edward Burns, James Marsden and the underrated Judy Greer.Heigl ("Knocked Up", "Grey's Anatomy") is nice to look at and has excellent comedic timing and a strong screen presence.
And upon chance, after her sister Tess (Malin Akerman) returns, the two meet and fall for each other, and of course, Jane is asked to help plan the wedding almost her will.Add in James Marsden as a potential love interest for Jane, and you pretty much have 27 Dresses summed right up.
There are no surprises to be found, and even without seeing the trailer, just about anyone can predict what is going to happen, almost shot for shot.And that is what is unfortunate about this movie.The idea of being the bridesmaid twenty-seven times is enough of an interesting idea on its own without adding in the sister wedding subplot, but the filmmakers have manipulated into something that is almost devoid of that interest.
None of them are too overly impressive, but they did bring out a smile and a giggle or two from someone who never expected to find any enjoyment out of a film like this (although I did feel more than a few times that the movie would have been a whole lot better if Marsden suddenly turned into Cyclops and started blasting everything and everyone in sight).Heigl does alright in the lead role, but nothing more.
Thankfully, this talent of his only leads to some great chemistry between him and Heigl, and the film would have easily toppled over without it.Supporting turns from Akerman and Burns are not quite up to the same level of intensity as Heigl or the same amount of fun as Marsden, but Judy Greer does wonders in a small role as Jane's friend and co-worker Casey.
I really dislike Katherine Heigl but I really liked James Marsden's character in this, in fact he is the main highlight of this film.
She's the maid of honour, and organizes everything from early preparation like food tasting right down to actual day menial tasks, like holding the bride's gown while she's taking a pee.Like the trailer suggests, her perfect world is about to turn topsy turvy as the man of her dreams, her boss actually - George (Edward Burns), get smitten with her sexy-kitten sister Tess (Malin Akerman), thus allowing the green eyed monster to rear its ugly head, while at the same time, a mysterious lurker Kevin (James Marsden) becomes a perpetual irritation by trying very hard to crawl into her life.
And Heigl is not only the one here making an impact though, as Malin Akerman herself probably, and hopefully not in a permanent manner, boxed herself as the new ditzy blonde (remember The Heartbreak Kid?), clearly taking over the mantle from Cameron Diaz.27 Dresses is a movie that's meant to be a filler during a date, and one which doesn't shy away from trying hard to satisfy those who have come to pay tribute to woman's fashion.
I didn't find it to be slow-moving at all, and I especially enjoyed the montage of ugly dresses that Ms. Heigl models for James Marsden's character about half way through the movie.
I liked this movie and loved the Benny and the Jets bar scene, is the cast over the top too good looking..yep, but worth watching.
Directed in formulaic fashion by Anne Fletcher from a predictable screenplay by Aline Brosh McKenna (who did a much sharper job on "The Devil Wears Prada"), the film has such a packaged sense of its comic possibilities that nothing related to the storyline feels fresh.Heigl stars as Jane Nichols, a classic "giver" in the truest definition of the word as she has been a willing bridesmaid 27 times over.
Katherine Heigl's character, Jane, is great because she's just like your best friend.
If you find movies about silly girls, weddings, boorish men, predictable story lines with your typical Hollywood ending than '27 Dresses' is not for you.
Throw a wacky alcoholic sidekick in the mix who likes to screw the guys in the stock room, a euro trash sister (played by Malin Akerman) who's idea of acting is shaking her head faster and faster like a bobble head on speed, a couple of very handsome men, a fashion show of bad bridesmaid dresses, a bridezilla, a drunken bar scene where 'Benny And The Jets' is sung by the hammered crowd and your typical Hollywood ending and you have the feel good movie of mid-January.Katherine Heigle is very likable as Jane and she plays the dorky attractive woman very well.
As Jane struggles to come to terms with losing the love of her life cynical journalist Kevin (Marsden) thinks Jane would make the perfect candidate for a newspaper article and goes about hounding and irritating her beyond belief.Let's face it we all have an idea of how this is going to pan out before we've even caught a glimpse of the credits but it's the way this movie reaches its climax that makes its special!
Another chick flick, ohhhhh welllll.The leading couple (Katherine Heigel & James Marsdem) has chemistry on camera, and I think that Heigel does a good job in the movie and is believable in her role of the lonely sweet and naive Jane.The storyline is well known, the characters stereotypical, and the script rather mediocre, so everything becomes clear from the beginning.
27 times a bridesmaid, never a bride Jane finds herself planning her sister's wedding to the man she loves, all the while being followed by a cute young man and cynical writer who (oh wait...
However, a couple good points: the writing was alright (not painfully stilted like most movies in this genre), Judy Greer was funny, James Marsden played his part well, as did Katherine Heigel, but sadly, these are the only redeeming parts of the movie.Watch it if you have nothing better to do, but if you want a movie about love for the girl who never gets it, and a jealous sister feud, watch In Her Shoes...
She helps everyone even Tess (Akerman) her sister, who is set to marry George (Burns), the man Jane is in love with.This is probably the best chick flick I have ever seen and it's all due to Katherine Heigl.
The story isn't really anything new, but Katherine Heigl is so convincing as Jane, the original yes-girl, a people pleaser of the highest degree that she totally carries the movie.
At first I recommend this movie who love romantic comedy.Jane, the main character, is a person who can not say "no".
(Judy Greer plays Penny in "The Wedding Planner", and Casey in "27 Dresses") I began to think "Well, it's a good attempt, but it's just too much like the other wedding movies.
Very predictable." Less than ten minutes later, I was proved wrong.Katherine Heigl plays a character named Jane, who found her love of weddings when she was eight.
You don't have to use your mind, even though the film has many twists and turns (if that makes sense.) In case you don't already know, the film is about a woman named Jane(played by Katherine Heigl) who has been to 27 weddings, so, in turn, she has 27 dresses, since she keeps each one.
This is a major problem for Jane as she thinks she is in love with her boss and she feels her sister is conning her boss in to marriage by playing a different person than she really is.At the same time Kevin a journalist is writing an article on Jane and this theme has been used in several other comedies.Very predictably the movie has a schmaltzy ending.It is no where as funny as Katherine Heigl's last comedy "Knocked up" but young teenage girls and single women in general should enjoy it..
I went to see this movie at a sneak preview and was really excited because I've always liked James Marsden and I think Katherine Heigl is fun.
This wasn't too bad a movie as Katherine Heigl plays out the old phrase "Always a bridesmaid, never a bride" in her character.
The movie is based around three main characters; Jane (Katherine Heigl), a very sweet "people pleaser" who only wants to fall in love and get married.
Kevin (James Marsden), is a journalist that discovers Jane's life and how she has attended 27 weddings and wants to make a story of her to advance his career.As the movie unravels it has more than just a romantic subplot, it also shows a rivalry between two sisters.
This 'habit' Jane(Katherine Heigl) carries, is the attractive idea of the movie.James Marsden plays an unusual part, at least for me, as I'd seen him on X-Men, The Notebook and Enchanted, which is a comedy but not of this kind.
Katherine Heigl and Malin Akerman are really not that believable or good at acting as the main girls, but they are still sweet characters you would like to know.