27 Dresses with Katherine Heigl– Movie Review

Always a Bridesmaid Takes on New Meaning in Witty Charmer

Jul 31, 2009

Jane has been a bridesmaid 27 times, unable to turn down anyone who needs her help. Now she's facing her biggest reason to say no.

Jane (Katherine Heigl) has a hard time saying no to her friends. As a result, she’s the one who’s planned all their weddings – 27 of them, to be exact. Over the years, she’s collected her fair share of wedding memorabilia, namely the bridesmaid’s dresses she’s worn, most of them outlandish and nearly all hideous, and all of the articles written by Malcolm Doyle for the Commitments section of the local paper.

Jane is executive assistant to George (Edward Burns, Saving Private Ryan, The Holiday), owner of an eco-friendly outdoor sports magazine business. Everyone at the company knows Jane is in love with George except George himself. When Jane’s little sister Tess (Malin Akerman, Watchmen) blows into town, she knocks George off his feet, and soon Tess is asking Jane to help her plan her wedding – to the man Jane secretly adores. Though heartbroken, the always selfless Jane agrees.

Flaw in the Plan

So Jane begins planning the wedding she’s always wanted, only she’s planning it for her sister, who will even be wearing their late mother’s dress. The trouble is Jane knows that Tess and George’s relationship is based on lies. George is a vegetarian, so Tess pretends to be. George loves dogs, so Tess tells him how devastated she was when their dog Tory died. Jane is quick to remind her that the dog’s name was Toby, and that Tess hated him.

Jane learns that Tess has contacted her idol, Malcolm Doyle, to write a feature on their wedding. When he shows up to meet them, Jane discovers that Malcolm Doyle is really Kevin (James Marsden, X-Men, Enchanted), the annoying guy she met at one of her friend’s weddings, who has altogether cynical views toward marriage. Kevin shows up at her apartment to interview her about the wedding and discovers Jane’s collection of dresses.

Kevin decides to do a feature article on Jane and her 27 dresses instead of her sister, but when his editor runs his first draft of the story after she promised she’d wait a week, Jane is both mortified and furious. Out of spite, Jane reveals the truth about Tess to George, who calls off the wedding, and Jane feels terrible about what she’s done.

Charming Chemistry

Of course that’s not the end of the story. As expected, everything works out in typical boy meets girl and they live happily ever after fashion. What’s atypical about this story is not that everything works, but how. Screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna (Laws of Attraction, The Devil Wears Prada) has penned a story with enough twisted charm to be wholly unique, pleasantly surprising, and thoroughly entertaining.

Heigl and Marsden have a nice onscreen chemistry. Their bickering is snappy and witty, and there are some great lines in the script that are delivered with a natural ease. Judy Greer (The Wedding Planner, 13 Going on 30) is both sympathetically supportive and suitably snide as Jane’s best friend Casey.

Winner of the 2009 People’s Choice Award for Favorite Movie Comedy and the 2008 Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie: Chick Flick, 27 Dresses is a cheery and at times poignant tale. It’s the perfect movie for girls’ night or date night, with moments of laugh aloud humor and sweet sentimentality that will appeal to all fans of the romantic comedy.

The copyright of the article 27 Dresses with Katherine Heigl– Movie Review in Romantic Comedy Films is owned by Jennifer Thompson. Permission to republish 27 Dresses with Katherine Heigl– Movie Review in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.