27 Dresses

I can't imagine what it was like for someone to read the character breakdown after Katherine Heigl had already signed on. How does someone react when they see the following- Tess Nichols: The hotter sister of Jane Nichols(Heigl). Seriously how does one cast someone hotter than Katherine Heigl? The answer is, you don't. You tone down Heigl's hotness with browner hair and less flattering clothes and hire Malin Ackerman, the new and improved(younger and less obnoxious) Cameron Diaz. And in doing so you create like the hottest sister pair ever. Now that entire thing is not important in the grand scale of 27 dresses, but it was something that struck me during watching it.

Jane loves weddings. She loves them so much she is a bridesmaid for 2 weddings on the same night. She hires a cab driver for the night and changes in the car, going back and forth between weddings. At the end of the night she meets the ridiculously handsome and charming Kevin Doyle(James Marsden). She leaves her planner in the cab and Doyle finds it seeing a story. See, Doyle is a writer for a fictional New York paper that places a premium on wedding stories. At work, Jane is in love with her boss, George(Ed Burns), but George loves her as an employee and friend. (Yes, you have to believe that Katherine Heigl could not get any man ever.) She has a slutty, always horny best friend (Judy Greer, the queen of slutty and horny best friends) who believes she needs to make her move or get over it. Her sister, Tess (Ackerman) breezes into town and is quickly engaged to George. Jane says it is all okay, but is bubbling with anger underneath. The wedding is 3 weeks away and Jane is now planning the wedding of her sister and the man of her dreams. Re-enter Kevin. After weeks of dismissing Kevin's come-ons Jane finally accepts. Singing on the top of a bar ensues and the story gets complicated as Jane decides to stand up for herself and as she realizes she is the object of a story by Kevin, but this is a romantic comedy, after all.

As far as romantic comedies go, I would put 27 Dresses in the second tier. It is not memorable or original enough to be mentioned with When Harry met Sally or My Best Friend's Wedding, but it is better than 80% of the bad romantic comedies that get released every year. It runs about 15 minutes too long and the typical romantic comedy awkward turning point is probably meaner in this movie than the norm, but that actually works in its favor. All jokes about Heigl's disgustingly gorgeous looks aside, she proves a very capable romantic comedy actress. She handles the bubbling beneath the surface anger well and it is easy to see why a guy would fall in love with her. She is peppy and has a very winning charm in her line delivery. She has good comedic timing to deliver lines like "I feel like I just found out my favorite love song was written about a sandwich." However, she can be taken serious enough to deliver this blow "That was yesterday. Today you're just the bitch who broke my heart and cut up my mother's wedding dress." Heigl has serious star potential, but needs to remember that romantic comedy actresses tend to have relatively short shelf lives.

The story is basic yes, but the dialog is actually pretty strong, in my opinion. There are enough funny lines and good banter to help compensate for the fact that the story could have been solved if the characters had just sat down and talked to each other. Marsden is effortless in his character because well, he oozes likability. Plus, he actually gets the girl here. As Jane's hotter sister, Malin Ackerman reminded me of Cameron Diaz from My Best Friend's Wedding, until the end. Up until she commits an unforgivable sin, she is a very likable other girl. She is not terribly annoying and she is not a shrew. She is also super hot with blonde hair that practically jumps off of the screen. If I seem to be focusing almost exclusively on performances it is because I am. I found that the performances helped raise this movie higher. I found myself actually invested in Jane's plight, even though I knew how it would end. In a romantic comedy, that is all you can ask for.

27 Dresses doesn't break any barriers, but it satisfies and entertains which is what it was hoping to do. It has swoon worthy moments for the girls as Kevin confesses he weeps like a girl at gorgeous weddings and it has Katherine Heigl for the guys. It is kind of a win-win. Once you get passed the absolutely atrocious contrived opening sequences, 27 Dresses settles in and fits like your favorite well worn sweatshirt- you know what you are getting but it still makes you feel warm inside.

Final Grade: B-