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''Love is patient, love is kind, love is slowly going out of your mind''
After serving as a bridesmaid 27 times, a young woman wrestles with the idea of standing by her sister's side as her sibling marries the man she's secretly in love with.
Katherine Heigl: Jane
27 Dresses sees Katherine Heigl plays Jane, a woman who just loves going to weddings, being a bridesmaid for her friends and in most instances being the person to go to when it comes to making wedding arrangements. We find out quickly that Jane's fascination and penchant 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.
27 Dresses presents many dilemmas and interesting scenarios, not to mention burning questions that need answering like 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 Katherine 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 bad 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 defining aspect to 27 Dresses is that most romantic comedies are on a predictable wave length. They are only successful when they have a good but novel strain of topic to make topic interesting and when the script has enough witty dialogue and is able to touch your heart it makes it worth our while. (Got to watch that Bar Scene again, Benny and the jets) 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 doses to another fine performance by Katherine Heigl, 27 dresses certainly succeeds and shines.
8/10
