Movie Reviews
27 Dresses (12A)
Grey's Anatomy surgical resident Katherine Heigl continues her makeover into fully-fledged leading lady with 27 Dresses, a frothy romantic comedy penned by Aline Brosh McKenna, screenwriter of The Devil Wears Prada.
Anne Fletcher's film waltzes down the aisle of predictability as the resourceful heroine seeks to rewrite the assumption that she is always the bridesmaid and never the bride. Wedding bells peal loud and clear, but not before a great deal of soul-searching, self-sacrifice and a toe-curling best (wo)man speech that threatens to end in physical violence.
Personal assistant Jane (Heigl) has dedicated her life to caring for others, at the expense of her own happiness.
Secretly in love with her boss, advertising executive George (Burns), Jane invests every waking minute in planning the nuptials of friends and work colleagues, donning a different bridesmaid dress for each meticulously planned occasion.
When her model sister Tess (Akerman) sashays into town and bewitches George, Jane faces the possibility of losing the man of her dreams.
To rub salt into the wounds, Tess asks Jane to plan their wedding.
Complicating matters, cynical reporter Kevin (Marsden), who pens wedding announcements in the New York Journal, starts snooping around with the intention of writing a front-page spread about Jane.
He is stunned that she survives on the happiness of others.
"What about you? You don't have needs?" he wonders.
"No, I'm Jesus," quips Jane.
However, as the big day approaches, the lonely PA finds it increasingly difficult to hold her tongue.
27 Dresses relies heavily on Heigl to carry the film through its numerous flimsier moments and she rises to the occasion, compelling us to fall in love with her heartbroken singleton.
On-screen chemistry with Marsden smoulders, especially in a hysterical karaoke sequence when Jane and Kevin kindle a mutual attraction with an unforgettable, boozy rendition of Elton John's Benny And The Jets.
McKenna sketches Burns's groom-to-be without any discernible foibles and flaws so when Kevin has to mount a challenge for Jane's affections, he can only come across as even more impossibly perfect.
How two charming, handsome and eligible men can still be single in a city where women knock one another unconscious to catch a bride's bouquet is a mystery.
Comedy/Romance. Katherine Heigl, James Marsden, Malin Akerman, Edward Burns, Judy Greer, Brian Kerwin
2:54pm Thursday 27th March 2008
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