As you would expect from the writer of The Devil Wears Prada and the director of Step Up, 27 Dresses is a romantic comedy we’ve all seen before: within the first few minutes, you’ll recognize the formula and be able to predict most of the plot. The clichés are numerous—the unrequited love, the beautiful and bratty sister, the sharp-tongued best friend and the irksome acquaintance turned love interest. Original, this movie is not. But enjoyable? Surprisingly, yes.
Katherine Heigl plays Jane, the cute, shy, albeit somewhat dull girl-next-door, quietly working her nine to five in Manhattan. Jane’s only exceptional trait is that she has played a supporting role in 27 weddings (and has the dresses to prove it), yet longs to star in her own, preferably to her boss, George (an uninspired Edward Burns). To kick-start the plot, Jane’s blonde and bubbly sister Tess (Malin Akerman) suddenly returns home from Europe and snags George within minutes of meeting him. Before you can blink, they’re engaged, and poor, sweet Jane can do nothing but smile.
Enter cynical journalist Kevin, charmingly played by James Marsden. He offers to write an article on the wedding for his newspaper, but the story turns out to be about Jane and her dresses. The two grow closer as Kevin secretly gathers information for his big story, and they share a (journalistically dubious) drunken night together. But as any romantic-comedy fan knows, there are inevitable bumps along the way to “happily ever after.”
While the plot is fairly forgettable, Heigl, with her ever-changing facial expressions, is irresistible. And while Marsden is pleasing enough on his own, he really shines when in Heigl’s company. The two share enough on-screen chemistry to make viewers root for their happy ending, despite its painful predictability. Akerman is a riot as the frustratingly self-obsessed sister, and Jane’s best friend Casey (Judy Greer) is a welcome breath of sass.
While Dresses lacks the wit of Prada, it is a cute and mildly funny film, and it doesn’t lack for the requisite uplifting and heartbreaking moments that rom-com moviegoers have come to expect. The bottom line: 27 Dresses is a banal, amiably conventional chick flick—perfect for a thought-free night out with the girls.
