Cast: Katherine Heigl, James Marsden, Edward Burns and Marin Akerman
Directed by Anne Fletcher
Studio 20th Century Fox
Release date: Jan 18,2008
Release date: Jan 18,2008
27 Dresses is not just another chic flick but one of the few successful ones. It is a romantic comedy that instantly catapults Katherine Heigl into the big league. If last year she had to share the honours of Knocked Up with her co stars and the Appatow clan, this year she already proves that she has what it takes by being the USP for this movie to stay strong all this while.
How else can you justify the way this Heigl centric film has performed at the box office despite having all the cliches intact. Trust me, had it been anyone else, things would have turned out a lot different from the present state of affairs.
Jane Nichols (Heigl) loves taking care of people and being there for them. That explains why she has been spending her weekends playing bridesmaid to several ladies, and later saving the dresses all up in her closet. But that is not what she actually does. Her real job is that of an assistant to Geroge (Edward Burns), a crush that she has been carryin on for too long.
And we know it has gone far too long when Jane's sister Tess (Akerman) lands up in town. She immediately hits it off with George and before you know it, they are planning to settle down. And once again Jane being the good girl that she is, plays the perfect secretary to her boss and the perfect sister to Tess.
And we know it has gone far too long when Jane's sister Tess (Akerman) lands up in town. She immediately hits it off with George and before you know it, they are planning to settle down. And once again Jane being the good girl that she is, plays the perfect secretary to her boss and the perfect sister to Tess.
And amidst all this is a writer trying to move into the front pages Kevin (James Marsden) who bumps into Jane but gets off on the wrong foot.
So basically Jane is the kind of damsel in distress, leaving her life for other people and it takes a guy like Kevin to come along and show her that.
Despite all the films shortcomings (that I will be getting into), the film did still have me hooked and that too for a reason. And the sole reason, or rather the two reasons for that is the lead pair. Katherine Heigl already bowled viewers over with Knocked Up. But here the spotlight is more on just her, and she does full justice by bringing that grace and infectious charm to the character, that you start rooting for her. The other reason ofcourse is James Marsden who is soon filling up the shoes of Hugh Grant as far as these romantic flicks go. Much like Enchanted, Marsden holds your attention despite the fact that his role is one of the badly written one. There seems to be nothing great about this guy and we are left wondering...why again was him the right guy?
It is not only him that suffers from bad writing. The other man - the boss played by Edward Burns is also all wrong. We never know the reasons why Jane (Heigl) is madly in love with the character of Burns because from our eyes there is 'zero' redeeming factors.
As for the sister played by Malin Ackerman, this is the second time she fails to impress me. It is not like she is the Cameron Diaz to My Best Friends Wedding....here too (much like The Heartbreak Kid), she just ends up a disappointment (atleast on the acting front, not the other front).
Even the wit is completely missing from the writing. Surprising when you realise that it has been written by Aline who had also written The Devil Wears Prada. Here Aline has to take most of the blame for the mess...badly written male characters, lack of comedy and wit, and for stuffing the film with the cliches moments that we expect from such rom coms. The bar singing sequence is one such. Or for that matters the public declaration of love followed by thunderous applause.
As for the sister played by Malin Ackerman, this is the second time she fails to impress me. It is not like she is the Cameron Diaz to My Best Friends Wedding....here too (much like The Heartbreak Kid), she just ends up a disappointment (atleast on the acting front, not the other front).
Even the wit is completely missing from the writing. Surprising when you realise that it has been written by Aline who had also written The Devil Wears Prada. Here Aline has to take most of the blame for the mess...badly written male characters, lack of comedy and wit, and for stuffing the film with the cliches moments that we expect from such rom coms. The bar singing sequence is one such. Or for that matters the public declaration of love followed by thunderous applause.
Then again despite all these glaring flaws, this still remains one of those few romantic flicks where the leading lady had me captivated for most of the running time. It was nice to watch Jane struggle with her demons as she watches her sister take off with her boss. Equally interesting were her chit chat with her collegue who knows her inside out. But those moments were few and dies out pretty midway itself. Then it is just a question of how to wrap things up.
There is no doubt that director Anne Fletcher have not tried anything innovative and have dealt the cards the same way it has been done for quite some time now. But the lead actors save the day. And appeasing leads in a rom com is a rarity off late, so enjoy it while they have it on display!
MoviemagiK rates it a 3 outta 5
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