Thanks for checking out our 27 Dresses Review. I had a chance to see this film on Saturday in a theatre packed full of couples and a gaggle of gals!
The General Idea
Plot Outline from IMDB: After serving as a bridesmaid 27 times, a young woman (Heigl) wrestles with the idea of standing by her sister’s side as her sibling marries the man she’s secretly in love with.
The Good
This film does have a few very funny one liners, I had laughter ripped out of me with some quality grade A zingers; sadly they were few and far between. James Marsden was great in his role and really made the most out of a character that could have been a total write off. The chemistry between Heigel and Marsden was great and the best parts of this film were when they were enjoying each others company. I was not a fan of Marsden in X-Men, but by X-Men 2 he had won me over – and now I would invite him to a BBQ.
The Bad
I really did not care for this story. In chick flicks usually you set it up with a “woe is me” intro, a “Yay my life has turned around” middle, a crisis introducing the third act followed closely by a “nope my life really is awesome, there was just a misunderstanding” ending. In 27 Dresses the formula is followed but we dredge in the “woe is me” zone forever. It gets unbelievable that Heigel hasn’t blown her head off in a Deli bathroom, when all we see is her bitch and pine.
Heigl wants to fuck her boss, doesn’t have the guts to approach him and then freaks out when her sister mows her grass. Her sister cannot be blamed however because she was unaware of Heigl’s love of the man. Show me a girl that doesn’t talk about her crush with her sister; and I will doubt her existence. Of course Heigl is the one chosen to plan their eventual wedding and she grumbles and struggles with this unfortunate situation to the point of nausea. Her sister (predictably) is a fake whore that doesn’t deserve the perfect boss and much time is spent watching her dupe the dude as she puts on a front to woo him.
Heigl is also needlessly rude to Marsden’s character for way too long, and continually pushes him away. The cat and mouse angle went on forever and got very annoying. By the time they do hook up, they hardly have 5 minutes of celebration before they encounter their first crisis.
I do not mind if a film is formulaic as long as it is an awesome story; and I can get behind it. This film fucks up the formula, is a bad story and by the end of the film the theatre was quiet. A good chick flick should have everyone whipped up to a point of frenzied celebration, this film had an ending that should have been a shoe in for cheering; but the journey was lacking and people didn’t seem to care.
Overall
If this film had Marsden and Heigl riffing off of one another in an Esso bathroom for 90 minutes – It would have been a better movie. The story was not enjoyable and this film will be a waste of time for most. I give this film a 5/10, Marsden and a few key jokes provided some entertainment, but the movie was hurting.