Manages to cover every wedding film cliche in the canon, and does so without yielding any genuine laughs
27 Dresses (2008)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:142
Fresh:57
Rotten:85
Average Rating:5/10
Consensus: The filmmakers perfectly follow the well-worn romantic comedy formula, rendering 27 Dresses clichéd and mostly forgettable.
Australian Rating: PG [See Full Rating] Mild sexual references and coarse language
Runtime: 1 hr 47 mins
Genre: Comedies
Australian Theatrical Release:
Jan 10, 2008 Wide
US Box Office: $76,624,274
Synopsis: KNOCKED UP's Katherine Heigl stars in this romantic comedy about a selfless young woman who is trapped in the role of perennial bridesmaid. Set in New York City, the film opens with Jane (Heigl)... KNOCKED UP's Katherine Heigl stars in this romantic comedy about a selfless young woman who is trapped in the role of perennial bridesmaid. Set in New York City, the film opens with Jane (Heigl) racing by cab to appear in two friends' weddings in the same night. She is the maid of honor for both fetes, and she rushes back and forth in time to shimmy to both electric slides. She meets Malcolm (James Marsden), a cynical young man who, unbeknownst to her, writes for a newspaper's wedding column. Malcolm is intrigued by the sheer number of times Jane has played bridesmaid, and he secretly decides to write a story about her. To further complicate Jane's life, her younger sister Tess (Malin Akerman) has just come to town and ensnared Jane's longtime crush, George (Edward Burns). When George and Tess become engaged, Jane faces the humiliating prospect of playing bridesmaid in the wedding of her sister and the man she loves. Meanwhile, Malcolm continues hounding Jane, and Jane's life and closet soon explode in a taffeta-tangled mess that forces her to make some big changes. Heigl is a pleasure to watch, as she has the kind of crowd-pleasing, no-nonsense presence that could ground any film, so 27 DRESSES greatly benefits from her comedic skill and charm. While the film features all of the hallmarks of chick flick fare (wacky best friend, dress-up sequence, obnoxious but strangely attractive love interest) the story often veers into territory that may leave some feeling it stretches even the romantic comedy standards for suspension of disbelief. Heigl deserves comparisons to Julia Roberts for her sheer likability, and like PRETTY WOMAN, women will likely watch 27 DRESSES as a pleasant diversion--aware of the fantasy, but still delighted by the attractive lady in the different outfits. [More]
Starring: Katherine Heigl, James Marsden, Malin Akerman, Edward Burns
Starring: Katherine Heigl, James Marsden, Malin Akerman, Edward Burns, Melora Hardin, Judy Greer
Director: Anne Fletcher
Director: Anne Fletcher
Screenwriter: Aline Brosh McKenna
Producer: Roger Birnbaum, Gary Barber, Jonathan Glickman
Composer: Randy Edelman
Studio: Fox 2000 Pictures
Reviews for 27 Dresses
Thanks to Katherine Heigl, this formulaic and saccharine sweet romantic comedy is more palatable than its predictable script and cardboard characters suggest. But I am disappointed in the film, which starts with a flourish, but fizzles into mediocrity.
27 Dresses makes the point that modern American weddings are all pretty much alike. The same could be said about modern American romantic comedies.
Writer Aline Brosh McKenna's latest effort instructs women to be doormats for men who treat them like crap, because heaven forbid they wind up never getting married.
The clichés, like the dresses, sashay in and out of this predictable if nicely fluffy chick-flick composite, which manages to crank out a few decent laughs when it isn't wasting time on a pair of deadly supporting characters.
Another insult written and directed by women who deserve to be strung up by bridal veils
A romantic comedy that -- despite her [Star Katherine Heigl] undeniable, apple-cheeked appeal -- sags like a day-old bouquet.
27 Dresses is cinema for the simple-minded. Everything is spelled out for the audience in capital block letters.
Well cast, slickly produced and performed with enough spirit to somewhat counterbalance its frequently stupendous lack of originality and plausibility. Still not quite good enough, though...
A skin-crawlingly ineffective glop of a romantic comedy...makes Love Boat look like a David Mamet production.
With a number of other stars in the lead role, 27 Dresses would have been unbearable. It's a testament to Heigl's ability that's only not-so-good.
A flick that's the equivalent of a bridesmaid dress: colorful, fluffy, and ultimately stored away, forgotten.
Katherine Heigl impresses and James Marsden is predictably dreamy in this always a bridesmaid never a you-know-what, been there, done that cliché-ridden formulaic rom-com.
27 Dresses dutifully privileges its formulaic plot over its stick-figure characters, slapping a happy ending on a setup that, say, Happiness director Todd Solondz could have gone to town on.
No self-respecting screenwriter would put a Hugh Grant character through what Heigl's endures here. I don't blame McKenna: I blame a studio system that figures if it worked for Julia Roberts, it will work for Heigl.
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