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.
Despite the ugly gowns, Katherine Heigl's a sight to see in 27 Dresses.
However lame and frustrating the screenplay - it is both - and however industrial the directing - very - 27 Dresses is not helplessly unappealing,
Expect Heigl to vie with Reese Witherspoon and Kate Hudson for the plumb Everywoman roles.
If 27 Dresses were part of a wedding reception, it wouldn't be the bouquet toss, but it wouldn't be the Chicken Dance, either. It's more like the cake: mass-produced, maybe a little too sweet but enjoyable all the same.
27 Dresses is so chock full of romantic-comedy clichés, it almost plays like a parody.
I have seen the future, and it looks like TBS. Maybe TNT. I predict a happy union between 27 Dresses and cable TV, forever rerunning with commercial breaks tailor-made for laundry-loading and sandwich-making.
Made 10 years ago, it probably would have starred a vacationing cast member from Friends.
Predictable but utterly engaging, 27 Dresses will likely be remembered as the film that made Katherine Heigl an A-list star.
The humour's lively and just irreverent enough to make you laugh without offending your mum.
There's a decent movie in here somewhere. But the director and screenwriter have made a ditsy single-chick movie with the alluring geometry of a screwball comedy.
The dialogue is sharp, with just enough of an edge to avoid sentimentality.
If you can appreciate how they packed every romantic comedy cliché into one story, and did it with a full commitment of sincerity, that's how you should appreciate 27 Dresses.
Watching "27 Dresses" is like going to a wedding that's kind of lame -- the chicken marsala is stringy, the DJ only knows show tunes, and the best man's toast almost triggers an annulment -- but you end up having a decent time anyway.
A palatable, frothy chick-flick confection with just enough fire in its belly to hold the attention and a star turn by Katherine Heigl, at heart this is as pleasantly vacuous as they come: 27 dresses and nothing going on.
Eventually the contrivances win out, but the cast keeps it all watchable.
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