27 Bodas

Romantic comedies are almost always predictable and follow similar story lines. I wasn't very keen on watching '27 Dresses'. Let's just say it's not my kind of film. But it turned out to be not too bad. While it does not exactly rank among the best of its genre, it has its own charm and that's one of the few things that make a romantic comedy likable. While the story isn't new, McKeena's writing offers some new devices and the dialogues are quite funny. Fletcher's storytelling is quite impressive too as he introduces the characters and then lets the events unfold. The layered characters Jane and Kevin are very real. I also like it when the leads are played by good actors who have hardly attempted to do films romantic comedies in the past and they manage to pull it off. Heigl and Marsden have the required chemistry. Both actors do a fine job. Katherine Heigl brings out the depth of her character with ease, while James Marsden is funny without going over-the-top. The sizzling Malin Akerman does well as the obnoxious Tess. Edward Burns's role doesn't require much but he's okay. Judy Greer is brilliant and she owns all her scenes. So what makes '27 Dresses' watchable is the chemistry between the actors, the funny lines, the presentation of the story, a nice soundtrack and its unique charm and sense of humour and the fact that it didn't bore me.

Greetings again from the darkness. Exactly as you might expect ... a chick flick with one layer. No problem with a movie that doesn't try to be something it's not. Director Anne Fletcher seems to be the straight-forward type and she is making a good living with it. Doesn't hurt when your simple, predictable lines are played out by Katherine Heigl, Edward Burns, James Marsden and the underrated Judy Greer.

Heigl ("Knocked Up", "Grey's Anatomy") is nice to look at and has excellent comedic timing and a strong screen presence. Hopefully she doesn't settle for just straight up comedy as I would like to see her tackle some serious material in the next year or two (see Scarlett Johansson, Charlize Theron, Naomi Watts). Marsden is certainly an up and comer ("Hairspray") who has the looks to go with his talent. Judy Greer seems to have taken over the Joan Cusack roles of playing second fiddle and then stealing every scene. Over the top a couple of times here, but her scene with Heigl after the slide show is top shelf stuff.

Basic premise is pretty funny but there are no twists and turns. Still for the chick flick formula, it is passable thanks to the strong cast. Biggest problem is the casting of Malin Akerman as the "pretty" sister. That's Hollywood's notion ... Heigl gets the nod any day in the real world.

For many the plot of this movie feels formulaic and revisited. Jane (Katherine Heigl) is the people-pleaser of the century. A somewhat spineless nice girl who can't say no to anyone, she has been a bridesmaid 27 times, often exceeding her duties in every wedding. For all her romantic yearnings, she can't seem to hook her boss, George (Ed Burns) whom she has been in love with for years. When her self-centered little sister Tess (Malin Akerman) comes in and manages to snag George, Jane once again capitulates to everyone's needs but her own. In comes Kevin (James Marsden), a newspaper columnist stuck covering weddings who yearns to break out and write about more important things. Under the pretense of covering George and Tess's wedding, he really is writing about Jane and her perpetual bridesmaid stints. Complications ensue etc. etc.

For me, what really made this movie was the performances. Katherine Heigl did an absolutely fantastic job playing the woman that I'm sure everyone has felt like at one time. She brought a lot of spice to what could have been a one-note role. James Marsden is also pitch-perfect as the cynical reporter, a foil to Jane. It helps that they have good fight-and-kiss chemistry.

Also, for me the story line was not as tired and recycled as people made it out to be. It had some fresh spin and I really enjoyed it. I also preferred the ending to this movie to many chick-flick comedies which leave things open-ended and almost unrealistic. 27 Dresses wraps up all the plot lines in one neat sequence that is a truly worthy finale.

All in all, as far as romances and rom-coms go, this one shot to the top of my list.

I watch Grey's Anatomy every week so I guess I'm a bit of a Katherine Hiegel fan. I liked her in Knocked Up and she's decent in this film. In fact the whole cast is quite good. I just felt like I had seen this film before somewhere (or parts of it in different films). I guess I watched it because I'm getting married soon so I wanted to see the dresses in the film (and there are some amazing ones and some interesting ones for those who care about dresses). The audience didn't seem to laugh as much as I thought they would. This is not the same kind of film as Knocked Up and maybe people were expecting that. Otherwise, its a decent Tuesday-night date movie.

Jane (Katherine Heigl) has always been good at taking care of others, but not so much in looking after herself. Her entire life has been about making people happy -- and she has a closet full of 27 bridesmaid dresses to prove it. One memorable evening, Jane manages to shuttle between wedding receptions in Manhattan and Brooklyn, a feat witnessed by Kevin (James Marsden), a newspaper reporter who realizes that a story about this wedding junkie is his ticket off the newspaper's bridal beat.

Jane finds Kevin's cynicism counter to everything she holds dear -- namely weddings, and the two lock horns. Further complicating Jane's once perfectly-ordered life is the arrival of younger sister Tess (Malin Akerman). Tess immediately captures the heart of Jane's boss, George (Edward Burns). Tess enlists her always-accommodating sister to plan yet another wedding -- Tess and George's -- but Jane's feelings for him lead to shocking revelations... and maybe the beginning of a new life. Very dry but still good. 27 Dresses 5/10