27 volte in bianco

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.

Out of a good conscious, I cannot give this movie anything higher than a 6, although, sometimes I think it deserves even less. This movie followed the conventional script by EVERY step. Basic plot: single white female, hardly/never been a real relationship, finds the right guy under the wrong circumstances. These romcoms are particularly set in New York City(like 27 Dresses) or in a country town.

At this point, I could pretty much give you detail to detail without checking the spoiler marker and I doubt anyone would be upset at me. You don't need to watch this at all to know the beginning, middle, and end of the movie.

The beginning contrives of the childhood moment, followed by character introductions. It has the I'm-better-than-you younger sibling, the supportive parent(s), and the complete opposite best friend(played by Judy Greer, once again).

The middle consist of the turning point where the main character begins to fall for the leading male role(to my surprise, James Marsden played the lead and not the "other man" this time around) but completely denies it until the ending of the middle, which is usually followed by the embarrassing climax of the movie... that follows with a melancholic montage.

The ending... *sigh* the most predictable of them all. The leading female comes to the realization of her mistakes and through some usually comedic last-minute scenarios, she apologizes and get her man.

We saw this over and over. I'm seriously not one to complain about predictable movies. I can watch the cliché romcom and still enjoy them... if they are enjoyable. This was, in fact, enjoyable. I laughed, I smiled, I frowned, and then I said "awwww!" as the credits were rolling, in that exact order. It was nothing new.

Bottom Line: If you like the cliché, then you'll LOVE this movie.

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.

This film is about a woman who is madly in love with her boss, and wants to get married. She has attended 27 weddings, but sadly none of which her own.

"27 Dresses" is more pleasant than I thought it would be. I was worried that I would have to see 27 weddings in the film, but fortunately I did not. Normally, in a romantic comedy it does not require much acting, but Katherine Heigl manages to put in good acting to portray her jealousy towards her sister. Katherine Heigl is sweet and adorable, and she has a quality that makes the viewers connect to her.

Though the romance subplot is predictable, it story is saved by the rivalry and jealousy between sisters. This subplot is told in a tabloid way, which is fun and entertaining. The ending, which features a lot of dresses, is sweet and symbolically complete. "27 Dresses" provides adequate brain off entertainment for the family.

A girl is the bridesmaid everyone dreams of. Punctual, helping in any way she can, refuses to say no no matter how impossible the task at hand, etcetera. The same girl is also single, unable to bind to anyone as she keeps putting her self aside to be able to aid others. But a change of things is in the wind.

27 dresses starts by quickly explaining its main characters by cycling through some scenery that works well for such purpose. Since none of the characters are very difficult (if at all) it doesn't take long and actually takes just long enough. It then continues with the rest of the story and that is where things go wrong. It's a very typical tale and been seen far too often in films already. And although this can still work out in some occasions it can only do so when it brings it with a certain flair and strong dialog. And that's where this one fails - it brings a standard story with a next to standard grace and that just isn't good enough any more.

It does show potential in some parts of the film and I am sure that if it had held on to the pace and dialog in those parts that it would have become one of the best films of the year so far, but now, it's a thirteen in a dozen that is best watched on DVD during the more boring parts of the day.

5 out of 10 wedding dresses smudged with bleakness