On Screen
27 Dresses
BY Philip Brown January 16, 2008 14:01
As a romantic comedy that fulfills all the fairy tale expectations, 27 Dresses holds no surprises. But the movie will undoubtedly satisfy the Harlequin crowd, even if it’s a drab bore for everyone else.
Katherine Heigl stars as Jane, a woman who has planned weddings for all of her friends, but never her own ceremony. Things get complicated when Jane has to organize her sister’s wedding to a man she’s also in love with (Ed Burns), and simultaneously deal with a combative journalist (James Marsden) who seems so wrong for her that he just might be right. Any idea who she’ll end up with?
The actors do what they can with the roles, but are suffocated by the bland script. Heigl was an effective straight woman in Knocked Up, but struggles here when asked to do comedy herself. Marsden, who managed to create a boring superhero in the X-Men movies, draws yawns as the stereotypical “quirky guy,” while Ed Burns sleepwalks his way through a thankless “dream guy” role.
Viewed on its own terms, 27 Dresses is simply a bad movie: it’s dull when it should be funny and grating when it should be touching. But the romantic-comedy genre seems to thrive on this type of filmmaking. As long as a rom-com concludes with reaffirmation of the power of love, it’ll receive instant applause from the date-movie crowd. With Valentine’s Day approaching, 27 Dresses is sure to do business. But, in any other circumstance, the movie would be laughed off the screen.
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