It's a good time to be Katherine Heigl. The Emmy-winning statuesque actress has played the smack-worthy Izzie Stevens on "Grey's Anatomy" for four seasons and charmed moviegoers in Judd Apatow's crude crowd-pleaser "Knocked Up." She now continues her plight to be the next Julia Roberts with "27 Dresses," a film that shows why she should be the new reigning queen of the rom-com. She's a knockout without seeming snobby, playful without seeming phony. In short, hard to resist.
The same cannot be said, however, for the formulaic, cliché-ridden film itself, directed by Anne Fletcher ("Step Up") and written by Aline Brosh McKenna ("The Devil Wears Prada"). Quality romantic comedies are very hard to come by, and "27 Dresses" proves once again just how difficult it is to get it right. You can have a charismatic, attractive cast making googly eyes at each other while Amy Winehouse sings overhead, and it still won't necessarily be worth seeing.
"27 Dresses" is basically an ode to weddings, in all their overpriced, poofy-laced glory. It begins with Jane (Heigl) falling in love with them at the ripe age of 7, and sharing the same mindless fixation a couple decades later. While she is cabbing it from two different weddings in one evening, she meets Kevin (James Marsden), a cynical writer who is strangely drawn to the perennial bridesmaid. They have the typical back-and-forth banter where it's clear they should be heading down the aisle themselves, but no. She is too busy drooling over her perfect boss George (Edward Burns) and he is preoccupied writing a feature about her for the Sunday wedding section of the New York Journal.
Complicating matters is Jane's screwed-up younger sister Tess ("The Heartbreak Kid's" Malin Akerman), who crashes at her apartment indefinitely and starts dating none other than beacon-of-greatness George. Soon after, she's sporting a rock and they're preparing their vows. Now Jane is in a super-awkward position: Does she tell him how she feels after years of pathetic pining, or does she go ahead and help plan her sister's wedding to the man she adores? Better yet, does anyone care?
Didn't think so. "27 Dresses" is chock full of contrived scenarios that have plagued nearly every romantic comedy ever made (there is even the obligatory "I love you" speech in the middle of someone else's wedding). What keeps it mildly bearable is a quality performance by Heigl as the nice girl who can't say no and a leading man turn by Marsden, who, despite being ridiculously good looking, often plays the guy who loses the girl to another ridiculously good-looking guy. Life is hard.
There is way too much sitcom in "27 Dresses" and not enough moments resembling real life. A scene with Jane and Kevin drunkenly singing "Bennie and the Jets" in a middle-of-nowhere bar has a certain charm — until the next minute they're up on the counter with everyone singing and dancing and clapping in a "hey, we're in a movie" kind of way. The whole thing is drowning in these kinds of gaffes. If there's a blushing bride anywhere in "27 Dresses," it's clearly out of embarrassment.
