“27Dresses” follows a young woman who is always a bridesmaid, never a bride. Unfortunately, today’s over hyped romantic comedy is always a middling chick flick, never a hoot.
It also stretches credulity to the breaking point. Because “Grey’s Anatomy’s” statuesque blonde bombshell Katherine Heigl has been cast in her first dominant lead role here — after making a feature film splash in last year’s inspired ensemble comedy “Knocked Up” — playing a mousy milquetoast who can’t get herself to the altar.
That bit of forced Hollywood fraud is a common phenomenon: Impossibly gorgeous gals with promising futures as rom-com queens try to subvert their red carpet glamour to play the everywoman in order to create relatable and sympathetic screen personas for themselves. But if you can buy Heigl as a lonely-hearted girl-next-door, then you are probably of a mind (or lack thereof) to buy the contrivances of the script by “The Devil Wears Prada’s” Aline Brosh McKenna, as directed into a mere glossy diversion by Anne Fletcher.
Heigl is New York City career gal Jane Nichols, an incurable wedding obsessive and people-pleaser. She organizes and dons tacky bridesmaid gowns for her friends’ many matrimonial ceremonies in lieu of having her own. We know that Jane’s sister Tess (Malin Akerman) will overshadow her in her secret desire to land her rich handsome boss George (Edward Burns) as a husband, because Tess is at least one size smaller and four shades more blond than Jane. In movie-speak, thinner and blonder means hotter.
But Tess is a scheming, shallow, lying non-vegetarian and Jane is a bright, responsible, down-to-earth martyr. No character subtleties here. So, of course, justice will eventually prevail for Jane in the form of the cynical but totally adorable wedding reporter Kevin (James Marsden).
They meet cute. They fight cute. They kiss cute. Enough said.
As the dictates of the genre are dully checked off, the sometimes slow-moving proceedings are somewhat mitigated by Heigl’s easy charm as it relates to the appealing Marsden, who was able to prove his comic chops better as the entitled Prince in fall’s superior “Enchanted.”
The screenplay lacks belly laughs, so the clothes and other slick production values provide the entertainment scraps for an often undemanding young female target demographic. “27 Dresses” panders to that audience without apology and with too little regard.
‘27 Dresses’
**
» Starring: Katherine Heigl, James Marsden, Edward Burns
» Director: Anne Fletcher
» Rated PG-13 for language, some innuendo and sexuality
» Running time: 107 minutes
