What was hoped to be the female version of “Wedding Crashers” with a little “My Best Friend’s Wedding” thrown in for good measure, actually boils down to a middling story about sibling rivalry. Starring Katherine Heigl in her follow-up to last summer’s hit “Knocked Up”, this film had a promising start with her character, Jane, rushing between two weddings on the same night.
As long as the film emphasized her semi-annual stint as someone’s maid of honor, the story floated along swimmingly, with good humor to be found in the inanities of wedding preparations and the inevitable unexpected problems that arise at the actual event. Where the film runs into problems is with the appearance of the unlikable younger sister and the exaggerated effect she has on the competency of Jane. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but there wasn’t enough time spent at actual weddings for a movie about a maid of honor.
Heigl is a moderately successful personal assistant to her good-looking boss, George (Edward Burns; “The Holiday“), and has a secret crush on him. She keeps herself busy in her personal life, as everyone’s best friend and go-to maid of honor. Her personal calendar which lists her multiple wedding obligations, falls into the hands of a reporter named Kevin (James Marsden; “Enchanted“), who covers the nuptial circuit. He decides to write a story on this woman who has 27 bridesmaid dresses, but doesn‘t tell her about it. Meanwhile, Jane’s younger, sexy sister Tess (Malin Akerman; “The Heartbreak Kid”) shows up in New York and catches the eye of George. A quickie dating relationship leads to a hasty engagement and a request by Tess for Jane to be her maid-of-honor and wedding planner. What should Jane do?
The real spark in the movie comes from the interactions between the cynical Kevin and the saintly Jane. He helps balance out her gushing over how wonderful weddings are with his own personal disdain for them. She begins the film as cheery and good-natured, if a little shy with taking chances in her own personal life. Heigl plays this sweet girl with the appropriate easy smile and warm personality. However, the appearance of Tess quashes the spark from Jane, as the younger sister overshadows her in almost every regard. Tess is beautiful but also vain, spoiled and thoughtless. When Jane refuses to stand up for herself, it becomes exceedingly frustrating and a dampener on the earlier light-hearted humor.
The object of both sister’s affection is also a bit of a dead weight. Burns plays George as almost a blank canvas, much too serious to be a realistic match with either woman. He manages none of Colin Firth’s subtle moments of humanity hidden under the guise of formality, as seen in “Bridget Jones’s Diary”, instead becoming a one note character. Thankfully, Marsden’s character is much more edgy, lending humor to otherwise dry sequences. His facial expressions can convey more than the dialogue he is given to work with, making for some genuinely funny moments.
As long as Marsden and Heigl share the screen, the film sparkles rather than fizzles. Their scenes are much too limited in the early stages of the movie. A re-focusing of the plot on Heigl and Marsden and on her role as always a bridesmaid would have made the film flow more smoothly. Instead, “27 Dresses” garners more frustration than laughs, as uninteresting supporting characters hijack an otherwise decent film.
Rated PG-13 for language, some innuendo and sexuality.
