Movie Review: 27 Dresses (2008)


The staple of any good romantic comedy is the chemistry between the leading lady and leading man. This is highlighted by most movies starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan (Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail) and 90% of the films starring Matthew McConaughey or Hugh Grant (mostly because these guys can have instant chemistry with a tin can). When a connection is missing, no matter how good or bad the underlying premise is, the movie undeniably suffers. Case in point: movies like Maid in Manhattan, Gigli (notice the Jennifer Lopez theme) and now 27 Dresses.

Coming off of her 2007 summer hit Knocked Up, Katherine Heigl plays Jane, a lovely girl seemingly doomed to always play the bridesmaid and never the bride. The reasoning? She’s a pushover – she can’t speak up for herself to get what she wants or say no to any request, no matter how inane it may be. It all comes to head for her when her younger sister Tess (Malin Akerman) flies into town and within several hours of her landing, manages to hook up with the man Jane has been pining after for years – her boss George (Edward Burns). To complete her circle of agony, Aline Brosh McKenna wrote in Kevin (James Marsden), a belligerent wedding columnist who verbally pokes and prods Jane to no end for what seems like an eternity.

And for that eternity that is 27 Dresses, I couldn’t help but wonder “how in God’s name did this get green lighted?” There is nothing romantic or funny about this movie. Kevin may be the worst romantic lead this millennium (okay, that’s a long time, so maybe a century is a better timeframe). Not only is his reason for being in the movie a complete afterthought (they literally wrote the movie and realized the romantic interest was missing) but his personality is as unlikable as that of the alien in Alien! Even if the character was written to be the smug douche-bag that he turns out to be, Anne Fletcher could have directed Marsden to at least try and make him more palatable (he did a fine job of it in Enchanted, so I’m sure he could have done it here). This guy has zero redeeming qualities and it is incredulous that a wonderful piece of ass like Jane could or would fall for him. And while I’m ranting about redeeming qualities, there doesn’t seem to be any in the bunch. Tess is, for the lack of a better word, a pig. George, who we are told is such a great guy, comes across like a stick in the mud.

The lone bright spot, other than Heigl’s great figure, is Judy Greer. She plays Casey, Jane’s irreverent best friend. Every scene she is in, she steals with her quick wit and off-the-wall demeanor (which unfortunately isn’t saying much since everything is so bad). Without her shouldering some of the load, 27 Dresses may have been the first movie I ever walked out on. I should also note, that while it has been hundreds of times before, I still get a kick out of watching sing-alongs, especially when they’re done to a fun song in an unassuming manner. It’s done here to one of Elton John’s better songs, “Bennie and the Jets” and it may very well be the only moment I was snapped out of my catatonic state.

Do I need to say more? I should hope not. But in case I do, I’ll end my review like this: You’re better off downing 27 shots of tequila than watching 27 Dresses. That’s right boys and girls, you’ll have a better time getting alcohol poisoning and having your stomach pumped. Now where is that damn bottle . . .

Critical Movie Critic Rating:
1 Star Rating: Stay Away

1

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The Critical Movie Critics

I'm an old, miserable fart set in his ways. Some of the things that bring a smile to my face are (in no particular order): Teenage back acne, the rain on my face, long walks on the beach and redneck women named Francis. Oh yeah, I like to watch and criticize movies.


'Movie Review: 27 Dresses (2008)' have 10 comments

  1. The Critical Movie Critics

    January 21, 2008 @ 10:40 pm Korey

    You don’t pull any punches do ya? How do you really feel about this? :)

  2. The Critical Movie Critics

    January 25, 2008 @ 6:05 pm Michael

    My girlfriend dragged me to this and I have to say I agree with this review 150%. It was fuckin horrid.

  3. The Critical Movie Critics

    January 27, 2008 @ 6:05 am Kel

    Well that was definitely brutally honest.

    I was absolutely dying to see this movie but by the sounds of it you have just saved me $9!

  4. The Critical Movie Critics

    January 27, 2008 @ 5:43 pm General Disdain

    How do you really feel about this?

    It’s really one of my all-time faves!

    My girlfriend dragged me to this…

    She owes you. Big time.

    I was absolutely dying to see this movie but by the sounds of it you have just saved me $9!

    Saved your sanity too!

  5. The Critical Movie Critics

    January 28, 2008 @ 12:48 am Topper

    That was definitely brutally honest.

    And also a good informational movie..

  6. The Critical Movie Critics

    February 17, 2008 @ 5:19 pm Eva

    finally someone who i agree with!!this film was horrible! i wanted to get up and leave! i got bored within the first 15 minutes! i wouldn’t recommend it to anyone…my sister loved it on the other hand, but she is your typical girl with 20 pairs of shoes and obession with marriage….

  7. The Critical Movie Critics

    May 27, 2008 @ 2:37 am Ojay

    I’m gonna go against the grain and say I really liked this movie. I just saw it on dvd not too long ago, and my whole family enjoyed it.

    Yes, it was sappy and I really hated Marsden, but I guess I just really liked Heigl’s character. Oh well…

  8. The Critical Movie Critics

    March 28, 2010 @ 3:42 pm Mammaklær

    I “watched” it together with my GF, and although I apparently slept through the whole ordeal, my GF still thinks this was one of the best movies she’s seen until date actually… only beaten by Mamma Mia :)

  9. The Critical Movie Critics

    July 28, 2010 @ 8:49 am Stacie

    I really didn’t know what to make of this movie. I love weddings so I always make an effort to see any movies about weddings but this one was light and fluffy without having anything real to it. First of all, there was no chemistry between the leading characters, I was just not feeling it at all and secondly, I was not convinced by the range of ugly bridesmaid dresses this girl had to wear. As if that many brides would pick such hideous gowns!

  10. The Critical Movie Critics

    August 21, 2010 @ 5:31 pm Barneklær

    I think every women in a sense like watching movies like these – certainly my does, and just seeing another woman walk in a wedding gown makes the tears roll ragged :) It’s quite amazing really :)

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