27 Dresses: A Woman Making Everyone Happy but Herself
NEIRAD enilno edition
"27 Dresses" is the seamless comedy/romance chick-flick to see this Valentine’s Day. It stars New Canaan native Katherine Heigl. (Yes, Heigl is from enemy territory!) She plays Jane, a well-organized career woman, who willingly plans and attends her friends’ 27 weddings as a dependently accommodating bridesmaid. That means she owns 27 often hideous bridesmaid dresses. But Jane overextends herself for one wedding where she has agreed to serve in the bridal party for two weddings on the same night. Heigl finds herself taxiing back and forth between the two weddings frantically changing dresses in the same cab.
As the ideal executive assistant, she is able to discern exactly what her boss, George (Edward Burns), wants before he even asks. Jane, unfortunately treated like a maid at her own job, is in love with George and modestly wishes that he will one day return her feelings. But this is a movie – so we quickly learn unrequited love is once again in store for this habitual bridesmaid. The plot thickens when Jane’s younger sister Tess (Malin Akerman), comes for an extended visit to stay with Jane at her apartment: Jane now has competition from little sis.
Then one day Jane finds an anonymous bouquet of flowers on her desk. Assuming they are from George, Jane finally finds the courage to talk to him at an office party, but when Tess shows up, George suddenly falls for Jane’s sister.
At that point, when viewers begin to sympathize with the vulnerable Jane, smooth-talking journalist Kevin (James Marsden), who covers glamorous weddings in the New York Journal, enters Jane’s hectic life. Kevin, who first briefly meets Jane at a wedding, interviews the nuptial-crazed woman, whom he seems fated to fall in love with one day.
But Jane’s life takes a turn for the worse, when Tess and George announce they are engaged, and Jane reluctantly plans her sister’s wedding. Kevin, who admits to sending the bouquet of flowers, becomes an inquisitive annoyance to Jane. Jane is then exposed to public humiliation when Kevin’s newspaper publishes his article about the “27-Time Bridesmaid” on the front page.
Ashamed of the publication, Kevin continues to pursue Jane despite her increased hatred of him. Meanwhile, Kevin, whose true identity falters throughout the movie, encourages Jane to become more selfish and less of a servant.
The downside is that "27 Dresses" tends to side with the success of Jane becoming egotistical and insensitive, especially towards her sister. Nonetheless, Heigl’s talent enables viewers to acutely feel the pain and joy Jane encounters as a 27-time bridesmaid. With the charming charisma of actor James Marsden, they both allow each scene to proceed without a dull moment. This movie is sure to be a Valentine’s Day tradition for many years to come.
