It’s not easy for a romantic comedy to be unique. Every so often there emerges a film like “My Best Friend’s Wedding” or “The Break-Up” that challenges and explores the non- typical themes and situations of what is usually dubbed as a chick flick. The most recent film to emerge with non-typical aspirations is about the cynical nature of weddings and a peculiar main character’s quirky addiction. As it turns out, “27 Dresses” is not all it seemingly claims to be.
The story begins with Jane (Katherine Heigl), a delusional woman who feels he calling in life is to plan weddings, be in weddings, and do everything to make a wedding happen. Her obsession has absorbed her so much she has a closet full of 27 bridesmaid dresses, but not one white wedding dress. On the verge getting dress number 28, Jane faces the unbelievable task of planning her younger sister’s wedding. There’s one problem. Her sister is wrongly planning to marry the man Jane is secretly stricken by love for. In the meantime, a commitments writer for the New York Journal, played by James Marsden, has noticed Jane’s ridiculous habit, and emerges as this story’s charming dream guy.
Resting in Marsden’s character, the story had so much unexplored potential. With humorous cynical thinking towards weddings that conflict with Heigl’s, the film was set up to produce laughs on a refreshing relationship. Sadly, the film turned into a bickering fight between two sisters over a man that barely had a significance to the story. Inevitably, the film rested on character clich’eacute;s, that the simplified story was nowhere near strong enough to make stand out. It’s predictability became its absurdness, only by the hand of its underdeveloped relationships.
It isn’t always a terrible crutch to rely on character clich’eacute;s. Julia Roberts had arguably played the persona card one too many times, but has managed in a number of films to resonate a new importance each time. Katherine Heigl’s needy and hopeless character persona from “Grey’s Anatomy” can work, but it takes a strong script with a fresh idea to make it happen. “27 Dresses” had the potential, but it unraveled in the wrong direction.
One and a half stars out of four
