27 DRESSES

27 Dresses is a mild mannered, pleasant, but unexciting "romantic comedy."

"Romantic comedy" is in quotes because although the film fits squarely into that genre, it is not really all that romantic or funny. I counted three or four good jokes.

Judging by the commentaries on the DVD, the filmmakers (producers, director, writer, costumer, etc) were just a bit too self-satisfied with what they did. They should have pushed harder.

Katherine Heigl is very good as the lead. She has real star power. Unfortunately, the rest of the supporting cast all seem like understudies for more famous actors. Neither the men that play opposite her, nor the women that support or oppose her, have the gravitas and star power to feel like they should be in the same movie. That's partly because all the other parts are under-written.

One other problem with the story is that it is so very, very targeted at women. To make a really good film, it must either be so specific that it comes fully alive, or so ambitious that it challenges everyone. This film just seems to try to hit some basic elements of a woman's frustration with all the other (ie not her own) weddings she goes to.

The director, Anne Fletcher, has a distinguished resume as a choreographer, dancer and actress; I suspect she might well have used more of those elements in the film. All in all, the film is not unpleasant. It's just not very good.