27 Dresses (2008)

Director:

Anne Fletcher

Writer (WGA):

Aline Brosh McKenna (written by)

Release Date:

18 January 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

This January, always a bridesmaid, never a bride.

Plot:

After serving as a bridesmaid 27 times, a young woman wrestles with the idea of standing by her sister's side as her sibling marries the man she's secretly in love with.

Plot Keywords:

Love | Wedding | Bridesmaid | Friend | Boss

Awards:

4 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Brian Kerwin	...	Hal
Charli Barcena	...	Young Tess
Peyton List	...	Young Jane (as Peyton Roi List)
Jane Pfitsch	...	Cousin Lisa
Katherine Heigl	...	Jane
Jennifer Lim	...	Bridal Salesgirl #1
Brigitte Bourdeau	...	Salesgirl Olga
Judy Greer	...	Casey
Danielle Skraastad	...	Bride Suzanne
Marilyn L. Costello	...	Bride Suzanne's Minister
James Marsden	...	Kevin
Michael Ziegfeld	...	Taxi Driver Khaleel
Yetta Gottesman	...	Hip Bridesmaid
Erin Fogel	...	Shari Rabinowitz
Bern Cohen	...	Rabbi

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for language, some innuendo and sexuality.

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #43961) | Singapore:NC-16 | Australia:PG | Hong Kong:IIA | Singapore:PG (edited for re-rating) | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Ireland:12A | Germany:o.Al. | South Korea:15 | Argentina:Atp | Netherlands:6 | Malaysia:U | Taiwan:PG-12 | Sweden:Btl | New Zealand:PG (original rating) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | France:U | Finland:K-3 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | UK:12 (DVD rating) | Brazil:10

Filming Locations:

Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Fox 2000 Pictures

Trivia:

The wardrobe department reported that their initial designs for the dresses all looked too good on Katherine Heigl because of her figure, and they were hard-pressed to design bridesmaids dresses that would look bad on her.

Goofs:

Factual errors: During the rehearsal dinner slide show a picture is shown of George at a graduation. The regalia is a mix of undergraduate (the flat mortar board) and post graduate (the bars on the bell sleeves of the gown).

Quotes:

Tess: How could you let this happen to me?
[begins reading from newspaper article]
Tess: "If Jane is the prototypical accommodating bridesmaid, then her sister Tess is cast as the overbearing, overindulged bride-to-be who at any moment might start stomping around Manhattan, breathing fire, and swatting planes from the sky."
Jane: I had no idea he was writing an article about me.
Tess: You? He called me Bridezilla! In the New York freaking Journal! I could tear him apart limb from limb!

Movie Connections:

References Gone with the Wind (1939)

Soundtrack:

Clarinet Concerto 2nd Movement

A Bridesmaid's Tale

Romantic comedies are almost always predictable and follow similar story lines. I wasn't very keen on watching '27 Dresses'. Let's just say it's not my kind of film. But it turned out to be not too bad. While it does not exactly rank among the best of its genre, it has its own charm and that's one of the few things that make a romantic comedy likable. While the story isn't new, McKeena's writing offers some new devices and the dialogues are quite funny. Fletcher's storytelling is quite impressive too as he introduces the characters and then lets the events unfold. The layered characters Jane and Kevin are very real. I also like it when the leads are played by good actors who have hardly attempted to do films romantic comedies in the past and they manage to pull it off. Heigl and Marsden have the required chemistry. Both actors do a fine job. Katherine Heigl brings out the depth of her character with ease, while James Marsden is funny without going over-the-top. The sizzling Malin Akerman does well as the obnoxious Tess. Edward Burns's role doesn't require much but he's okay. Judy Greer is brilliant and she owns all her scenes. So what makes '27 Dresses' watchable is the chemistry between the actors, the funny lines, the presentation of the story, a nice soundtrack and its unique charm and sense of humour and the fact that it didn't bore me.