27 Dresses (2008)

Six and a half Monkeys

Due to my lack of IT savvy I have yet to have a Monkey image on here to represent my ratings, but in time it will come.

I also apologise for the slackness of the blogging. Due to day job rubbish  these days I stagger home reaching for the Pinot Noir and my remote. Needless to say it's a bit stressful serving you public near the end of the financial year.

I do have an obligation to my few (very few) readers. So I'll stop whining like a small girl who has lost her lolly and present you with this weeks review.

In anticipation of 27 Dresses I had only one preconception, and that was that it had Katherine Hegl in it.

yum

But what else does it have for the potential viewer? Lets find out.

Here is the  synopsis:

Jane (Katherine Heigl) is obsessed with three things; weddings, wedding reviews in the local paper and her boss George (Edward Burns).  Jane loves nothing more than to be helping make the big day happen for her friends, relatives, work associates or randoms she may have met on a bus. When Jane is not organising a particular wedding she obsesses over the wedding column in the style pages of the local paper.  And when she is not obsessing over weddings or reviews of weddings she is swooning over her boss George, but typically George is oblivious to Jane's devotion.  Jane's complicated and dysfunctional world is turned upside down when her sister (Malin Åkerman),  a successful fashion model, sweeps George of his feet at a party.  Enter Kevin (James Marsden) a young writer who writes the same wedding column Jane reads each week. Kevin yearns for a real story to make his mark as a serious journalist, and when he meets Jane and discovers her obsession with weddings and also that she has been a bridesmaid 27 times, he thinks he has found that story that will seal his reputation. 

Cue the hijinx.

Now those who know me, know that I am willing to watch a female targeted romantic comedy (or chick flick as the kids of today say)if requested by a good friend or a significant other. But that my tastes for entertainment significantly lean elsewhere.  Generally anywhere else really.  In saying that there were a few moments where I laughed out loud despite the predictable formulaic  plot. Those clever little moments of surprise made 27 Dresses stand out from other romantic comedies for me.  Also I think Katherine Heigl is smoking, and it’s good to see Cyclops, er sorry James Marsden out exploring different cinematic roles.   I should note that this has four awards under its belt, including people’s choice for romantic comedy for 2008. 

27 Dresses is what it is, which I hope isn't too much of a cop out. But it is one of those movies that when you pick up at the DVD store and you can easily guess what you are in for, and you'll be right.  But that isn't necessarily a bad thing.  One of the reasons for the success for movies like this, I suspect is a certain comforting element of predictability. 

So if you are a man who wants to earn some credit pick this one out if you need a movie for a night in with your partner.  6.5 from me