Review by Nathan Chandler for The Mungles on Movies

Copyright 2008 Mungleshow Productions. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

  Feeling destined to help brides achieve their dream of the best day of their lives, Jane's (Katherine Heigl) exasperation of being a bridesmaid 27 times comes to a boiling point when the man of her dreams (Edward Burns) falls in love with her irresponsible sister (Malin Akerman). Things get more complicated as a disenchanted and sarcastic wedding columnist (James Marsden) sees a big story in Jane's unusual role, as she struggles between being the dutiful older sibling or being true to her feelings.

There are really no surprises with 27 Dresses, but the jokes were funny enough and the sentimental scenes touching enough to draw the attention away from its conventional technique. After a strong performance in Knocked Up, Katherine Heigl proves once again that she can be a leading lady. You totally buy into the fact that she is the perfect girl-next-door that somehow never got married. It takes great skill to pull off being a "real" character in a genre that is known for going over-the-top, and you have to give her a lot of credit for the success of this movie.

  The other thing that stood out to me was the chemistry between the actors. Heigl and Marsden's bantering provides most of the laughs and reminded me a lot of the fun moments you find in classic black & white romantic comedies. Judy Greer once again plays the biting best friend role with ease and I enjoyed how they made Edward Burns' character really likable instead of the traditional alpha male who thinks he's better than everybody else. Too bad that all this good work was almost derailed by Malin Akerman, whose performance reminded me of a bad Cameron Diaz impersonation.

  Some of the scenes do fall flat and tug at your heart strings a little too much at times, but it's been a long time since I laughed out loud during a romantic comedy. 27 Dresses does occasionally have strong moments of language or sexual innuendo, but it's not overbearing at the least and relatively clean for a PG- 13 film. Girls will love this film and it's a shoe in to sit on their shelf when it comes out on DVD, so guys might as well take them during this Valentine holiday. You never know, they may actually find themselves enjoying it as much as I did. I give 27 Dresses 3.75 out of, well, 5 dresses.

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Nathan Chandler is a video producer and editor who lives in the heart of Dallas. He has a knack for making awesome mix CDs and has a vast knowledge for movie trivia. When Nathan isn't writing or producing short films on the side, he is wishing he was on Survivor, rooting for the Cowboys, or making sweet tea runs to Chick-fil-a. You can reach Nathan at his blog. Nathan also co-hosts The Film Alcove Podcast. Check it out!