27 Dresses, dir. Anne Fletcher (2008)

NIKKI says:
I hate movie weddings. I absolutely cannot stand to watch actors fake their way through what are pretty much always overly sugary vows about love and honour and whatever. I'd rather the happy couple just go, "Yep, we love each other, that's all we need." But, no. The dresses and cakes and super-perfect hair-dos all have to come out. My main thought watching this film was, "I hope they don't ruin the end by having Katherine Heigl get married."

But how else could they end it?

But then I guess I can overlook the predictable and somewhat sugary ending because other parts of this movie actually were fairly good. It's set-up is ultra-standard, that always-a-bridesmaid thing with our lead girl torn between the guy she loves who loves someone else and the guy we all know suits her down to the ground but she thinks is lame. Who will she pick?

Meanwhile, she has to plan her own little sister's wedding to that man she actually loves. So that complicates things. By movie's end she will have done some pretty catty things to get back at her sister, who is a big fat liar, and while she'll feel bad for them, we'll be hooting and hollering that she's a Riot Grrl of the highest order who gave only what was deserved. But the movie's a bit nicer than all that, and everyone apologises in time for everyone else's big day.

So, how to lift a standard romantic and ultra-girlie film from becoming another My Best Friend's Wedding, with stupid characters, gimmicky situations and false feeling? I don't really kknow how they did it, because the same things could be said about this movie, but they didn't seem so bad here. I think it has to do with the actors. I'm sorry, but I hated Julia Roberts in that other film. Here, we get Katherine Heigl who is sweet and funny and seems entirely without ego. She plays things purely with her heart here, there's no hatred or anger. And I liked that. We like her. And James Marsden was all funny and charming instead of serious Scott Cyclops and it was just fun watching him robot dance to "Benny and the Jets" -- way better than Julia doing the big-laugh during "Say a Little Prayer".

So, yeah. Good actors = Good time? I'll stick with that. Nothing outstanding, but better than your average. Still hated the end.

3/5