A romantic comedy which has as its central premise a woman who is always the wedding dresses but never the bride might seem like a
run-of-the-mill idea but there's something much more genuine and interesting about "27 dresses" that makes it rise up a
little more than your stock-standard romantic comedy. Although it does indulge itself in the usual conventions associated
with this genre (and its reliance on these conventions is disappointing and silly), this film actually has the guts to raise
the theme of the difference between falling in love with the idea of getting married and falling in love with a person who is
right for you. Not many romantic comedies do that because they're too busy selling the ultimate chick fantasy rather than
making an attempt to present what happens in the real world. It's just a shame that in the end "27 wedding dresses" does the same
thing, but before we get to that point, this film actually has something to say through some warm characters and charming
scenes, making for a film that holds your interest in the middle, but ultimately loses it at the end with its highly
predictable ending.
From when she was a young girl, Jane has been helping other women with their weddings. After an opening setup where we see
her help a young girl with her distraught father at a wedding, we flash forward to the present where we see Jane frantically
moving between two weddings on one night. This catches the attention of Kevin Doyle (James Marsden), a writer who works for a
column called "Commitments" who writes romantic articles about the wedding dresses he attends despite the fact that he despises the
whole concept. Inevitably, the two come together and trade blows over their differing views on weddings and marriage. Making
matters worse is that Jane doesn't realise that Kevin is the writer of the "Commitments" column which she reads with a
dedicated passion.
On the side, Jane is madly in love with her boss George (Edward Burns), a fact that gets Kevin even more interested in her
from a story angle: what's better? A bridesmaid who is organising her sister's wedding when she's madly in love with the
groom. Kevin for his part tries to convince Jane that she should be looking out for herself and to open her eyes to the real
world, not to the sugary sweet idea she's living in of a dream wedding with her boss. As is turns out, when Jane finally
confronts reality and admits to George she's in love with him, and they exchange a kiss, she feels nothing; and as she
wedding dresses, it shouldn't feel like that. This is perhaps the most interesting idea working through the film: there's the idea
of what you want, and then there's the reality. And as Jane discovers, what she thought she wanted wasn't what she actually
wanted at all, a lesson that so many people I'm sure have learned who have gone through relationships and marriages where it
was based on the "idea" of what they wanted rather than reality. What works even further is the idea that she ends up with
Kevin, a man who is diametrically opposite to what she wants but in the end is the one who engages her mind and emotions
through his wit, charm and intelligent sarcasm.
There's a lot going on in this movie thematically to hold your interest. First, there's the sibling rivalry between Jane and
Tess, the latter of which always gets the light and wedding dresses. Jane never argues the point and lets Tess get away with
everything, including Tess' romantic interest in her boss which sets up a number of great scenes with Jane hovering in the
background looking like she's under the most intense mental torture she's every likely to be under given she's in love with
her boss. It's only when Tess is selfish enough to cut up her mother's wedding dress to make a new one that Jane finally
snaps, telling George the truth and in dramatic fashion exposes Tess' lies to keep George in front of everyone at their
"night-before-the-wedding-day" party. There's also a lot of "wedding" commentary which is manifested in Kevin's character
which is fun to watch, especially when it is so opposed to Jane's sweet and innocent views on weddings and wedding dresses.
Where this film falls down is its reliance on typical romantic comedy conventions. Single-handedly, the climax really kills
the film. You know that it should end happily because films like this have to end this way, but there's something very
arbitrary and contrite about the wedding dresses as presented.