#2000s #AllPosts
27 times the bridesmaid…
You voted for this guilty pleasure, where Jane is always the bridesmaid, with 27 frocks to prove it.
27 Dresses – Trailer, FoxInternationalHEG
You came and voted with 27 Dresses (2008) winning both the WordPress poll and the Twitter poll. I will admit I did like Katherine Heigl in Knocked Up (2007), which would be my choice of guilty pleasure rom-com with this actress.
Knocked Up was written and directed by Judd Apatow, who writes good relatable romantic comedies and also starred Leslie Mann and Paul Rudd. And Seth Rogen, as an unconventional love interest. It led to the excellent sequel This is 40 (2012).
However Heigl’s co-star in 27 Dresses, James Marsden did make me laugh in Enchanted (2007) which is one of my fave pre-2009 romantic comedies. Malin Akerman was fantastic in Rock of Ages (2012). So where could this go totally wrong even for those who love a contrived romance…???
About the poll…
The results suggest you all are secretly hopeless romantics. This I confess is one of the last rom-coms I watched just as cynicism was setting in. It’s nothing personal on the cast.
About the plot…
27 Dresses tells of Jane, who has been a bridesmaid 27 times. Jane is secretly in love with her boss George (Edward Burns) but he falls for her little sister, Tess (Malin Akerman). She meets Kevin at a wedding – little realising he’s a reporter – and they share a taxi home. He’s cynical about weddings.
After he finds Jane’s planner in the taxi, he decides to write about her. Meanwhile, Tess announces her engagement to George with Kevin reporting on the wedding. Kevin writes a tell-all piece about the constant bridesmaid. After Kevin learns there is more to Jane than he first realises.. he asks his boss to hold the story, but it’s too late…
About the trailer…
The trailer is, as all rom-com trailers are narrated by that voice which could even make your average Z movie look good. It shows Jane (Katherine Heigl) preparing for a wedding that isn’t hers. As she tries on the frock, inspects the cake and we have a wedding scene with all sundry. With 27 turns as a bridesmaid behind her, it appears she’s the one to get things ready for the bride’s big day. The girlified credits show and tell of this with a baby blue background and are reinforced in pink and swirly black capitals as text.
So then like all girlies, Jane is seen with all the women at a wedding, reaching for the bouquet as it’s thrown to the masses. But Jane gets knocked up out and is helped by Kevin (James Marsden), a man she discovers later is cynical about all things wedding. Kevin becomes the best buddy and confidante and he like the rest of us is puzzled about this constant bridesmaid. We also learn Jane is in love with her boss tending to his every need and hanging on to his every word to the dismay of her BFF, Casey.
So we head to the disco, where Jane is told her life with him could mirror the plot for Knocked Up (get a drink, flirt, have sex, unplanned pregnancy, and live happily ever after with a well-meaning Casey). Jane makes the move in a nightclub as she heads for the said boss, across a crowded dance floor. Unfortunately, hot little sister Tess intercepts her and she has to introduce them. Leading to reciprocal love at first sight for boss and sister. Cue scenes with frustrated upset Jane, who then tries to convince everyone including elderly ladies how happy a single life is…
27 Thoughts on the trailer? I’d forgotten how contrived these rom-coms of the early 2000s were before watching this. And promptly gave up on this genre again. With that male trailer voice, credits and colour scheme, it’s almost like your boyfriend is mansplaining them to you and therefore it’s not in joined-up writing to reinforce the plot.
Any rom-com film about a bride at the time of this film’s release usually led to our heroine walking down the aisle eventually or at the very least finding true love at another wedding. Her male best friend almost always falls for her. Unless he’s Rupert Everett.
There was always at least one loopy montage with the male best friend. And one moment when she’ll let down her guard. In either of these moments male best friend would fall madly in love with her. The female lead will be blindly in love with the object of her affection, however, he will inevitably fall for someone else eg the Holiday. Her object of affection will never have realised her true love for him yet find her adorable BUT still marry her rival. (Confused?)
However, I must admit I was annoyed with this trailer, especially the mansplaining voice. And before you comment I’m just too cynical about rom-coms, I did cry – and laugh – at some of this genre. A particular favourite is Love Actually (2003), where Richard Curtis does a kind of Valentine’s Day (2010) but with a British ensemble cast, but set at Christmas.
I liked it for Bill Nighy’s scenes with Gregor Fisher, Bill Nighy in that mock Robert Palmer 1980s video and Bill Nighy with his piss take at Ant and Dec. Also for Alan Rickman, who I’ll always adore in Truly, Madly, Deeply.
Or CLICK HERE to read what the other Quirky Cat thought on her blog at Thoughts All Sorts. And tune in next time for more reely random reviews with those 2 Reel Quirky Cats.
Realweegiemidget Reviews Films TV Books and more 