'27 Dresses' misses the mark

Directed by Anne Fletcher

Rated PG-13

(Two and a half stars)

By Bruce Bulloch

"27 Dresses" has two things going for it: a clever concept and Katherine Heigl. It could use something more.

Heigl plays Jane Nichols, a young woman with exceptional organizational skills, a romantic obsession with weddings, and a seriously diminished capacity to say no. In short, Jane is the perfect catch for any ambitious bride looking for a friend to run her wedding and she has a closet full of tacky bridesmaid dresses to prove it.

Jane also has a secret crush on her boss, George (Ed Burns); the one little dream of happiness she keeps for herself in a life filled with choreographing the dreams of others.

Unfortunately for Jane, she has a beautiful sister, Tess (Malin Akerman). Tess snatches George away with an effortlessness that leaves Jane's jaw hanging open. Jane is once again relegated to her role as Sisyphus in taffeta, organizing her 28th wedding - but this time of the man she loves to a sister she would secretly like to smack with a plastic baseball bat.

Just when things are at their worst for poor Jane, she finds herself in the crosshairs of a jaded wedding writer for the local newspaper, Kevin Doyle (James Marsden), who uncovers Jane's extensive bridesmaid resume and decides to write an expose on her.

There is something primal about the role of a wedding in the lives of many women and the bridesmaid dress is a perfect symbol of its triumph and its pathos. A closet stuffed full of them and the story about the woman they were made for promises a wellspring of pain and humor.

"27 Dresses" takes it shot at mining this territory, having Jane bounce between two simultaneous weddings (one Hindu/Jewish) while changing bridesmaid dresses in a cab, all the while fending off Kevin's journalistic intrusions that are quickly morphing into romantic advances.

Director Anne Fletcher and writer Aline Brosh McKenna have a surprising amount of trouble finding their footing in the target-rich environment of wedding ritual. While "Wedding Crashers" skated through a gonzo riff on wedding receptions, "27 Dresses" can't quite deliver on the promise of that closet full of bridesmaid dresses, playing everything a little too straight.

The film's marketing makes a big deal out of McKenna's other writing credit in the feminine-fantasy genre, "The Devil Wears Prada." But when you're snuggled down in the theater waiting for good things to happen the comparison comes back to haunt "27 Dresses." While "Prada" dug deep into the psyche of high fashion, animating it with sly performances, "Dresses" keeps bouncing off the surface of nuptial culture.

"Prada" had a high-octane ensemble going between Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, and Emily Blunt that took some of the load off Hathaway and let her shine. While Heigl has the requisite talent surrounding her in Judy Greer and James Marsden, the script doesn't make much use of them and Heigl ends up carrying a lot of the film's humor by herself. Katherine Heigl's wide-open smile radiates charm with wattage to spare but she deserves more help than she's getting and, looking at other films of Greer and Marsden, you know they could give it if asked.

The film gets its best moments from the romantic turbulence stirred up by Jane and Kevin as they bump against each other with a cute mixture of irritation and attraction. Heigl and Marsden create a respectable chemistry onscreen and make an immensely likable couple. You can't help but want good things for them and in this case that would include a stronger script.

"27 Dresses" works as a lightweight romantic comedy. If you just want to nibble popcorn and pass a little time, "27 Dresses" can be worth the price of a ticket. But the problem with "27 Dresses" is that it keeps letting slip glimpses of comedic magic that it can't fully get on screen.

Bruce Bulloch may be reached at wseditor@robinsonnews.com