MOVIE REVIEW - 27 DRESSES

20th Century Fox and Spyglass Entertainment present this comedy-romance film starring Katherine Heigl, James Marsden, Malin Akerman, and Ed Burns.

A new Star has crossed over from television and is at this minute the hottest actress in Hollywood since Julia Roberts made us laugh and cry in "Pretty Woman". I'm taking Katherine Heigl, who has blossomed on TV in the wildly popular series "Grey's Anatomy" for I-don't-know-how-many-seasons.

You have to have a heart of granite the size of a tombstone not to like this romantic comedy scripted by The Devil Wears Prada screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna and directed by Anna Fletcher (Step Up).

Katherine Hiegl plays Jane, a single woman living in New York City who has served as a bridesmaid a whopping twenty-seven times and has each of her hideous-to-outrageous themed bridal gowns in a large closet that, despite its size, can hardly hold all the paraphernalia.

Jane has an unrequited crush on her handsome boss George (Ed Burns) who relies on her for everything except romance. Then, along comes her rival ... her spoiled baby sister Tess (Malin Akerman), the baby of the family who is used to getting everything she wants ... and she wants boss George all to herself.

As in all good Chick Flick movies, Jane has a witty, funny friend and confidant in the role of Casey, expertly played by actress, Judy Greer. Given enough material and roles to play, Judy Greer could become this Century's loyal companion theretofore played many times over in flicks from the forties and fifties by Eve Arden. If you're too young to know who Eve Arden was, look her up on Google.

Jane reluctantly prepares to support younger, spoiled and devious sibling Tess to the alter on wedding number twenty-eight despite having fallen helplessly in love with George, her smitten sibling's handsome husband-to-be.

This delightful, lighthearted romantic comedy was scripted by The Devil Wears Prada screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna and directed by Anna Fletcher (Step Up).

The current issue of Entertainment Weekly magazine gushed over leading man,
James Marsden, who's a former model and happily married with two kids. And so did the show, "Ugly Betty". What follows is excerpted material from their article:

"Top billing and A-list accolades aside, there's one more sure sign Marsden's star is ascendant: On a recent episode of Ugly Betty, he earned a major call-out when fashion-closet maven Christina gushed, ''I love James
Marsden. I want to bake him naked and eat him for dessert.'' The actor, flattered, simply laughed at the name checking (''It makes me sound like a pastry''). But a more seasoned colleague had a different perspective: ''I
told that to Cameron Diaz, and she goes, 'You're pop culture now. Get used to it.''

The one problem I had with the whole movie is that Heigl and Marsden seem ill cast for each other. While Jane doesn't accept the notion that Kevin (Marsden) pursuing her is her real true love I could not accept them as a romantic couple either.

Heigl is not a petite little thing you want to carry from place to place, whereas Marsden is. His delicate stature, bone structure, gorgeous features, and eyes you could dive right in to are so finely chiseled that he sometimes steals the scene from Heigl just by looking so tasty. He's shorter and more small-boned than Heigl and I felt they were acting together well, but that there was no real chemistry between then. I would say that Marsden is more of a delicious appetizer whereas Heigl is the sizeable main course. In my mind's eye, Heigl should have had a taller, broad shouldered actor in the role of Kevin. A young James Arness, perhaps, so that Heigl could have looked smaller and daintier. Well, the cat's out of the bag now and there's no way of going back and fixing things. If only the poor, confused writers, directors, and casting agents would come to me at the beginning of their projects, these things would happen less often.

According to the cover story in the January 2008 issue of Vanity Fair Former Grey's Anatomy co-star Kate Walsh says, "She's been acting since she was a kid. As young as she is (29), she's sort of an old pro."

As an "old pro" Katherine Heigl is not afraid to champion her causes and speak her opinion, unlike many others of her rank, who are afraid of speaking their mind on delicate issues.

VF reminds us of the blowup on the set of Grey's Anatomy last year when fellow cast member Isaiah Washington called co-star T. R. Knight a "faggot". While other cast members declined to air their views on the matter, it was Heigl who publicly denounced Washington in his presence and with the media in attendance.

"She has the 'It' factor," says 27 Dresses director Anne Fletcher. "We haven't had one of her in many years."

Jane's ghastly Brides maid wardrobe plays throughout the film and is used during the final credits that are delightful, inventive, and stopped those beginning to stream out the door in their tracks. So don't grab your coat or jacket trying to beat the mob when you think it's over. Sit, stay ... and enjoy a lighthearted, inventive presentation of the normally oh-so-difficult-to-bear final credits.