Watched "27 Dresses" (2008: Director Anne Fletcher, Writer: Aline Brosh McKenna) for the 2nd time last weekend. Did go out and see this one when it was theatrically released, but didn't remember too much about it. So going in I was pretty distant and opened minded.
So was it good? Like the way my opinion of "Crazy, Stupid, Love" changed after validating it after a 2nd viewing2nd viewing? Or was as it "Because I Said So" bad? Sadly, upon a second viewing I'd hafta side with the latter. Lemme explain why.
The whole isn't always better as a sum of its parts.
Let's start out with the lead actress in "27 Dresses". Katherine Heigl is a PHENOMENAL lead actress. In "27 Dresses" Katherine Heigl plays Jane, a woman who carry's the torch for her boss, George (played by Edward Burns). But over the course of the movie a new love interest takes over, Kevin (played by the incredibly handsome James Marsden). Huge crush on James Marsden -- and no, I'm not gay! I just recognize the obvious, he's a total hunk! Over the course of the movie it becomes rather obvious that Kevin is the right man for Jane, and that she needs to get over her unhealthy infatuation with George.
"27 Dresses" is a female lead, weighted romantic comedy (see link for further discussion what that term means). Meaning that the story focuses primarily on Jane's dilemma and doesn't touch on Kevin's very much, and almost totally dismisses George's story.
O-kay. So when looking at a romantic comedy character's are typically king. Besides Joan, Kevin and George who else is there? Well, there's Tess Jane's younger sister. Tess is played by Malin Akerman, a very gifted actress who has considerable experience doing rom-coms: Lila in "The Heartbreak Kid" (2007: Bobby and Peter Farrelly) opposite Ben Stiller, Ronnie in "Couples Retreat" (2009)" opposite Vince Vaughn, Gertrude the female romantic thwart for Ryan Reynold's character in "The Proposal" (2009: Sandra Bullock).
Speaking of a movie's magic point, the area of movie where it gets "good" and there's something genuinely pleasing about the movie (see "magic point" link to earlier post for further explanation) Tess is where "27 Dresses" gets good. Yes, she's a romantic twart, but I was drawn into her, and I bought her character above all else in this movie. Tess was the younger sister of Jane who was kind of a floozy who comes back to New York after a failed tryst and is ready to meet her next man, and mabye settle down. Tess was fascinating. Maybe that's an indictmentof sorts on the other characters: Jane, Kevin and George, and even Judy Greer's Casey (Jane's sacrcastic buddy from work), but in this movie Tess EASILY emerges as the most intersing character of the bunch. Tess subversively hooks George, then gets exposed, eats some humble pie, then comes back as new version of herself, and in the last scene of the movie re-presents herself to George, and he smiles at her. Winner! Now, that worked for me. That's where the story in "27 Dresses" got good.
But hey, this movie also had Judy Greer in it. How'd she do? Thumbs down. One of the worst buddy characters I can remember seeing. Typically the buddy character infuses some humor into the drama. Not the case with Judy Greer's Casey. Miss-fire at the writing level. Come on guys, you can go better than that; this is Judy Greer we're talking about here. Lucy Wyman from "13 Going on 30". Anywho, Casey is a very boring character who only seams to exist to put pressure on Jane to confront George with Jane's not-so-secret torch that she carries for him.
Making matters worse. George is even a worse character than Casey. The writers severely underwrit George's role. He comes and goes in spots. Has a few encounters with Jane, all of which are boring, and is given little to do. George in underdeveloped at the story level and rest of the movie suffers for it. Sure, George is the "wrong guy" for Jane, and the story is supposed have Jane eventually chose Kevin above George. I get that, and I'm not saying the story should have been different in that regard. But George doesn't feel at all believable. He doesn't seam like a real person. I didn't buy his character at all. The only scene that I like with George was the one where Tess re-presented herself to him at Jane and Kevin's wedding at the end of the movie and George smilled at her, indicating that he still liked Tess and may be willing to start over with her. That was good. Rest of George; bad.
I have mixed feelings about James Marsden's Kevin character. His job as some sort of wedding reporter was a real stretch for me. And ALL of his opinions about weddings and such, came across a very boring. His persuit of Jane's affections were so-so, but I did like the bar scene where he and Jane got drunk and eventually ended up romping in their car. Kevin wasn't real bad, but he wasn't real good either. His job angle reminded me of Kate Hudson/Babe Newerth in "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" but it wasn't nearly as interesting. Another black mark on his movie.
"27 Dresses" Summary Card:
- Katherine Heigl's Jane: good. Always love watching her act, and she holds her own in this movie.
- Edward Burn's George: very bad! Undeveloped "wrong guy".
- Judy Greer's Casey: very, very bad! Not funny, didn't seam real, only seamed to exist to give Jane advice about George.
- Marlin Akerman's Tess: very good! Jane's romantic rival was very believable and for my money nearly saves the film. I bought her character hook, line, and sinker.
- James Marsden's Kevin: kinda bad. Bought the budding romance with Jane, didn't buy his job at the newspaper.
- The story: sold / good. I thought the story behind "27 Dresses" was very solid. A life-long wedding enthusiast is suddenly forced to take a deeper look at her convctionsas a result of her own love-life new trials. Bought the romance between Jane and Kevin. Really liked the complication the Tess character brings as she sweeps George off his feet. The story's structure was sound, it made sense. Did think a higher onus needed to be placed on the comedy aspect of this script. "27 Dresses" lacks set-piece laughs. I think this story needed a few more comedy passes to draw the potential humor in the scenes.
"27 Dresses": the whole doesn't always equal the sum of the parts. You can have a great cast, but if the romantic comedy script doesn't have enough believable characters and comedy in it, that can torpedo what on the surface looks poised to be hailed as one of the all-time greats.
- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA
P.S. Yesterday I finished the 1st draft of "The Commune II". Yay!! It came in at 152 pages. Yikes, not the 120 pages or less required, BUT it's a start. Tomorrow I'll start with the editing process. Already got some ideas how to shave the page count down. But I also realize I need to hone the story with an emphasis on character arc. Gots lots of villains in this one, a diverse batch of villains. But you know what that means, gotta focus on the main protagonist and why an audience would care for him and her -- yes, in this one I do have a female protagonist too! Can't wait to share more about "The Commune II" in the days and weeks to come. Stay tuned!