27 Dresses
Encyclopedia
27 Dresses is a 2008 romantic comedy film directed by Anne Fletcher
and written by Aline Brosh McKenna
. The film stars Katherine Heigl
and James Marsden
. The film was released January 10, 2008 in Australia and opened in the United States on January 18.
) has been a bridesmaid
for twenty-seven weddings. One night when she is attending two weddings almost simultaneously, she meets Kevin Doyle (James Marsden
), who helps her home but disgusts her with his cynical views of marriage. He finds her day planner which she'd forgotten in the cab they shared. Meanwhile, Jane's sister Tess (Malin Åkerman
) falls in love with Jane's boss George (Edward Burns
). Tess pretends to like the same things that George does so that she can get him to like her. Despite loving George herself, Jane does not reveal the truth and the courtship progresses rapidly. Soon the new couple announce that they intend to marry in only three weeks.
The reporter who agrees to cover their wedding for the society page turns out to be Kevin, who writes wedding announcements under a pseudonym. Having looked at the contents of Jane's planner before returning it, he then decides to use the contents as material for a piece on the "perennial bridesmaid" and hopefully be promoted to writing investigative pieces about "real" news.
Jane is unaware of Kevin's intentions, and when he asks to interview her for his column on Tess, gets her to try on all 27 bridesmaids dresses in her closet. He takes pictures of her in all of them and sends them with the completed article to his boss. As they get to know each other because of Tess's wedding, Kevin begins to think that Jane is not as one-dimensional as he thought, and asks his editor to hold his article so he can "fix" it.
His editor runs the article anyway on the front page of the Commitments section, and Jane is furious at him. Tess then gets angry at Jane for giving Kevin material about her, whom he describes as a bridezilla. The fight escalates when Jane realizes that Tess destroyed their late mother's wedding dress to make her own gown.
Despite the fight, Tess still asks Jane to make a slideshow
to show at her engagement party. Jane decides that George should know the truth about Tess and instead runs pictures of Tess with other men, eating ribs, and holding a cat by the tail - in short, doing all the things she had told George that she never did. After Pedro, the young Hispanic child that George mentors, tells the crowd that Tess had him cleaning George's apartment for money, George breaks off the engagement.
Later at work, George tells Jane that he appreciates her because she never says no. Remembering that Kevin once said the same thing as a criticism, Jane quits and admits she only stayed at the job because she was in love with George. She discovers after an experimental kiss that she no longer loves him and decides to meet Kevin. She announces in front of the entire crowd at a wedding that he is covering that she is in love with him.
One year later at Jane and Kevin's wedding, George and Tess meet again. All 27 brides she helped, as well as Tess and Casey, her best friend, are her bridesmaids.
.
reported that 40% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 142 reviews with the comment being "The filmmakers perfectly follow the well-worn romantic comedy formula, rendering 27 Dresses clichéd and mostly forgettable."
Metacritic
reported the film had an average score of 47 out of 100, based on 31 reviews.
. As of April 18, 2009, 27 Dresses had grossed $76,808,654 in North America, and $83,450,665 overseas, for a total worldwide gross of $160,259,319.
According to BoxOfficeGuru.com, "The audience for the $30M-budgeted 27 Dresses was overwhelmingly female. Studio research showed that 75% of the crowd consisted of women, but the audience was evenly split between those
over and under 25."
Anne Fletcher
Anne Fletcher is an American film director and choreographer.Fletcher took dance lessons as a child. At the age of 15, she appeared on the show Salute to the Superstars; later she moved to California, where she was trained by Joe Tremaine. She worked as a choreographer and worked in this capacity...
and written by Aline Brosh McKenna
Aline Brosh McKenna
Aline Brosh McKenna is an American screenwriter.McKenna was born in France and moved with her family to New Jersey, where she lived variously in Fort Lee, Demarest and Montvale, and attended Saddle River Day School in Saddle River, New Jersey.She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University,...
. The film stars Katherine Heigl
Katherine Heigl
Katherine Marie Heigl is an American actress and producer. She is possibly best known for her role as Dr. Izzie Stevens on ABC's Grey's Anatomy from 2005 to 2010, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Drama Series in 2007...
and James Marsden
James Marsden
James Paul Marsden is an American actor, singer and former Versace model. He is known for playing the superhero Cyclops in the first three X-Men films and for his roles in other commercially successful films such as Hop, Superman Returns, Hairspray, Enchanted, The Box, and 27 Dresses.-Early life...
. The film was released January 10, 2008 in Australia and opened in the United States on January 18.
Plot
Jane Nichols (Katherine HeiglKatherine Heigl
Katherine Marie Heigl is an American actress and producer. She is possibly best known for her role as Dr. Izzie Stevens on ABC's Grey's Anatomy from 2005 to 2010, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Drama Series in 2007...
) has been a bridesmaid
Bridesmaid
The bridesmaids are members of the bride's wedding party in a wedding. A bridesmaid is typically a young woman, and often a close friend or sister. She attends to the bride on the day of a wedding or marriage ceremony...
for twenty-seven weddings. One night when she is attending two weddings almost simultaneously, she meets Kevin Doyle (James Marsden
James Marsden
James Paul Marsden is an American actor, singer and former Versace model. He is known for playing the superhero Cyclops in the first three X-Men films and for his roles in other commercially successful films such as Hop, Superman Returns, Hairspray, Enchanted, The Box, and 27 Dresses.-Early life...
), who helps her home but disgusts her with his cynical views of marriage. He finds her day planner which she'd forgotten in the cab they shared. Meanwhile, Jane's sister Tess (Malin Åkerman
Malin Akerman
Malin Maria Åkerman is a Swedish–Canadian actress and model. She was born in Stockholm, Sweden and moved to Canada at the age of two. As a child, she appeared in several television commercials before going on to win a modelling contract at age sixteen...
) falls in love with Jane's boss George (Edward Burns
Edward Burns
Edward Fitzgerald Burns is an American actor, film producer, writer and director.-Early life:Burns was born in Woodside, Queens, New York, the son of Molly , a federal agency manager, and Edward J. Burns, a public relations spokesman and police officer. He was raised a Roman Catholic...
). Tess pretends to like the same things that George does so that she can get him to like her. Despite loving George herself, Jane does not reveal the truth and the courtship progresses rapidly. Soon the new couple announce that they intend to marry in only three weeks.
The reporter who agrees to cover their wedding for the society page turns out to be Kevin, who writes wedding announcements under a pseudonym. Having looked at the contents of Jane's planner before returning it, he then decides to use the contents as material for a piece on the "perennial bridesmaid" and hopefully be promoted to writing investigative pieces about "real" news.
Jane is unaware of Kevin's intentions, and when he asks to interview her for his column on Tess, gets her to try on all 27 bridesmaids dresses in her closet. He takes pictures of her in all of them and sends them with the completed article to his boss. As they get to know each other because of Tess's wedding, Kevin begins to think that Jane is not as one-dimensional as he thought, and asks his editor to hold his article so he can "fix" it.
His editor runs the article anyway on the front page of the Commitments section, and Jane is furious at him. Tess then gets angry at Jane for giving Kevin material about her, whom he describes as a bridezilla. The fight escalates when Jane realizes that Tess destroyed their late mother's wedding dress to make her own gown.
Despite the fight, Tess still asks Jane to make a slideshow
Slideshow
A slide show is a display of a series of chosen information or pictures, done for artistic or instructional purposes. Slide shows are conducted by a presenter using an apparatus, such as a carousel slide projector, an overhead projector or in more recent years, a computer running presentation...
to show at her engagement party. Jane decides that George should know the truth about Tess and instead runs pictures of Tess with other men, eating ribs, and holding a cat by the tail - in short, doing all the things she had told George that she never did. After Pedro, the young Hispanic child that George mentors, tells the crowd that Tess had him cleaning George's apartment for money, George breaks off the engagement.
Later at work, George tells Jane that he appreciates her because she never says no. Remembering that Kevin once said the same thing as a criticism, Jane quits and admits she only stayed at the job because she was in love with George. She discovers after an experimental kiss that she no longer loves him and decides to meet Kevin. She announces in front of the entire crowd at a wedding that he is covering that she is in love with him.
One year later at Jane and Kevin's wedding, George and Tess meet again. All 27 brides she helped, as well as Tess and Casey, her best friend, are her bridesmaids.
Cast
- Katherine HeiglKatherine HeiglKatherine Marie Heigl is an American actress and producer. She is possibly best known for her role as Dr. Izzie Stevens on ABC's Grey's Anatomy from 2005 to 2010, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Drama Series in 2007...
as Jane Nichols - James MarsdenJames MarsdenJames Paul Marsden is an American actor, singer and former Versace model. He is known for playing the superhero Cyclops in the first three X-Men films and for his roles in other commercially successful films such as Hop, Superman Returns, Hairspray, Enchanted, The Box, and 27 Dresses.-Early life...
as Malcolm / Kevin Doyle - Malin ÅkermanMalin AkermanMalin Maria Åkerman is a Swedish–Canadian actress and model. She was born in Stockholm, Sweden and moved to Canada at the age of two. As a child, she appeared in several television commercials before going on to win a modelling contract at age sixteen...
as Tess Nichols - Edward BurnsEdward BurnsEdward Fitzgerald Burns is an American actor, film producer, writer and director.-Early life:Burns was born in Woodside, Queens, New York, the son of Molly , a federal agency manager, and Edward J. Burns, a public relations spokesman and police officer. He was raised a Roman Catholic...
as George - Judy GreerJudy GreerJudy Greer is an American actress, known for portraying a string of supporting female characters, including Kitty Sanchez on the Fox series Arrested Development and Cheryl on the animated comedy series Archer...
as Casey - Maulik PancholyMaulik PancholyMaulik Pancholy is an American actor. He is best known for his recurring role as Sanjay on Weeds from 2005 to present, and his role as Jonathan on 30 Rock, which he has played since the show began in 2006....
as Trent - Melora HardinMelora HardinMelora Diane Hardin is an American actress, best known for her roles as Jan Levinson on NBC's The Office and Trudy Monk on USA's Monk.-Early life:...
as Maureen - Peyton Roi List as Young Jane Nichols
Production
Filming began on May 10, 2007. Portions of the film were supposed to take place in Rhinebeck, New York but were instead filmed in several locations in the state of Rhode IslandRhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
.
Reception
Critical response
27 Dresses received generally negative reviews from critics. The review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reported that 40% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 142 reviews with the comment being "The filmmakers perfectly follow the well-worn romantic comedy formula, rendering 27 Dresses clichéd and mostly forgettable."
Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
reported the film had an average score of 47 out of 100, based on 31 reviews.
Box office
The film opened at #2 at the North American box office making $23 million USD in its opening weekend behind CloverfieldCloverfield
Cloverfield is a 2008 American disaster-monster film directed by Matt Reeves, produced by J. J. Abrams and written by Drew Goddard.The film follows six young New Yorkers attending a going-away party on the night that a gigantic monster attacks the city...
. As of April 18, 2009, 27 Dresses had grossed $76,808,654 in North America, and $83,450,665 overseas, for a total worldwide gross of $160,259,319.
According to BoxOfficeGuru.com, "The audience for the $30M-budgeted 27 Dresses was overwhelmingly female. Studio research showed that 75% of the crowd consisted of women, but the audience was evenly split between those
over and under 25."