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(About Our Ads) "27 DRESSES" (2008) (Katherine Heigl, James Marsden) (PG-13) If you've come from our parental review of this film and wish to return to it, simply click on your browser's BACK button. Otherwise, use the following link to read our complete Parental Review of this film. QUICK TAKE: Romantic Comedy: While she tries to ignore a newspaper reporter who's interested in her, a perpetual bridesmaid hopes to woo her boss only to be undermined by her younger and more vivacious sister who swings into town and sweeps him off his feet. PLOT: Ever the epitome of the old saying, "Always a bridesmaid, never a bride," Jane (KATHERINE HEIGL) has a closetful of hideous, one-day dresses to prove it. While her randy friend, Casey (JUDY GREER), has no problem guy chasing, Jane is more reserved, particularly since she's secretly in love with her boss, George (EDWARD BURNS). She's also a romantic at heart, always clipping the wedding announcements and such in the commitments section of the local paper, unaware that the column's writer, Kevin (JAMES MARSDEN), is also a fledgling reporter out doing his first big story and annoying her in the process. Having observed her racing back and forth from one wedding to the next on the same day, he's now latched onto her, not only as potential for his story, but also because he's attracted to her. She has bigger fish to fry, however, when her younger and more vivacious sister, Tess (MALIN AKERMAN), rolls into town and proceeds to sweep George off his feet. It's not long before the two are engaged, with Tess asking her big sis to be her bridesmaid. From that point on, and as she contends with Kevin always being around, and the discovery of Tess using George's "little brother" Pedro (DAVID CASTRO) as her personal housecleaner, Jane must decide how she's going to proceed. OUR TAKE: 4 out of 10 If there's anything worse than being a bridesmaid -- the ultimate in short term, occasionally abusive employment as a personal assistant to a highly emotional boss -- it's the old saying, "Always a bridesmaid and never a bride." But wait, there's also the issue of the bridesmaid dress, often a hideous creation designed -- purposefully or not -- to make the bride shine in comparison, and which can rarely ever be worn again in public outside some sort of wacky costume party. Throw in a multi-billion dollar industry designed to drive most everyone in the wedding party, immediate and extended families and invited guests bananas, and you have the makings of what could be an inspired or at least funny movie about such matters. The romantic comedy "27 Dresses" wants to be that cinematic blushing bride, but by the time the offering is consummated, one realizes most of the laughs and charms apparently were left back in the dressing room. All of which comes as a surprise considering that the film's screenwriter, Aline Brosh McKenna, also penned the adaptation of the hugely popular "The Devil Wears Prada," another tale of being an assistant for a demanding boss. Yes, the aforementioned titular garb is present, along with living the life of that saying, not to mention all of the usual trappings of the romantic comedy genre. Yet, McKenna, choreographer-turned-director Anne Fletcher ("Step Up"), and their cast simply fail to breathe much life into this tired material. It's far from awful, mind you, but it's about as bland, predictable, and un-engaging as they come. Despite its best intentions, this film may just end up being jilted once word gets out, and then have to spend its anticipated honeymoon in the company of hundreds of similar films on video, all hoping for a would-be suitor to notice it. In truly appropriate Hollywood style, star Katherine Heigl has gone from getting "Knocked Up" last year to looking for marriage in this would-be comedy. She plays the perpetual bridesmaid with all of those hideous costumes in her closet, secretly longing for her boss (Edward Burns), while being annoyed by a reporter (James Marsden) who obviously has the hots for her. As is often the case in such genre films, there's a long-running misunderstanding (she doesn't realize he's the wedding column writer of whom she's a big fan), the caring but wacky best friend character (Judy Greer), a comedy-based sing-along to a popular, classic song (this time it's Elton John's "Benny and the Jets," drunkenly belted out by the leads), and the obligatory, trying on clothing montage. None of that's original, and only diehard fans of the genre will likely find such rote and uninspired material entertaining. The wildcard added to the mix arrives in the form of Malin Akerman as Jane's younger sister who swings into town and then sweeps Burns' character off his feet, much to the dismay of our longing-to-be-a-bride protagonist. The fact that she's about to earn her 28th bridesmaid dress is supposed to up the ante in terms of comedy material, but neither Akerman's character nor the ensuing sibling conflict adds much to the mix. And despite her ever-increasing star wattage and movie star looks, Heigl simply can't breathe enough life into this character retread that in years past would have been played by Julia Roberts, Sandra Bullock, or the like. While it will likely play in perpetuity on cable and satellite channels across the land (you know, the mediocre type you always run into with surprising regularity while channel surfing), "27 Dresses" simply lacks any sort of "wow" quotient to make us want to celebrate any of its anniversaries. The film rates as a 4 out of 10. Reviewed December 27, 2007 / Posted January 18, 2008