So I went into it not expecting much. I had only heard very luke warm opinions of it and thought it was just going to be another lame cliche of a romantic comedy, one that was probably a waste to see in the theaters (unless of course you're with girlfriends, then it's always worth it.) And it was a cliche romantic comedy, but it was hardly lame and had its moments of pure comedy, which, in my book, makes it worthy of seeing again.
The first thing I liked (although found kind of odd) was that I was wrong in my assumption that Katherine Heigl's character, Jane, would be the typical confident, hot blonde that can get any guy she wants but finally finds Mr. Right. Not only was she brunette(ish), she was a sweet, average girl with insecurities and an unrequited love. But it was believable. She played it well and by the time they brought in her ultrablonde little sister who was supposed to be the "hot one," Jane was looking like, well, Plain Jane, but still beautiful in a natural, human way. The sister (who I spent the entire movie trying to figure out where I'd see her before, only to come home and Google it and find she's been in nothing I've ever heard of) seemed an odd choice for the "hot one" and it seemed even odder to me that Katherine Heigl would ever be the "less attractive one" but it worked. It all worked.
So Jane fell in love with weddings as a child when she was picked to carry her cousins' train down the aisle. Fast forward 20 some years later and Jane's all grown up, wedding hopping to each of her friends' weddings, some on the same night. She helps every one of her friends with every detail of their wedding, even holding their dresses up when they have to pee on the big day. This results in the 27 bridesmaid dresses, which she keeps, every one. (But seriously, who has that many close friends?) Of course Jane dreams of when it will be her turn, but is perfectly content in helping everyone else in the meantime.
Enter Kevin (James Marsden), a journalist who writes the "commitment" section in the paper under the pseudonym Malcolm (Jane's favorite writer in Jane's favorite section.) They bump into each other at a wedding, he introduces himself as Kevin, she has no idea who he really is, they don't like each other at first. (Cliche #1) He winds up with her planner accidentally, and upon reading it, gets a great idea for a story that would no doubt get him promoted. She is his new project. (Cliche #2) He starts hounding her to no end. In the meantime, she's still pining after her boss (George, played by Edward Burns) who has no clue how she feels about him.
Enter Tess, Jane's little sister that she practically raised after their mom died when they were young. Tess is now ridiculously gorgeous (although in a very unconventional way, I thought) and every guy drools when she passes. She is coming to visit for a few weeks (from Paris, I think, where she lives) and immediately sets her sights on George, to Jane's horror. Of course, Jane doesn't let on that she's dying inside. Then of course you have the point that Jane finds out Kevin "lied" about his name, and eventually that she was his project, and all the other stuff that is completely predictable. Seen. It. All. Before.
It's at this point that I'm thinking, "Okay, it's nothing spectacular, just sit back and enjoy it for what it is." And then came the bar scene. Jane and Kevin get caught in a monsoon and have to run to a nearby bar to wait it out. They end up doing shots to kill the time, getting drunk and, of course, hilarious. They start making witty, biting remarks to each other, and when "Benny and the Jets" by Elton John comes on the Jukebox, they start singing loudly, arguing over the lyrics. They're both wrong, and the lyrics they sing had us howling. Soon they're singing and dancing on the bar and the whole bar is singing along. By the time it cut to the next scene (the token we-just-got-drunk-so-now-we-find-each-other-irresistible scene) we were still stifling snickers.
After that the laughs came more and I was thoroughly enjoying myself. By the time it was over, I was pleased and surprised. Surprised that I liked it as much as I did, pleased that there were a few surprises amongst the romantic comedy cliches. All in all it was fun, the perfect end to a wonderful girls' night out.
My only complaint was this: Of the 27 dresses, one was a tux. Pants. Not a dress. That would be 26 dresses, one tux. Details, people, details.
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