27 Dresses, directed by Anne Fletcher, is an entertaining, well-written romantic comedy about a young woman who’s too immersed in the wedding plans of her friends to come to the attention of the opposite sex. Jane, played by Katherine Heigl, has been a bridesmaid 27 times. Naturally, she longs to be married.

When two of Jane’s friends hold nuptials on the same evening, Jane decides to use a taxi to travel back and forth throughout the evening in order to attend both weddings. She accidentally leaves her list of all 27 weddings she's participated in on the back seat of the cab, and it falls into the hands of Kevin (James Marsden), a wedding-weary journalist.

Kevin writes a column for the New York Journal on upcoming weddings among the Big Apple’s socialites. He hates the job, but his editor sees little potential for improvement in the unhappy reporter. However, Kevin thinks the list he’s found would make a good story -- one that could lead to a promotion!

Jane, a diehard fan of Kevin’s columns, has saved every one of them for years. Upon meeting him, she can’t help being shocked to discover he hates the very thought of marriage and finds weddings to be excruciatingly boring.

When Jane learns her little sister Tess (Malin Akerman) is involved with her boss George (Edward Burns), she’s not happy about it. Why? She herself is secretly infatuated with him. No wonder she smolders with resentment when Tess asks her to plan her wedding to George. 

Heigl’s performance showcases her incredible acting versatility. I agree with Fletcher’s assessment of this talented actress when she points out that Heigl has a great sense of what's funny and is brilliant at playing up the physical comedy while retaining her character’s sensitivity. Heigl initially worried audiences wouldn’t believe Akerman was her younger sister. The problem involved a lack of physical resemblance and similar speech patterns between the two actresses, so the pair got together to learn each other’s mannerisms prior to filming. It’s this attention to details that help make Heigl and Akerman such believable sisters here.

Marsden proves to be a perfect Kevin. The actor’s kaleidoscopic moods (self-absorption, smarminess, likeability, and compassion when trying to gain Heigl’s trust to write his article) come across as delightful to watch. Burns isn’t given much work in this film, appearing only sporadically to highlight the conflict between Jane and Tess.

Bridesmaid dresses created by costume designer Marie Thomas look amazing, and some are even outlandish. Fletcher asked Thomas to design each dress to impress viewers with Jane’s discomfort at having to wear them. Among Thomas’ most bizarre creations are her “Underwater Dress,” which is accessorized with pink flippers and goggles.  

Kudos also to Aline Brosh McKenna for the sharp, clever dialogue in her consistently funny screenplay and to Fletcher for her skillful direction. 

27 Dresses is the perfect date movie.

 (Released by Fox 2000 Pictures and rated “PG” for language, some innuendo and sexuality.)