A romantic comedy which has as its central premise a woman who is always the bridesmaid but never the bride might seem like a run-of-the-mill idea but there's something much more genuine and interesting about "27 dresses" that makes it rise up a little more than your stock-standard romantic comedy. Although it does indulge itself in the usual conventions associated with this genre (and its reliance on these conventions is disappointing and silly), this film actually has the guts to raise the theme of the difference between falling in love with the idea of getting married and falling in love with a person who is right for you. Not many romantic comedies do that because they're too busy selling the ultimate chick fantasy rather than making an attempt to present what happens in the real world. It's just a shame that in the end "27 dresses" does the same thing, but before we get to that point, this film actually has something to say through some warm characters and charming scenes, making for a film that holds your interest in the middle, but ultimately loses it at the end with its highly predictable ending.

From when she was a young girl, Jane has been helping other women with their weddings. After an opening setup where we see her help a young girl with her distraught father at a wedding, we flash forward to the present where we see Jane frantically moving between two weddings on one night. This catches the attention of Kevin Doyle (James Marsden), a writer who works for a column called "Commitments" who writes romantic articles about the weddings he attends despite the fact that he despises the whole concept. Inevitably, the two come together and trade blows over their differing views on weddings and marriage. Making matters worse is that Jane doesn't realise that Kevin is the writer of the "Commitments" column which she reads with a dedicated passion.

On the side, Jane is madly in love with her boss George (Edward Burns), a fact that gets Kevin even more interested in her from a story angle: what's better? A bridesmaid who is organising her sister's wedding when she's madly in love with the groom. Kevin for his part tries to convince Jane that she should be looking out for herself and to open her eyes to the real world, not to the sugary sweet idea she's living in of a dream wedding with her boss. As is turns out, when Jane finally confronts reality and admits to George she's in love with him, and they exchange a kiss, she feels nothing; and as she discovers, it shouldn't feel like that. This is perhaps the most interesting idea working through the film: there's the idea of what you want, and then there's the reality. And as Jane discovers, what she thought she wanted wasn't what she actually wanted at all, a lesson that so many people I'm sure have learned who have gone through relationships and marriages where it was based on the "idea" of what they wanted rather than reality. What works even further is the idea that she ends up with Kevin, a man who is diametrically opposite to what she wants but in the end is the one who engages her mind and emotions through his wit, charm and intelligent sarcasm.

There's a lot going on in this movie thematically to hold your interest. First, there's the sibling rivalry between Jane and Tess, the latter of which always gets the light and attention. Jane never argues the point and lets Tess get away with everything, including Tess' romantic interest in her boss which sets up a number of great scenes with Jane hovering in the background looking like she's under the most intense mental torture she's every likely to be under given she's in love with her boss. It's only when Tess is selfish enough to cut up her mother's wedding dress to make a new one that Jane finally snaps, telling George the truth and in dramatic fashion exposes Tess' lies to keep George in front of everyone at their "night-before-the-wedding-day" party. There's also a lot of "wedding" commentary which is manifested in Kevin's character which is fun to watch, especially when it is so opposed to Jane's sweet and innocent views on weddings and marriage.

Where this film falls down is its reliance on typical romantic comedy conventions. Single-handedly, the climax really kills the film. You know that it should end happily because films like this have to end this way, but there's something very arbitrary and contrite about the proceedings as presented. Things just wrap up very quickly; Jane's feelings for her boss are glossed over in one scene, Kevin is re-introduced to take his place as Jane's man and future husband, Jane and Tess make up, and before you know it, they're all on a beach watching Jane and Kevin get married at a beautiful beach wedding. It's quite rapid and marks a major detour from the middle of the film which had some interesting sequences. But what did it for me in the end was the line up of women whom Jane helped dressed in the bridesmaid dresses that Jane wore at their weddings. It's one of the most ridiculous things I've ever seen. Given so much of this film actually explored interesting thematic territory, this 2-D cop out of an ending is a major let down.

"27 Dresses" is a romantic comedy that is more genuine and real than most films of its type; its unfortunately let down in the end by those very conventions which define films of its type.