27 Dresses

Katherine Heigl went on record last year to the effect that, yes, her breakthrough movie Knocked Up was "a little bit sexist".

So what does that make 27 Dresses? Written by Aline Brosh McKenna (The Devil Wears Prada) and directed by Anne Fletcher (Step Up), this cookie cutter entertainment is the story of a super-capable, sensitive, attractive woman whose only interest in life appears to be� marriage.

Jane is always the bridesmaid, never the bride. That's the entire movie in a nutshell. She begins in full tilt, shuttling in a cab between two weddings on the same evening: she's the maid of honour at both. She promises the cabbie $300 for the night, and no peeking as she changes dresses during the back and forth. (He forfeits a good part of the tip.) When she finally gets home that night she has two more bridesmaid dresses to squeeze into her overflowing closet.

She has also piqued the interest of Kevin Doyle (James Marsden), an obnoxious - if handsome - cynic who professes contempt for the wedding fairytale. She doesn't know this (he writes under a pen name) but Kevin is also responsible for her favourite newspaper column, "Commitments", a saccharine wedding feature that runs every week in the New York Journal.

Jane isn't interested in Kevin (why would she be? He's a jerk). She's holding a candle for her boss, George (Ed Burns), the ultimate desirable bachelor.

Enter Jane's kid sister, Tess (Malin Akerman), a blonde beauty who sweeps George off his feet. Before you can say "Wedding bells" Jane is arranging the perfect day for Mr Right and Miss All Wrong For Him, with Kevin taking notes in the corner.

This is all utterly predictable and as vanilla as could be. There's even a saloon singalong in the hopefully short-lived tradition of My Best Friend's Wedding. (Elton John's Benny and the Jets is the song in question.) Things perk up a bit when Tess pushes Jane too far, but it's a long time coming, and it's over much too fast.

Even on its own narrow terms, the movie has a couple of significant problems. For a start, where are all the girlfriends? Jane has been a bridesmaid 27 times, but from what we see Casey (a very sassy Judy Greer) is her only pal. She doesn't talk out her problems to anyone.

Then there's James Marsden, fresh from playing Prince Charming in Enchanted, but so charmless here he sinks the happy ending.

Worst of all, Malin Akerman (The Heartbreak Kid) is not remotely believable as Katherine Heigl's sister, and in any case the idea that Jane brought up Tess leaves you wondering how she turned out the way she did. (For the record, both actresses are 29.)

In a similar sibling rivalry situation in Dan In Real Life, Dan's brother is equally smitten with Juliette Binoche - a dynamic that's much more honest, ethically searching and potentially comic than the superficial notion here, that Tess just wants to marry George's bank account.

When all is said and done this rom-com still works and it's entirely due to Katherine Heigl, who successfully imbues the selfless Jane with enough of her own warmth and personality to have you rooting for her. The Grey's Anatomy star is more than just a pretty face. She has a quality you find in Julia Roberts, Drew Barrymore and Sandra Bullock, a sunny, open disposition that registers as emotional honesty. She's going to be a big star.

Tom Charity tom.charity@lovefilm.com