Upbeat romcom about a woman who's always the bridesmaid, never the bride. Jane Nichols (Katherine Heigl) has led a selfless, romantic life, always putting others needs first and herself last, especially when it comes to marriage. With 27 bridesmaid dresses in her cupboard, Jane is beginning to see a pattern developing. Scuttling between receptions one evening, she's spotted by a cynical local reporter (James Marsden) who sees her story as the ideal vehicle to move up the career ladder. But when her younger sister, Tess (Malin Akerman), makes moves on her boss, George (Edward Burns), who she secretly adores, Jane finally realises it's time to grab her life by the horns before it's too late. Katherine Heigl is delightful as Jane, a self-effacing Gal Friday so addicted to organizing weddings in her off time, that 27 Dresses opens with her character juggling two nuptials on the same night. A perpetual bridesmaid, Jane?s hobby is discovered by a matrimony reporter named Kevin (James Marsden), who hides a romantic side behind his wall of cynicism. While Kevin gradually develops feelings for Jane, the latter?s superficial sister, Tess (Malin Akerman), pursues George (Edward Burns), Jane?s boss and the object of her love. This romantic circle could go on forever, except that Jane is unexpectedly moved by Kevin despite her general irritation with him and without knowing that he?s on the verge of sandbagging her with a ridiculing article in his newspaper. The situation is absurd, but the emotions are not. Heigl is very good, rooted in a long tradition of comely comediennes playing characters who fly under the radar of life. She makes Jane?s pain palpable and conveys her character?s inability to say no without making her look unappealing or weak. Marsden perfectly captures the part of a rumpled, underdressed writer with repressed passions, Akerman is as convincingly shrewish here as she was in The Heartbreak Kid, and Burns is fine as one of those guys so busy saving the world he barely pays attention to the people in his life. The script by Aline Brosh McKenna ( The Devil Wears Prada) is fun if predictable, and Anne Fletcher?s direction is vibrant. --Tom Keogh