27 Dresses (2008)

We've all heard the phrase "always the bridesmaid, never the bride" to describe a woman that has been to everyone's wedding except her own. In 27 Dresses this saying forms the basis of this romantic comedy.

Katherine Heigl plays Jane Nichols. She's the overefficient personal assistant to George (Edward Burns) at a outdoor oriented catalog clothing purveyor. Jane has been to no less than twenty-seven weddings as a bridesmaid, and her closet is stuffed with the hideous dresses. Seriously, Jane could be a professional bridesmaid, and she is often roped into called upon to be the maid of honor at these affairs. The film starts as she is attends two weddings on the same night as she hops back and forth in a taxi (how NY!).

The conflict comes as she loses her Day Runner in the cab, and a newspaper reporter, Kevin, that just happens to cover the weddings section happens upon it. He tries to ask her out, but she would rather pursue an interest with her boss, who only sees her professionally, and ineptly wonders aloud "Who should I take to this function?" as Jane stand idly by hoping in anticipation. The second plot twist is that Jane's sister, Tess comes into town, and faster than we can say "sisterhood" Jane's boss is head over heels with Tess, who he hardly knows, and isn't as compatible as he thinks he is with.

Stop this bus, I want to get off! Ok, I'll grant you this is all predictable with a capital "P." This is the overdone romantic comedy formula film, and we're not breaking any ground here. However, 27 Dresses does have redeeming features aplenty.

First of all, Katherine Heigl is excellent. Maybe I'm just a fan of her work from "Grey's Anatomy," (ironically a show I haven't reviewed, but faithfully watch, and know a thing or two about the setting and plot line). Then, unlike many films that fall under the category of romantic comedy, this one actually has some humor in it. Let's agree that most bridesmaid dresses give new meaning to the word hideous, and would never be worn outside of a wedding. To have an entire closet of these montroscopies, that she models is quite amusing to watch as we see the various themes of weddings she has attended (pictured in this post are the dresses from the Caribbean and Indian weddings). Finally, while predictable, 27 Dresses just provides some solid entertainment. For two hours of diversion, it nicely fits the bill.

Overall Grade: B+

Reviewed by Jonas

Knocked Up (2007)

Knocked Up is a romantic comedy. It stars Katherine Heigl (Izzie from "Grey's Anatomy"), and Seth Rogen. It follows the formula of the pregnancy comedy, and reminds me of the film Nine Months.

From the title, it's not that much of a leap to infer the plot. Heigl plays Alison Scott, a young women who is suddenly on the up and up in her broadcasting career at an "Entertainment Tonight" style show. When she learns she is going on camera the next day for the first time, she and her sister decide to celebrate by having a drink at the local clubbing hot spot. Soon, the two are loosened up under the influence, and they meet Ben Stone (Rogen). If Ben's mission in life is to do nothing, then he is wildly successful. We learn later that he and some buddies basically do nothing under the guise of building a web site (after fourteen months they only have an "under construction" sign up on their URL). Their other activities could be euphemized as "recreational pharmaceutical consumption," better known as pothead in 60's slang. Alison, intoxicated, invites Ben home, and a few weeks later figures out that she's pregnant, after clearing a shelf of home pregnancy kits from the local pharmacy (seriously, they're pretty accurate, so if you get the plus on the first test, it's time to see the ob/gyn), hence the title.

The predictable rest follows suit. Alison has to find Ben, who she knows very little about. Will she want to be with him? Will he want to own up to his responsibility? Yeah, it's mostly been done before, but not this week so it had some entertainment value.

There were some humorous scenes including when Alison deals with the issue of her pregnancy at her job, or Ben's discourse on how he supports himself at the forever frathouse. As someone who has caught a few babies back in the day, and was delivered by "the new partner" himself, I found the sections that dealt with the finding of the obstetrician and the discussions at the delivery to be the most funny. I will admit that I've seen quite a few woman throw their natural childbirth plan right out the window once the contractions started, and take out the pain on their OB.

So, what's wrong with this film? It's too darn long. I viewed the uncut DVD, which weighed in at 2:15. I can't recall another comedy being that long, and it implies to me that at least a half an hour (if not even more) needed to be on the cutting room floor. Director Garry Marshall understands that sometimes scenes need to be sacrificed to maintain the pace of the story, but that wasn't done here so the pace is v-e-r-y s-l-o-w. Even more astonishing is that there were even more deleted scenes on the DVD! This film needed a healthy dose of nip & tuck. I get that Ben and his friends are a bunch of slackers, but by the third scene of them sitting on the sofa pontificating on life, the universe, and every other nonsense it's just overkill, and doesn't advance anything.

All right, let's come to a final verdict. Knocked Up is a decent comedy in serious need of a tighter edit. The acting is reasonably good, and the plot is predictable, but there is some decent humor. It's good enough for a DVD rental, and viewing once. Just don't think you have to own it.

Overall Grade: B-

Reviewed by Jonas

Side Effects (2005)

Side Effects is a comedy that comments on the current state of physician advertising via the so called pharmaceutical reps. While far from a documentary, it does impart a fair amount of information along the way, like that there is one pharmaceutical rep for every four doctors in the country.

The film stars Katherine Heigl, better known as “Izzie” from Gray’s Anatomy. She hangs up her white coat for this Side Effects, and sees how the other half lives. She decides to become a pharmaceutical rep, and the film starts with her recruitment. With the offer of a free company car, she is hooked on this new career path.

As time goes on, she is less sure of her career choice. She questions why they are selling these expensive drugs to the physicians, and presenting sales pitches that leave out essential facts. She also realizes how little she really knows about the products she is pushing. When a romance develops, she is convinced that she must get out of the business. She sets a 6 month countdown, and decides to tell the truth to the doctors in her territory. While this is rather humorous, for the sake of the film, her sales actually increase!

This film is both entertaining, and disturbing at the same time. While the pharmaceutical industry does do a lot of research, and brings drugs to market, it is clear that they are far more motivated by profit, than helping mankind. After all, when they have invested so much money in a drug, they aren’t going to shelve it when the bad results start appearing if they can make billions before anyone else figures this out (eg: Vioxx causing heart attacks). The DVD adds a documentary that delves into these issues a little more.

While Side Effects is entertaining, the overall theme is enraging. What holds this film back from a higher grade is that the low budget nature of the film comes through at several points, with scenes that don’t quite make sense, or strange camera movements that made me feel like I was watching a senior film thesis, and not a Hollywood film. Still, the message is worth wading through this, and I was both entertained and informed- always a good combination, especially when it’s natural and I don’t feel like I’m being preached to.

Overall Grade: B+

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