27 Dresses is directed by Anne Fletcher and stars Katherine Heigl, James Marsden, Malin Akerman, Edward Burns, and Judy Greer. The film's musical score is composed by Randy Edelman. ***

27 Dresses follows the hectic life of a woman who has never married, but has been a bridesmaid 27 times. She secretly pines for her boss - but apparently he is the only one in the workplace who doesn't know she loves him. And things don't get any easier from here on out. Her sister and her love interest meet, develop a relationship and plan to marry. ***

I'm not keeping track or anything, but how many times can this “always a bridesmaid, never a bride” thing be made into a movie, and still kept interesting? Apparently not enough. While 27 Dresses does feature a terrific performance from leading lady Katherine Heigl, the other aspects of the movie drag it down. Predictable and ridden with a story we've seen countless times before on the big screen, there's just not enough here to keep audiences interested for the nearly two-hour duration. ***

If there's one thing I can say in this film's defense, it's that Katherine Heigl gives us a great show in the leading role. As far as the whole “slightly off” thing goes, she pulls it off nicely. Her acting here is the best thing the movie has going for it. Even the supporting cast members manage to serve up some decent enough performances. ***

But it's all downhill from there. The basic plot of the film is going to be familiar and predictable to just about anyone who has seen a romantic comedy before. Even though Heigl and her co-stars give us good enough performances, it just isn't enough to change the facts - we've seen this movie before. MANY times. The experience isn't a total loss, but it's not exactly good enough to recommend either. ---

Image And Sound:

The transfer on this disc isn't a great one, but it's not horrible either. For the most part it's free of any major blemishes, but there are noticeable compression artifacts in more than a few scenes. Sound is just the opposite, it's a great mix, and all of the dialogue comes across loudly and clearly. ---

The DVD includes four featurettes and deleted scenes. The four featurettes included are entitled Wedding Party, You'll Never Wear That Again, Jane's World, and Tue Running of the Brides. Wedding party is the longest featurette, clocking it at almost 15 minutes. This is your basic “behind the scenes” featurette, what you'd expect to find on a modern-day DVD for a recently-released movie. You'll Never Wear That Again is a shorter featurette, with the emphasis on the different dresses worn in the film during Jane's stint as a bridesmaid. Jane's World describes the filming and production process of the movie, and the challenges of creating the setting. The Running of the Brides deals with a hectic, annual bridal gown sale. None of these featurettes are too terribly compelling, but then again that's probably due to the fact that the film itself isn't a great one. The deleted scenes (three of them on here total) don't really contribute anything to the experience, and it isn't hard to see why they didn't make the final cut.

Final Words: