DVD - 27 Dresses (C+)

Starring Katherine Heigl (PBA), James Marsden, Malin Akerman, Edward Burns, Judy Greer, Melora Hardin (PBA).
Written by Aline Brosh McKenna.
Directed by Anne Fletcher.

PG-13 for language and sexuality

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Plot description from the cover:

From the screenwriter of The Devil Wears Prada, 27 DRESSES centers on Jane (Emmy winner Katherine Heigl), an idealistic, romantic and completely selfless woman -- a perennial bridesmaid whose own happy ending is nowhere in sight. But when younger sister Tess captures the heart of Jane's boss - with whom she is secretly in love - Jane begins to reexamine her "always-a-bridesmaid..." lifestyle. Jane has always been good at taking care of others, but not so much in looking after herself. Her entire life has been about making people happy - and she has a closet full of 27 bridesmaid dresses to prove it. One memorable evening, Jane manages to shuttle between wedding receptions in Manhattan and Brooklyn, a feat witnessed by Kevin (James Marsden), a newspaper reporter who realizes that a story about this wedding junkie is his ticket off the newspaper's bridal beat. Jane finds Kevin's cynicism counter to everything she holds dear - namely weddings, and the two lock horns. Further complicating Jane's once perfectly-ordered life is the arrival of younger sister Tess (Malin Akerman). Tess immediately captures the heart of Jane's boss, George (Edward Burns). Tess enlists her always-accommodating sister to plan yet another wedding - Tess and George's - but Jane's feelings for him lead to shocking revelations - and maybe the beginning of a new life.

This is a by-the-numbers rom-com confection sprinkled with nothing but charming, good-looking, talented actors. No new ground is broken. In fact, (except for an openly vindictive moment for Heigl's character) the existing ground is paved over with a thick layer of sugary glaze and cordoned off with "Do Not Touch" signs.

But that's okay. There's no pretension of aspiration to high art or even to a cursory correlation with reality here. Just lightweight disposable entertainment. And it does that well. I'm just not sure that's worth an hour and forty-five minutes of my life.

Final score: C plus

Trailer:

DVD - The Devil Wears Prada (B–)

Starring Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway (PBA), Emily Blunt, Stanley Tucci, Adrian Grenier
Directed by David Frankel
PG-13 for some sensuality, adult themes, profanity
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To begin with, this film is billed as a "wicked" comedy but I found no laughs in it. Maybe two or three mild chuckles. All the telegraphed moments that were intended to be comedy were glaringly unoriginal. Virtually every demeaning thing Meryl Streep's character does to Anne Hathaway's has been done in at least two dozen movies in the past 25 years. Only the specifics have been updated. This one simply has the world's greatest actress doing them.

Hathaway was cast because she's not only talented but also gorgeous and not emaciated. She is instantly likeable. Adrian Grenier is bland window-dressing as Hathaway's love interest. Chronic upstager Stanley Tucci is an actor I often can't appreciate but his under-the-top, small doses here keep him from being a liability. Streep is ... Streep! Her deft touch and perfect subtlety keep her absurd character in the realm of possibility. My biggest complaint is that her character's unsubtle hair is distractingly reminiscent of Glenn Close's Cruella Deville in Disney's "101 Dalmatians."

The entertaining and engaging parts primarily involve life lessons from the moral ambiguity that rears it head for Hathaway's character. However its lessons are contradictory and all over the map. Much of it is trite and all of it could have been done in a decent LifeTime movie but Streep and Hathaway bring it a level difficult to find on TV. And Hathaway's Andy ends up in a pretty questionable "happy ending" that belies her independence.

The film tries it hand at subtle apologetics for the high fashion industry. Even though I didn't buy it, a few of them were food for thought. And it's neat to hear Streep wrap attitude around the word "cerulean."

Final score: B minus