Have you ever heard the phrase always a bridesmaid and never the bride? Well, this is a film dedicated to these women.
27 Dresses follows social butterfly Jane as she navigates the wedding season. A friend to so many, Jane finds herself as a bridesmaid at wedding after wedding. But the best thing about being a bridesmaid? You get to keep the dress and you can always shorten it and wear it again. Spoiler alert: she doesn’t, except for your classic vibrantly colourful dress montage. Jane has a bursting wardrobe full of 27 bridesmaid dresses from your standard elegant wedding to your novelty cowboy bash. Plus the accessories that went with them. You never know when that floral bonnet will come in handy! Along the way, Jane, played by Katherine Heigl, meets cynical Kevin, played by James Marsden. The two inevitably clash when Kevin rather confidently writes his name and details into every Saturday of Jane’s packed planner. Cute right? However, the man that unknowingly holds her heart is her long-time boss, George. The same boss that Jane’s younger sister Tess has won over and landed a whirlwind engagement with. All is spiralling downwards for Jane, especially when she learns that Kevin will be writing about Tess and George’s wedding. He’s a journalist for a newspaper and happens to write for the wedding section- Jane’s favourite Sunday morning read. But, he has a hidden agenda that shakes up the lives of everyone involved.
Behind the swirls of beautiful fabrics, the story is about a young woman who’s been acting like a side character in her own life. Which I feel a lot of us can relate to, especially with the rise of main character energy tiktoks. Always being there for others and putting them before herself. She has a hard time saying no which means that her diary is pretty packed. And whilst this can be amazing to be so busy, she’s putting her life, wants, and needs on the back burner so she’s not really living. It’s not until the inevitable breaking point that we see Jane take back control and finally act as the main character in her life. There’s a lesson to be learned in living for yourself rather than for other people.
As well as this, the movie implies a lesson on hoarding. Whilst it’s the dream to have a wardrobe packed full of beautiful clothes (Emily in Paris has entered the chat), Jane wears these dresses once (twice including the dress montage) and packs them into rubbish bags. I can only assume they’re going to a charity shop or she’s got a Depop account! There’s a cost of living crisis going on, no shame in making that pretty penny.
Watch a clip from 27 Dresses here, Via Movieclips:
