Reel time: ’27 Dresses’ repeats ‘chick flick’ stereotypes, highlights unrequited romance

“27 Dresses” is the classic “girl meets boy, girl hates boy, girl falls in love with boy and everyone lives happily ever after” tale with a storyline right out of the “This is How You Write a Romantic Comedy Guidebook.”

The heroine of our story is Jane (Katherine Heigl, “Knocked Up”), who spends all her time either working for the boss she’s madly in love with or planning everyone else’s wedding.

Like every love story, we have the charming, witty and very attractive male lead, Kevin (James Marsden, “The Notebook”),trying to get the girl’s attention; who we’re introduced to after he aides a knocked-out Heigl, who fell victim to a bouquet toss gone bad. In her haste of running away from her suitor, Heigl forgets her file-fax in the taxi, which is found by Kevin, ensuring that these two star-crossed lovers meet again.

The big issue of the movie is Jane’s sister’s engagement to George, Jane’s boss and Jane’s struggle in accepting that her sister is stealing the man she is madly in love with.

In true romantic comedy spirit, and completely unlike real life, a majority of the movie is spent with the utterly attractive Marsden chasing after Heigl, who rejects all his attempts at winning a date with her. Finally, after a passionate night of drinking and impromptu karaoke, Jane realizes she is in love with Kevin.

Of course, after this realization, Jane finds out that she has been the focus of a newspaper story aimed at advancing Marsden’s career, coupled with a few other setbacks that occur within 15 minutes of this event, you may get confused as to where the movie is headed.

All in all if you’re looking for the a typical romantic comedy where the movie begins with multiple love interests, the realization of who the main character really loves, the pivotal fight and following fall out and a happy ending, “27 Dresses” is exactly that and little more.