27 Dresses Movie Review (2023)

Parents Say: age 12+ 27 Dresses Movie Review (1) 9 reviews

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A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

  • Positive Messages

    none

    Nothing too bad for the romcom genre, though there are the requisite plot-driving shenanigans: A woman pretends to be someone she's not to land a fiancé ... who happens to be the man her sister loves; a reporter deceives a woman, making her think he's writing about something else when she's actually the subject of his exposé; a woman humiliates her sister at her engagement party. The overall message (that women aren't happy unless they're the bride, instead of the bridesmaid) feels a bit dated.

  • Violence & Scariness

    none

    A woman slaps a man (hard) after he wrongs her; two sisters argue loudly, with one throwing objects at the other.

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  • Sex, Romance & Nudity

    none

    Deep kissing and making out (on a couch and in a car); sexual innuendoes (e.g. "walk of shame" and hooking up at weddings); a woman stands in her lingerie during a dress fitting.

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  • Language

    some

    A fairly generous sprinkling of the word "s--t," plus "whore" and "a--hole."

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  • Products & Purchases

    none

    Visible/referenced brands include Budweiser (a bottle appears fairly prominently in one scene) and Filofax; the dressing room of Amsale, a wedding dress designer, is shown in one scene.

  • Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

    some

    Lots of drinking at wedding receptions; in a major scene, the two leads get plastered after drinking lots of hard liquor and beer.

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  • Parents Need to Know

    Parents need to know that although this film is fairly charming and no more objectionable, content-wise, than most other Hollywood romantic comedies (that is, if you don't object to movies that fully embrace romcom clichés), there is a fairly liberal sprinkling of swear words (particularly "s--t") and drinking. The message -- that women aren't truly happy if they're always the bridesmaid but never the bride -- verges on being a little overly retro, but since the movie is so frothy, it manages to get away with that such old-fashioned thinking. Star Katherine Heigl was in the hit comedy Knocked Up, so teens (particularly girls) will likely be interested. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.

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27 Dresses

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  • Parents say (9)
  • Kids say (50)

age 12+

Based on 9 parent reviews

Amber E. Parent of 7 and 10-year-old

May 8, 2023

age 12+

Santa Comment! Why?!

Okay so I hadn’t seen this in awhile but I remembered I enjoyed it. I have 2 girls and I’m always trying to find girl movies that are appropriate for us to watch. I researched this movie a little just in case because I couldn’t really remember if there was anything too inappropriate. Mostly I just don’t want sex scenes. My girls are young and pretty innocent so a lot of inappropriate stuff said regarding sex goes right over their head. One thing I do always keep in mind though is movies for older kids and adults sometimes tend to talk about Christmas or make comments regarding Santa and that makes me nervous. It even crossed my mind for this movie but I thought nah, why would it make any reference to that in this movie? Well, about 10-15 min in it does. Jane makes a blantant reference about Santa and my heart sank. I just don’t understand why any movies have to even talk about that juuuuust in case a child happens to be listening. The only thing really inappropriate in this movie is some of the language like bad words or sexual references and there are make out sessions. My girls were probably too young for this, 10 and 7 but I don’t think they really took anything bad from it, they thought it was funny and loved it was about weddings. PG-13 movies are tough to judge. Some end up being pretty appropriate, at least to my standards, but there’s definitely some that I would rather my kids don’t watch yet. Just have to research a little better next time.

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goodgirl Adult

January 10, 2017

age 12+

i don't have a problem with it.

I liked it. good movie for teens 12 and up . not bad.

This title has:

Great messages

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What's the Story?

Jane Nichols (Katherine Heigl) is a people pleaser to the core; she'll happily twist herself into a pretzel juggling two weddings in one night and playing second banana to Bridezillas -- which is how she's ended up in more than 20 wedding parties. Enter Kevin "Malcolm" Doyle (James Marsden) -- the journalist who writes Jane's favorite wedding column -- who helps her see how debilitating her selflessness has become. They hate each other at first, but then (no surprise) wind up together. Meanwhile, Jane's millionaire boss (Ed Burns) doesn't realize that she's madly infatuated with him. Instead, he falls for her vampy but vacuous sister, Tess (Malin Akerman).

Is It Any Good?

Our review:

Parents say (9):

Kids say (50):

How anyone could swap Jane for Tess is a serious mystery -- just one of a number of 27 DRESSES' irritating, albeit small, flaws. On the other hand, there are some rewards -- like Judy Greer, who plays Casey, Jane's saucy, witty best friend. The movie also benefits from director Anne Fletcher's light-and-easy style (thankfully, she doesn't take the subject matter seriously) and, more importantly, the Heigl's effervescence. She and Marsden have great chemistry, making their predictable arc fairly entertaining.

The verdict: Brilliant 27 Dresses isn't, and there's something dated about the idea that a woman isn't happy when she's playing bridesmaid instead of bride. Considering that the movie was written by Aline Brosh McKenna, who also penned the bitingly exquisite The Devil Wears Prada, a bit more inventiveness shouldn't have been out of the question. But anyone who's donned a bridesmaid dress and has a romantic streak will enjoy this conventional confection -- consider it a no-guilt slice of wedding cake.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the film's message. What's wrong with being a bridesmaid? Is a woman truly not happy if she's never the bride? How does Hollywood contribute to this thinking? Families can also discuss weddings: Have they become, as one character says in the movie, an industry that capitalizes on romantic ideals? What truly makes a wedding special, if it's not the presents, the fancy dresses, and the over-the-top receptions?

Movie Details

  • In theaters: January 17, 2008
  • On DVD or streaming: April 28, 2008
  • Cast: Edward Burns, James Marsden, Katherine Heigl
  • Director: Anne Fletcher
  • Studio: Twentieth Century Fox
  • Genre: Comedy
  • Run time: 107 minutes
  • MPAA rating: PG-13
  • MPAA explanation: language, some innuendo and sexuality.
  • Last updated: January 9, 2023

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