27 Dresses is a film best enjoyed by those that are heading out to see Sex in the City this weekend...
Video:
"27 Dresses" is presented with an anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio of 2.40:1 that looks quite good on DVD. I had first experienced "27 Dresses" on Blu-ray and felt that transfer was decent, but generally fell into the ´average´ bucket. The DVD doesn´t lose much detail to its higher resolution sibling and the color palette was essentially identical. In the realm of standard definition DVD, "27 Dresses" becomes an above average entry that is sharply detailed and colorful. Colors are very good and nicely showcase the many colors of the twenty-seven bridesmaid dresses and the overly colorful apartment and office space inhabited by the main character. There are some instances where the hues appear slightly muted, but this is due to source materials as the scenes were identical on the other format. The source materials themselves are very clean and I couldn´t spot any flaws from either them or the digital transfer. While I was not overly impressed with the Blu-ray release, I found the DVD to look quite good.
Audio:
English and French soundtracks are provided for "27 Dresses," as well as English subtitles. The English language track is an earnest Dolby Digital 5.1 mix and the French language track is relegated to just 2.1 channels. The film is typical of most romantic comedies and doesn´t contain much more in the sound design department than dialogue and a few ambient effects. It is a clean sounding mix that lacks any strong presence in the rear surrounds and hardly uses the subwoofer channel. There are a few nice sounding moments early on when Katherine Heigl´s character is bouncing between wedding parties and the taxi rides provide some nice ambient moments, but the rest of the film is a mix of music and dialogue. The best sounding scene may be when Heigl and Marsden spend some time singing in a bar. Fortunately, the dialogue is clean and every word can be easily heard. Romantic comedies aren´t known for their audio mixes and this is a typical sounding mix.
Extras:
While "27 Dresses" may not be feature-laden, the title does contain enough bits of value added content to please most consumers. The film, which is not an A-list title, contains four featurettes and some excised material. The first featurette, The Wedding Party (14:31) is an electronic press kit feature with James Marsden, Katherine Heigl and others talking about the film amongst a few making-of snippets and interviews where the cast and crew give their thoughts to the characters and story. You´ll Never Wear That Again (6:46) has director Anne Fletcher and Costume Designer Catherine Marie Thomas talking about the twenty-seven dresses shown in the film. Jane´s World (4:38) is Production Designer Shepherd Fankel´s turn to talk about creating the sets used in the film. The final featurette, The Running of the Brides (5:05) is about a one-day sale at Filene´s Basement where wedding gowns can be bought on the cheap. It looks like an interesting affair. Finally, three Deleted Scenes (3:58) complete the bonus offerings. The scenes are not shown in high definition, but are worth a quick peek.
Closing Comments:
My second viewing of "27 Dresses" wasn´t as easy to sit through as the first viewing. I knew what to expect and I knew exactly where the story was going. Still, it isn´t a bad film and I found myself paying attention to most of it as I watched it for this comparative DVD review. My initial thoughts are that "27 Dresses" is a film best enjoyed by those that are heading out to see "Sex in the City" this weekend; namely the female crowd. It has some nice heartfelt moments and a couple very funny scenes. Katherine Heigl is very easy on the eyes for those of us that are male and enjoy tall stunning blondes. The performances are nicely done and this is a comedy that isn´t too hard to sit through if your female ´significant other´ would like you to sit down and watch the film with her. The DVD transfer fares a little better than its high definition sibling as it doesn´t lose much ground to that transfer. The supplements are identical. For those lovely ladies out there looking to expand your DVD library, "27 Dresses" is not a bad call.
"27 Dresses" is presented with an anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio of 2.40:1 that looks quite good on DVD. I had first experienced "27 Dresses" on Blu-ray and felt that transfer was decent, but generally fell into the ´average´ bucket. The DVD doesn´t lose much detail to its higher resolution sibling and the color palette was essentially identical. In the realm of standard definition DVD, "27 Dresses" becomes an above average entry that is sharply detailed and colorful. Colors are very good and nicely showcase the many colors of the twenty-seven bridesmaid dresses and the overly colorful apartment and office space inhabited by the main character. There are some instances where the hues appear slightly muted, but this is due to source materials as the scenes were identical on the other format. The source materials themselves are very clean and I couldn´t spot any flaws from either them or the digital transfer. While I was not overly impressed with the Blu-ray release, I found the DVD to look quite good.
Audio:
English and French soundtracks are provided for "27 Dresses," as well as English subtitles. The English language track is an earnest Dolby Digital 5.1 mix and the French language track is relegated to just 2.1 channels. The film is typical of most romantic comedies and doesn´t contain much more in the sound design department than dialogue and a few ambient effects. It is a clean sounding mix that lacks any strong presence in the rear surrounds and hardly uses the subwoofer channel. There are a few nice sounding moments early on when Katherine Heigl´s character is bouncing between wedding parties and the taxi rides provide some nice ambient moments, but the rest of the film is a mix of music and dialogue. The best sounding scene may be when Heigl and Marsden spend some time singing in a bar. Fortunately, the dialogue is clean and every word can be easily heard. Romantic comedies aren´t known for their audio mixes and this is a typical sounding mix.
Extras:
While "27 Dresses" may not be feature-laden, the title does contain enough bits of value added content to please most consumers. The film, which is not an A-list title, contains four featurettes and some excised material. The first featurette, The Wedding Party (14:31) is an electronic press kit feature with James Marsden, Katherine Heigl and others talking about the film amongst a few making-of snippets and interviews where the cast and crew give their thoughts to the characters and story. You´ll Never Wear That Again (6:46) has director Anne Fletcher and Costume Designer Catherine Marie Thomas talking about the twenty-seven dresses shown in the film. Jane´s World (4:38) is Production Designer Shepherd Fankel´s turn to talk about creating the sets used in the film. The final featurette, The Running of the Brides (5:05) is about a one-day sale at Filene´s Basement where wedding gowns can be bought on the cheap. It looks like an interesting affair. Finally, three Deleted Scenes (3:58) complete the bonus offerings. The scenes are not shown in high definition, but are worth a quick peek.
Closing Comments:
My second viewing of "27 Dresses" wasn´t as easy to sit through as the first viewing. I knew what to expect and I knew exactly where the story was going. Still, it isn´t a bad film and I found myself paying attention to most of it as I watched it for this comparative DVD review. My initial thoughts are that "27 Dresses" is a film best enjoyed by those that are heading out to see "Sex in the City" this weekend; namely the female crowd. It has some nice heartfelt moments and a couple very funny scenes. Katherine Heigl is very easy on the eyes for those of us that are male and enjoy tall stunning blondes. The performances are nicely done and this is a comedy that isn´t too hard to sit through if your female ´significant other´ would like you to sit down and watch the film with her. The DVD transfer fares a little better than its high definition sibling as it doesn´t lose much ground to that transfer. The supplements are identical. For those lovely ladies out there looking to expand your DVD library, "27 Dresses" is not a bad call.
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[release]23275[/release]