Few things give me a more profound case of the movie going willies than to see a studio's publicity department label a film a "romantic comedy." For example, have any of you seen the thoroughly insipid previews of the upcoming Matthew McConaughey/Kate Hudson seeming disaster "Fools Gold"? How truly God-awful could that film possibly be if those previews represent its best moments?

For far too long, movies labeled "romantic comedies" have been pawned off on the gullible public. Frequently emotionally shallow and involving little imagination, they are all to often an insult to women, their primary target audience.

I have noted in previous reviews the sexist undertone of such movies as "The 40 Year old Virgin", "Knocked Up" and "Dan in Real Life." All of them treat accomplished actresses like Catherine Keener, Katherine Heigl and Juliette Binoche as so desperate that they would fall for the losers played by Steve Carell and Seth Rogen. While all had their funny moments, what is remotely amusing about an attractive professional woman like Katherine Heigl falling for a boozy, overweight good-natured slob like Rogen?

But hope springs eternal, and every now and then a "romantic comedy" rises above the typical genre. With that in mind, I went to see Anne Fletcher's "27 Dresses" with modest expectations, and I was not surprised to see those expectations met.

To begin with, "27 Dresses" is a thinly disguised clone of Curtis Hanson's far superior "In Her Shoes" (2005). The problem here is that while Toni Collette can play a mousy, put upon female "ugly duckling" better than any actress going today, Katherine Heigl is totally miscast in such a role. While she is clearly as charming, believable and earnest as Collette, on her worse day she would be the most beautiful woman at the party.

Even worse, however, is Malin Akerman's woeful Cameron Diaz impression as Heigl's beautiful, vampi sister. Diaz was perfect in "In Her Shoes" playing a vacuous, promiscuous sister precisely because you get the feeling that she is playing a character close to herself. I have always gotten the feeling with Ms. Diaz that if she failed to make it as an actress, we would see her as a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader.

Additionally, this movie clearly does women no favors by depicting Ms. Heigl as having one principal goal in life, namely to finally be the bride as opposed to the bridesmaid. While such a wonderfully flawed film like "Lovers and Other Strangers" (1970) might have been able to wrap itself around such a theme 38 years ago, this has to be a dead issue for most thinking women today.

Furthermore, as with the recent over-hyped weepy "Evening" (2007), this film suffers mightily by having an emotional stiff like Edward Burns play the man that Heigl pines for. As in "Evening" where beautiful women like Claire Danes mooned for unknown reasons over a bore like Patrick Wilson, I was completely mystified as to what Heigl saw in Burns, particularly given that he was her boss.
Also, this movie does an enormous disservice to itself with its trite and rather foolish ending. While I certainly would not give it away (not that it would matter), suffice it to say that I have always considered any movie to be incredibly desperate when it shows the stars being applauded on camera by an admiring crowd at or near the climax. I can never escape the feeling that I am in a studio audience of some lightweight Fox TV series where they flash the "applause" sign and expect you to follow in lock step.

But even given those drawbacks, this movie is not completely devoid of interest, principally because of the charm and chemistry of its two stars, Ms. Heigl and the fast emerging James Marsden. Unlike Kate Hudson, who has run her "look at me, ain't I cute" persona into the ground, Ms. Heigl has a natural ease that you can't help but embrace. After all, what other actress could have played her pregnant character in "Knocked Up" and not have appeared pathetically wretched or needy?

As he did with his role as the fish out of water prince in the lovely "Enchanted", Mr. Marsden never forces himself on his audience. Just as a good basketball player will let the game come to him, Marsden distinguishes himself by playing off of his costars to great effect.

The loose plot of "27 Dresses" involves a perpetual bridesmaid (Heigl) who for unknown reasons is secretly in love with her boss, played by the above-mentioned stodgy Mr. Burns. The drama unfolds as her trampy sister suddenly appears and falls for Burns.

Thrown into the mix is the likable Mr. Marsden, who is a reporter that covers weddings (and eventually Heigl-literally) for the Sunday section of a New York Times - like paper. While there is absolutely no doubt where this movie is heading in the end, Heigl and Marsden rise above their shallow material and actually make the trip enjoyable.

Along the way, they are helped immeasurably by an acid tongue performance from Judy Greer, who plays Ms. Heigl's best friend. Additionally, the drunken scene involving Heigl and Marsden in a roadside bar that results in them singing Elton John's "Bennie and the Jets" is worth the price of admission alone.

In many ways, this movie reminded me of last year's underrated "No Reservations." Just as I did with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Aaron Eckhart, I found myself pulling for Heigl and Marsden largely because both seemed all the more real because of their flaws, not despite them. Screenwriter Ms. Aline Brosh McKenna ("The Devil Wears Prada") owes a great debt of gratitude to these two fine actors, as they alone have made this otherwise tepid offering watchable.