What bridesmaid hasn't heard this?: "And the best thing about the dress is, you can shorten it and wear it again!"

Jane (Katherine Heigl) has heard it 27 times or maybe 26, since she was in a California wedding in which the dress already was obscenely short. But Jane hasn't altered, donated or recycled her 27 bridesmaid gowns; they are all squeezed into a closet in her New York apartment, complete with matching parasols, purses and other accessories.

She was 8 years old when she fell in love with weddings and has been content to serve -- instead of star -- until now.

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'27 Dresses'

• Starring: Katherine Heigl, James Marsden, Malin Akerman.
• Rating: PG-13 for language, some innuendo and sexuality.
• Web site: '27 Dresses'

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In "27 Dresses," two things pry open her eyes: Her younger, spoiled sister Tess (Malin Akerman) comes to town and promptly wins over Jane's boss and secret crush, George (Edward Burns), and a persistent newspaper reporter named Kevin (James Marsden) questions her always-a-bridesmaid life.

When Kevin learns that Jane has been in two dozen-plus weddings, he sees a story on her as his "ticket outta the taffeta ghetto." Kevin works at the fictional New York Journal, where he covers weddings for its Commitments section (much like The New York Times' Weddings/Celebrations), but he longs for other assignments.

As the ad campaign reminds us, "27 Dresses" was written by the screenwriter of "The Devil Wears Prada."

But "Devil" was based on the Lauren Weisberger best-seller, while "27 Dresses" by Aline Brosh McKenna borrows from Cinderella and every romantic comedy with a meet-cute, a sassy best friend, a drunken public sing-along, an alcohol-fueled hookup, a betrayal, a scorching moment of payback and resulting remorse.

Add in echoes of the Doris Day era, when Jane is told, "I think you deserve to be taken care of," instead of being the one who takes care of everyone else.

If the devil is in the details, the bridesmaid dresses are vividly different and unattractive in their own ways, thanks to costume designer Catherine Marie Thomas. Marsden, on the other hand, seems a little underdressed for a man who covers weddings for a living, and he works for a character who gives newspapers a bad name.

"27 Dresses," directed by choreographer Anne Fletcher ("Step Up"), should cement Heigl's ability to move effortlessly and successfully between the small and big screens, and "Enchanted" star Marsden gets another shot at a potential Prince Charming. Judy Greer is Jane's smart-alecky best friend who calls them as she sees them, and Burns is lucky this comes so fast on the heels of his horror flop, "One Missed Call."

The wedding industry is singed around the edges but escapes without too much scrutiny, which is a shame. Kevin raises the question of how Jane can afford the expense of being a bridesmaid -- the dresses, the air fare, the gifts -- but she never really answers and, besides, she doesn't mind the money.

"27 Dresses," while no "Four Weddings and a Funeral," is just what the rom-com doctors ordered. It's like a freshly cut slab of overly frosted wedding cake; it goes down easily, won't shock your taste buds and will send you out with a sugar high and "Bennie and the Jets" buzz.