When I wake up in the mornings for school, it takes exactly two loud alarms. 

I need to be able to wake up and go back to sleep, even just for 15 minutes. 

I want a reminder to myself. 

27 Dresses, a romantic comedy about a people-pleaser, is another memo to myself. A sticky note placed in my mind to not get caught up in other people’s lives to the point that I forget to have my own.

When we see the main character, Jane Nickols, the title becomes evident as she’s been a bridesmaid 27 different times. This is how her love interest, journalist Kevin Doyle, learns about her, with his cynical outlook on marriage, attempting to prove that she doesn’t have to spend so much time planning other people’s happiness.

Jane is a textbook people pleaser, raising her younger sister, Tess, after their mother dies, and is taken advantage of in her social and work lives.

Tess falls in love and asks Jane to plan the wedding in three weeks, choosing to steal Jane’s dream of having a similar wedding as her parents. Jane – who has been playing the longest improvisation game of “Yes, and?” – soon erupts after Tess tears up their mother’s wedding dress and saves her the parts.

This movie is the perfect example of when being a people pleaser harms yourself and the people around you. Tess, who fully takes advantage of Jane’s kindness, is also harmed by it, thinking she needs to be like her sister and never truly learns how to do things alone. 

I love this movie and Jane’s relationship with each character. It is a depiction of always putting others first and reminds me being a pushover is not helpful for anyone in the long run.  

I have spent many times ranting to my friend how much I hate that Jane kept being taken advantage of and then scolded when she finally pushes back. The anger I feel every time when rewatching the movie is precisely the reason it’s one of my favorites.

I try to find myself in every piece of media I watch and 27 Dresses is a mirror placed in front of me every time. A depiction of a struggling female lead who learned how to place herself first in the race, not in last to give others a step up.

When I was younger, I used to desperately want others to know how much I gave for them, the emotional space they took in my mind. But it wasn’t their job to prioritize my feelings, just like it’s not mine to prioritize theirs. 

I first found 27 Dresses in 2024 and must have watched it 5 times now. I am grateful Katherine Heigl took up the project in 2008 and played Jane Nickols perfectly. From me and people pleasers everywhere, thank you.

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