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The old adage "always a bridesmaid, never a bride," rears its head again in the romantic comedy 27 Dresses. But for Katherine Heigl, 29, her offscreen romantic life couldn't be more different.
The Grey's Anatomy star married musician Josh Kelley, 27, in December in Park City, Utah. They had been engaged since June 2006.
Fellow Grey's cast members T.R. Knight, Sandra Oh, and Justin Chambers, as well as Private Practice's Kate Walsh were present.
But unlike her character from 27 Dresses, Heigl isn't one for little-girl obsessions - or illusions - over the perfect wedding.
"It actually makes me angry because those women have ruined it for the rest of us," she says. "Weddings have become such a racket because they can charge three times as much for everything because women insist on having the 'dream' wedding."
A week before her wedding, Heigl was doing interviews in Los Angeles to promote her movie. She said then of her upcoming nuptials, "We're definitely creating a winter wonderland vibe - and it'll cost money - but we've kept the numbers small. If you invite more than 300 people you never get to sit down and eat the food, or more importantly, drink the specialty cocktails. I don't want to work the room the whole night. I would like to get drunk, too!"
Heigl is an anomaly of sorts in Hollywood. In an otherwise tight-lipped climate, she is brazenly politically incorrect, though this is not manifested in the usual celebrity way. She ventures outdoors wearing underwear and, unlike her many of her counterparts, hasn't been to jail or rehab.
However, controversy is no stranger to the actress. She famously came to the defence of fellow co-star T.R. Knight when his homosexuality was outed by then-co-star Isiah Washington. And then a few weeks ago, despite the enormous success of her first starring role in the hit comedy Knocked Up, she made some disparaging comments about the movie, describing it as "sexist".
After landing her first leading role on the big screen, might this seem a little ungrateful?
Heigl sighs. "It was one of those moments, which often happens to me, where I speak without realising how people might react. Yes, I thought Knocked Up was sexist, but I love the movie. I'm really proud and really grateful to be a part of it.
"I realise I was very lucky to be in that movie. They took a huge chance on casting me. I was a TV star - and that was it. The way it came out sounded like I wasn't somehow grateful."
Looking her glamorous self, wearing a black Oscar de la Renta cape, over a fitted black and white Temperley dress, she offers, presumably in an attempt to dispel any beauty myths, "I'm also wearing Spanx," (the modern girdle, also favoured by Gwyneth Paltrow among other Hollywood stars).
It seems that, like many beautiful women, Heigl feels the need to compensate by an attempt at being self-deprecating.
"Although I stand behind my opinion about Knocked Up, it's just some stupid girl's opinion. It shouldn't matter so much. What I was saying was just meant to be funny."
In the lead role in 27 Dresses, Heigl plays down her glamorous image. "It's always fun to play against type," she says. "I'm always cast as 'the blonde' ... I had to really fight hard to have my hair dishwater brown."
Heigl's role, opposite Ed Burns and James Marsden, is her second romantic lead in a movie.
"In Knocked Up I was playing the straight man. This one, instead of being the foil, I was on the front-lines trying to be funny. And it's scary. You don't know if you're funny. But I liked that I get to be goofy and silly in this one."
It has become de rigueur for the heroine in romantic comedies to do a drunken karaoke scene and be adept at clumsy/ditsy falling-down antics. "There's a lot of physical comedy in this, which was a challenge," Heigl says.
The whirlwind of the past 12 months is not lost on Heigl, who has been a working model and actress since age 9."I've been acting for 17 years and then within the last year everything I hoped for and dreamed of has happened.
"It began last year with the Golden Globe nomination (for Grey's Anatomy), that was the beginning of this phenomenal year and it set the tone for the whole year - and that would have been more than enough [but] that followed with an Emmy. "It's been one thing after another." And, of course, there's the wedding.
"Yes, the wedding," she smiles. "It's been the perfect year of my life. I couldn't be more excited. Now I'm just nervous about next year!"
Lowdown
Who: Katherine Heigl
Born: November 24, 1978
What: Star of new film 27 Dresses, plus Knocked Up, Grey's Anatomy, Roswell (1992-2002)
Opens: February 14
