The opening to the film 27 Dresses is very effective. It works well in introducing the character in that it features a flash back, voice over and it follows the character around for the entire opening, and only features one close up of another character who happens to be the male love interest and it shows his emotions as to when he first sees her. This is very good as it focuses primarily on her therefore giving the audience insight into her life and also introduces the leading male and shows his first impressions of her.
The narrative structure is established as the normal todorov style in that it starts at equilibrium and the opening is ended with a disruption therefore setting up the rest of the film.
The core themes of love and weddings are introduced from the very beginning as it starts in a wedding and then features two more weddings just within the opening sequence, this therefore sets off the the whole theme of the film which is marriage and how the main character is always helping others find love but never fulfilling her own interests. It also features a lot of core iconography such as churches, flowers, wedding dresses, wedding cake etc. which also helps to introduce the romantic genre and themes of the film.
The audiences expectations are built and you start to get an idea of what the film will be about. In that you expect that she will end up getting married as the character has been introduced as someone so interested in weddings and you are shown a male character who shows some interest in her, therefore you begin to piece together that they will end up with each other.
The soundtrack is extremely important in establishing the mood of the film and creating the right atmosphere. At the beginning there is quite fairytale like music to give a sort of daydreamy feel to the scene therefore highlighting that it is a flashback and showing that that is all the character wishes for. Then the music in between the two weddings is very fast paced to help show the rush that the character feels and to build up the tension. During the dancing scenes there is upbeat pop music playing therefore helping to create a lighthearted feel to the film and connecting to music styles that the audience would listen to.
The editing pace is quite slow at the beginning of the opening sequence during the flash back, this helps to create a softer feeling to that particular scene therefore helping to get across the fact that it is a memory. The editing during the wedding scenes is a lot faster which helps to build tension and link to how excited the character must be feeling.
The main character is represented as the stereotypical image of a girly girl who is obsessed with weddings and is somewhat the perfect woman in that she handles everything (the typical homemaker sort of view of woman).
Overall this opening is very effective in setting up the story and making the audience want to continue watching.
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