27 Dresses and Eco-Chic

I just got back from a sneak preview of 27 Dresses, the new romantic comedy featuring Katherine Heigl and James Marsden. Whatever one may think of the film--I don't think I was its target audience--from a marketing and design perspective the evening was fun. At the theater the publicity team had a couple women standing still--a la the stationary statues of liberty and mimes ubiquitous in Central and Battery Parks--while wearing dresses patterned after the poster to the left; the point, I gather, was to induce people to take pictures to send to friends & upload to Flickr. The movie also had a clever closing credit sequence that is itself worth the price of admission, at least if, like me, you're into credits & graphic design.

But what really stood out for me was the degree to which green was embedded into the film. Not green as in an ugly bridesmaid's dress, although that's there too. I mean green as in slacktivist eco-chic. Besides the not so subtle product placement for Seventh Generation, the guy in 27 Dresses who typifies Successful Male Hunk is the embodiment of sustainability. He's into eco-travel; he's committed to corporate social responsibility; he's a Big Brother; he's a vegetarian. Except for his taste in women he doesn't have a single frickin' flaw, and even that is arguably true to form.