James Marsden and Katherine Heigl Were Tipsy During This ’27 Dresses’ Scene

27 Dresses, like all memorable rom coms, has a very specific scene that sticks out in fans’ minds. For this particular movie, it is when James Marsden and Katherine Heigl, who were the two leads in the 27 Dresses cast, belt out the beloved song “Bennie and the Jets” karaoke style while inebriated at a bar. But it seems their characters weren’t the only ones that were tipsy.

For fans who need a refresher, the memorable moment of the film came when Jane and Kevin are waiting out the rain in a bar. Deciding that they are going to enjoy being stuck inside together, they proceed to order many alcoholic beverages and before long, they are standing on the bar belting out “Bennie and the Jets” complete with dubious lyrics. While some fans believed that the 27 Dresses cast members simply botched the lyrics to the classic tune, messing up the song was actually written into the script.

The film’s screenwriter fought for the ’27 Dresses’ cast to sing ‘Bennie and the Jets’

In 2019, the 27 Dresses cast did a reunion shoot with Entertainment Weekly and revealed some little known facts about the film. Aline Brosh McKenna, who was the screenwriter for the movie, shared why she felt that it was important that the characters screwed up the lyrics. “It’s not just that [“Bennie and the Jets”] is a song that you don’t know the words to, because there’s a lot of songs that you don’t know the words to,” the writer shared. “It’s a song that you don’t know the words to that you sing with a tremendous amount of confidence.”

The 27 Dresses screenwriter felt very confident that “Bennie and the Jets” was the right song for Heigl and Marsden (who were cast as Jane and Kevin) to sing. When a rumor began that the song might be switched to “Brown Sugar”, McKenna called the studio repeatedly and demanded that it not be changed.

The scene is a standout in the movie

It seems that McKenna had great instincts because that particular scene is a standout for the film. Perhaps the scene is so salient to fans because the 27 Dresses cast seemed to really have fun with it. And while Heigl and Marsden have proved that they’re talented actors, they actually had the help of some liquid courage when they were shooting the karaoke scene.

Recently, Marsden sat down with BuzzFeed to read some of the thirst tweets that his fans wrote on Twitter. “I want to get drunk in a bar with James Marsden and then have sex in the back of his car. #27Dresses” one tweet read, clearly referencing the film. The Notebook star responded by sharing that he and Heigl actually took shots before shooting the bar scene to celebrate the movie wrapping.

Katherine Heigl and James Marsden got tipsy before the karaoke scene

“Funny story about that,” The Notebook alum shared. “That was the last scene we ever shot for 27 Dresses was the bar scene. It was a night shoot, all night. Once that scene was finished the movie was complete. Katherine and I were like, ‘Maybe we should actually have a tequila shot or two.’ But it was just enough to make us comfortable,” he revealed. Clearly, the 27 Dresses cast had some fun singing “Bennie and the Jets.” We imagine being slightly inebriated only added to the fun.