Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
Directed by Mike Newell

Film Review

With the British film industry in a state of near-terminal decline in the early 1990s, along comes a film - ostensibly an inconsequential little comedy - that gives it a badly needed boost and convinces the world that British cinema is far from dead.  Four Weddings and a Funeral was one of the most successful British films of the decade - it took over 245 million dollars at the box office worldwide (not bad for a film made on a budget of around 5 million dollars) and launched several international film careers, notably that of its writer Richard Curtis and lead actor Hugh Grant.  The happy marriage of Curtis's flair for comedy - honed to perfection over the previous decade in his work for British television (Black Adder, Mr Bean) - with Grant's pleasing screen persona proved to be a winning formula, and the two would work together on several subsequent hit films, including: Notting Hill (1999), Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) and Love Actually (2003).

The popularity of Four Weddings and a Funeral is not difficult to account for.  Its truthful portrayal of the difficulties of finding the perfect partner and making the ultimate commitment can hardly fail to strike a chord, even in our cynical times, but what really sells the film is its unflagging sense of fun.  Some of the humour is a little strained (Rowan Atkinson's scene as an inept priest looks suspiciously like a recycled old Two Ronnies sketch) and the F word is used to the point that it soon becomes monotonous, but more often than not the comedy hits its mark.  The one fly in the ointment is Andie MacDowell, who is the only member of a scintillating cast that fails to shine.  For most of the film, MacDowell looks as if she is making a skincare commercial - her performance (if you can call it that) is lousy and her chemistry with Grant practically non-existent.  (I look forward to the day when there is a DVD option which allows her to be digitally replaced with another actress - Betty Boop would be an improvement).

Hugh Grant is at his foppish best as the stuttering English ex-public schoolboy struggling to overcome his British reserve and connect with his emotions, the kind of role he would make his own for much of his career, at the risk of limiting his repertoire considerably.  As good as Grant is here, the best and more interesting performances are provided by the stunning ensemble cast, which includes such capable performers as James Fleet, Simon Callow, John Hannah, Kristin Scott Thomas, Charlotte Coleman and David Haig.  John Hannah (who turns in the most nuanced and moving performance) went on to have a very prolific career on film and television, starring opposite Gwyneth Paltrow in Sliding Doors (1998), whilst Kristin Scott Thomas became a huge international film star after her leading role in Anthony Minghella's The English Patient (1996).  Tragically, Coleman (who first found fame as a child actor in the TV series Worzel Gummidge) died in 2001 at the age of 33, from an asthma attack.  Four Weddings and a Funeral is the confluence of so much yet-to-be-appreciated talent, on both sides of the camera, and therein lies the reason for its phenomenal success and enduring popularity.

Film Synopsis

Charles is a repressed but attractive 30-something Englishman who appears to be incapable of committing himself to any girl he has a relationship with.  At the wedding of one of his friends (at which he is the best man), he meets an alluring American woman named Carrie and cannot resist spending the night with her at his hotel.  The next morning, the two go their separate ways, although both seem to regret the brevity of their liaison.  A few months later, Charles and Carrie meet by chance at another wedding, but the former's hopes are immediately dashed when he learns that the latter is engaged to another man.  Naturally, Charles agrees to attend Carrie's wedding in Scotland, but the event is soured by the death of another friend, Gareth, who performs one Highland fling too many.  As he meditates on his future, Charles begins to wonder whether he will ever get married.  Some people are destined always to remain single...