Four Weddings and a Funeral (Mike Newell, 1994) wr. Richard Curtis
Over the course of five social occasions, a committed bachelor must consider the notion that he may have discovered love.
Hugh Grant, Andie MacDowell, Kristin Scott Thomas, James Fleet, Simon Callow
This page illustrates why this folder should not be called "reviews". I've just seen this movie for the first time, in 2017, whereas it was released almost a quarter of a century ago.
It's easy to see why this film was so popular. It's familiar territory in our lives, covering two out of three of 'hatched, matched, and despatched'. Both weddings and funerals are times of great emotion (and expense :) and there's always potential for tragedy and comedy at both. Also, it looks like everyone is having great fun.
It was far from Mike Newell's first go at directing: he'd begun his career thirty years before. Richard Curtis hadn't directed a film yet (his first was Love Actually, 2003) but the cast could have confidence in an experienced writer of comedy - particularly from his work with Rowan Atkinson.
Hugh Grant is now seen as 'playing himself again', but this was the film in which he began to develop the character of 'Hugh Grant', now an English archetype. So he might be seen as over-egging the HG pudding, but it was early days.
Lovely to see Simon Callow relishing a camp gay part, having 'come out' ten years before. He himself did finally get married, tho not until 2016. In a recent article he wrote that in this film he 'was the funeral'.
Re Andie MacDowell, I'm amused to see that Wikipedia reports that 'The character of Carrie was voted one of the most annoying film characters of all time in a British online poll.'
Wikipedia page
IMDb page
See also: Notting Hill
Garry Gillard | reviews | New: 23 November, 2017 | Now: 26 November, 2017