Review of Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) by Deric T — 15 Feb 2010

The film that arguably launched the career of Hugh Grant and reinforced Richard Curtis' deserved acclaim, 'Four Weddings and a Funeral' has become a cult classic in much the same way as 'Dirty Dancing' and 'Sex and the City'. Quite why I thought, therefore, that this was a film that I might enjoy I cannot remember.

Precisely why this film has failed to warm the cockles of my heart and win my appreciation can be summarized by the metaphor that summarizes the entire film and far too many rom-coms: it's wetter than a widow's hankie.

'Four Weddings and a Funeral' follows the romance and relationship adventures of a group of friends through the terribly British Charles (Hugh Grant), whose bachelor instincts are cast aside as he is smitten by American Carrie (Andie MacDowell). Their story and the story of all the other characters unfolds and develops within the four shown weddings and funeral.

So far my sentiments have not expressed the glowing accolades and adoration of 'Four Weddings and a Funeral' common critically, however my own personal dislike of the film is far outweighed by the recognition of the brilliance of its creation. Mike Newell's direction is endlessly and unashamedly emotional, both with its extreme light-heartedness of style and speed with the ability to drag titanic amounts of emotional involvement out of both a sedate storyline and the audience.

The comedy may never induce fits of hysteria (or at least, it didn't in my case), however Curtis script is a solid reminder of just how effortlessly brilliant the Blackadder writer is at producing witty scripts where character interaction is weaved seamlessly. Huge praise should be lavished upon Newell for assembling a cast of outstanding quality; support provided however briefly by the likes of Kristin Scott-Thomas, Simon Callow, James Fleet, John Hannah, Anna Chancellor and Rowan Atkinson, who lap Curtis' script up with relish that is evident on-screen. Their believability indispensably grounds and offers audience-connection to a high-flying storyline.

'Four Weddings and a Funeral' is an effortlessly entertaining and jolly ride of a movie with delightfully British understated humour and direction. For the too-British (me) and those without the emotional accessibility to truly engage with this sub-genre of films, 'Four Weddings and a Funeral' is like trying to politely sit in a room with you least favourite, dotty old aunt with an over-fondness for giggling, cats and saucers. For those with an emotional range, 'Four Weddings and a Funeral' is brilliant enough to make you laugh and cry and the film that spawned 'Notting Hill' and 'Love Actually'.