Review of Konfetti (2014) by Steve M — 19 Dec 2007

Camera crews document three couples (Freeman & Stevenson, Mangan & MacNeill, and Webb & Colman) competing in the "Most Unusual Wedding" compitition sponsered by English bridal magazine "Confetti", as well as the trials and tribulations of the two wedding planners (Franklin and Watson) trying to make the three very gimmicky nuptual celebrations work.

"Confetti" is a mockumentary made in the Christopher Guest style, in that it presents a world that is just askew enough from reality to have a mundane air to it, yet still be strange enough to be hilarious. The film is further reminicent of Guest's best-known films, because the individual scenes are ad-libbed by the actors with the script only providing the broadest of story points and characterzations.

Unfortunately, this British effort only just manages to rise to the level of Guest's mockumentary work.

The film is cute and funny and full of quirky characters that are for the most part likeable--even the annoying ones have a sort of charm. The flamboyantly gay wedding planners (played with great energy by Vincent Franklin and Jason Watson) are actually the most charming characters in the whole film, and they are the ones we really want to see succeed. (And they only become more likable if the cut scenes included on the DVD are viewed.).

The film's main problem--and the one that keeps it from rising to the lofty comedic levels of similar but superior films like "Best in Show" and "Waiting for Guffman" is that the outcome of the movie is predictable from very early on. Not only do scenes with the magazine's editor and publisher telegraph it, but the nature of the three competing couples makes the viewer root for one in particular over the other two... and they end up winning. The film presents lots of humorous and amusing moments, but nothing that's terribly outragerous or surprising. (Of course, I could be wrong... perhaps it's just my biases that make me think everyone would be rooting for the couple that predictably wins the contest. Certainly, the filmmakers didn't think so, as they shot a happy ending for each couple and added some "toy value" to the DVD that lets audiences view the movie with their preferred ending flowed into the movie.).

Confetti.

Starring: Vincent Franklin, Jason Watson, Martin Freeman, Jessica Stevenson, Stephen Mangan, Meredith MacNeill, Robert Webb, Olivia Colman, Jimmy Carr, and Marc Wooton.

Director: Debbie Isitt.