Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) is an appealing romantic comedy, with more clever situations and good wit than is typical of the genre. It was the work of writer Richard Curtis and director Mike Newell.

Historical Background: British director Mike Newell was born in 1942 in England. He directed for stage and television before turning to feature films for the big screen. He made his first feature film, The Awakening (1980), in America. After filming Bad Blood (1983) in New Zealand, Newell returned to England to direct Dance with a Stranger (1985), one of his best films so far. After a few lesser efforts, he had success with Enchanted April (1991), which was popular both at home and in America. He also scored well with the film under review here, Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994). His best films since have been Donnie Brasco (1997) and Mona Lisa Smile (2003).

The Story: Charles (Hugh Grant) is an English bachelor. He's handsome, dapper and eligible but hamstrung by a heavy dose of English reserve. He is beginning to imagine that it's his fate to be condemned to eternal bachelorhood, forever waiting for the thunderbolt of true love. Those feelings are accentuated by a string of weddings (and a funeral) that seem to underscore his situation and the finite temporal nature of his existence.

Charles and his platonic roommate, Scarlett (Charlotte Coleman), awaken late on the morning of a wedding in which Charles is scheduled to be best man for Angus (Timothy Walker), who is marrying Laura (Sara Crowe). Amid a string of expletives, Charles and Scarlett rush to reach the church on time and Charles, of course, forgets to bring the wedding rings. Also in attendance at the wedding is the close circle of friends with whom Charles and Laura hang out, all unmarried. There's Gareth (Simon Callow), a jolly extrovert, who likes nothing more than deconstructing social absurdities. Gareth is half of a gay couple that also includes Matthew (John Hannah). Also in this group is the acerbic Fiona (Kristin Scott Thomas), who used to date Charles and who still carries a torch for him. Then, there's Charles's brother David (David Bower), who is deaf. He and Charles communicate in sign language, which enables the pair to engage in rude private conversations.

There's some funny business at the first wedding. Some of the wedding guests are called upon to donate their rings, which reach Charles just in the nick of time. Charles later delivers a hilarious toast. More importantly, however, Charles is struck by the proverbial thunderbolt when he spies an American guest, fashion editor Carrie (Andie MacDowell). Later, by Carrie's ingenuity, the pair ends up spending the night together at the hotel where both are staying. There's obvious chemistry between the two, but there's too little time for romance to blossom, since Carrie flies back to America the next morning.

The story now jumps ahead three months to the next nuptial event. The bride, Lydia (Sophie Thompson), had been bridesmaid at the previous wedding, where she met her husband-to-be, Bernard (David Haig). The chronically tardy Charles is, of course, late again. The main funny business this time is that the ceremony is the first for Father Gerald (Rowan Atkinson). He mixes up the names of the celebrants and reconstructs portions of the vows in awkward ways, making reference to the "Holy Goat" and the groom's "awful wedded wife." Another hilarious bit relates to Charles being seated at a table with five of his ex-girlfriends, each aware of the somewhat mean-spirited nicknames that Charles had for the others ("Vomiting Veronica," "Naughty Nicki," "Mocking Martha," and "Miss Piggy.") I don't recall if Henrietta (Anna Chancellor) had a nickname, but it might just as well have been "Hysterical Henrietta." Carrie is there once again and Charles has visions of renewing the magic about which he's been reminiscing for three months. Carrie, however, has a stuffy Scottish fiancé, Hamish (Corin Redgrave), to introduce. That doesn't prevent Carrie and Charles from spending that night together, after Hamish returns to Scotland early.

The third wedding seems to be the kiss of death for the romance between Charles and Carrie, the intensity of which neither fully realizes. Carrie and Hamish are duly married in the Scottish highlands. Gareth, who is especially enjoying the lively dancing, along with too much food and drink, turns out to be the recipient of the death specter's eternal kiss. Gareth keels over and dies.

The ensuing funeral, which is played more for depth of sentiment than laughs, as befits the occasion, finds Tom delivering a poignant eulogy. Clearly he and Gareth had a depth of feeling between them that only the best of marriages could hope to emulate. Charles is moved by the death of his friend to reevaluate his intent to wait for the thunderbolt before pairing up. With Carrie married, he decides that perhaps he'd better settle for the best remaining option, rather than awaiting perfection. Why he settles on Henrietta rather than the far more appealing Fiona (who Roger Ebert erroneously indicates as his selection) is beyond me. Soon, Charles has arrived at the fourth and final wedding, dressed as the groom. When Carrie arrives, now divorced from Hamish and fully available, the stage is set for some terminal fireworks.

Themes: One theme, I suppose, is the contrast between British reserve and American confident self-disclosure. Charles asks a friend, "Do you think there really are people who can go up and say, 'Hi babe, name's Charles, this is your lucky night?'" The friend responds, aptly, "Well, if there are, they're not English." Later, Carrie unabashedly lists off the names of the thirty-three men she's slept with along with a brief appraisal of each. Charles is barely able to admit to his nine women. (In truth, though, Charles's total of nine sexual partners is 50% higher than the median for American males and Carrie's 825% higher than the median American woman.) Charles and his group know a lot about laughter and friendship, however and it's only an excess of good breeding that gets in the way of them finding their way to intimate relationships. Charles can barely stutter out a profession of love to Carrie, only coming up with this milquetoast declaration: "In the words of David Cassidy, I think I love you." More broadly, the film can be viewed as an illumination of the banality and strangeness of mating rituals.

Production Values: The script for this film was written by Richard Curtis. It is filled to the brim with spicy dialog and sharp repartee. The clever device of telling the entire story in the context of just three weddings, a funeral, and then another wedding could have flopped disastrously, but is deftly handled by Curtis and director Mike Newell. What viewers are provided with is mainly lighthearted comedy, with just a soupcon of deep pathos in relation to some of life's absurdities and the biggest absurdity of all: death. In preparation for the third wedding, poor Charles is enlisted, for example, into helping Carrie pick out her wedding dress, all the while pining over the fact that he will not be the groom. Curtis and Newell do a great job giving each of the ceremonies a distinctive ambiance so that viewers never have a chance to get bored with the ceremonial aspects.

The England that we see in this film is the buffed up, spotless domain of the upper and upper-middle classes. There's not a working class bloke anywhere to be seen. Even the Scottish segment was shot in Surrey. It's an attractive film, therefore, even if a bit of a fairytale depiction of the totality that is the U.K.

The casting is excellent, for the most part. Hugh Grant may be rather limited in his range, but within that limited range, he provides charming and interesting work. He twitches and stammers about as well as any actor, revealing his English reserve and up-tightness in social situations. Grant's best work has included parts in Sirens (1994), Sense and Sensibility (1995), Notting Hill (1999), Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), Two Weeks Notice (2002), and Love Actually (2003).

Andie MacDowell is pretty good in the relatively undemanding part of Carrie. She has the confident demeanor and appealing looks required. Any of a variety of other actresses could have performed the part just as well. She has also worked in Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984), sex, lies, and videotape (1989), Hudson Hawk (1991), Groundhog Day (1993), and Michael (1996).

Charles's support group plays somewhat like the characters on the television sitcom Friends, except that Charles is out front in the story and the others in the background. One drawback of that approach is that the friends, Tom, Gareth, Matthew, Fiona, David, and Scarlett, don't get developed very fully, yet draw just enough time away from the main story to ensure that Carrie doesn't get fully developed either. Nevertheless, the actors playing these six roles are all endearing and funny. Simon Callow is superb as Gareth. So is Charlotte Coleman as Scarlett. I particularly liked Kristin Scott Thomas, who gave some subtle depth to the character of Fiona. Also effective is Rowan Atkinson as the bumbling Father Gerald. I've always liked Callow's work. He's appeared in such films as Amadeus (1984), A Room with a View (1985), Maurice (1987), Postcards from the Edge (1990), Shakespeare in Love (1998), and No Man’s Land (2001).

Bottom-Line: The DVD from MGM has no extras, is rated "R," and has a running time of 118 minutes. Four Weddings and a Funeral was nominated for two Oscars (Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay). It's an enjoyable little film. The ending made me cringe a bit, but otherwise it's a delightful film.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good Date Movie
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age