Four Weddings and a Funeral

Richard Curtis's films have sometimes been criticised for giving a too cosy, conservative view of British society. "Four Weddings and a Funeral" seems to take place in an England of eternal summer, a land which consists almost entirely of green and pleasant countryside and the more exclusive districts of London and which is populated solely by members of the upper and upper-middle classes. The script does cross the border into an equally idealised Scotland of mists, tartans and Highland flings, but even these scenes were actually shot in Surrey. Such criticism contains an element of truth, but is largely irrelevant when it comes to assessing the merits of the film because it ignores the fact that most romantic comedies (in other media as well as in the cinema) are set against a relatively narrow background in terms of social class, often enabling the writer to satirise the manners of that class. Jane Austin, for example, the most successful writer of romantic comedy in nineteenth-century England, set all her works among the wealthy landed gentry or prosperous bourgeoisie of the day.

Most of the action of the film takes place either at, or immediately before or after, one of the four church services mentioned in the title. The main character, Charles, is a well-to-do young man, probably educated at public school, and clearly a member of the professional classes, although we never actually discover what his job is. The film starts with a wedding at which Charles is best man to Angus, one of his old friends, and at which he meets Carrie, an attractive young American woman. The film then traces the ups and downs of the relationship of Charles and Carrie, via two more weddings (the second of which is Carrie's own, after she and Charles have split up), the funeral of Gareth, another friend of Charles who suffers a heart attack while dancing at Carrie's wedding, and one final marriage ceremony.

Hugh Grant, as Charles, gives a very good performance. Grant has a relatively narrow range as an actor, but he is capable of some excellent work within that range. There are some subtle differences between Charles and William, the character Grant played in "Notting Hill", another romantic comedy written by Curtis. William is a shy young man who uses ironic, self-deprecating humour as a cover for his shyness and lack of self-confidence. He is very much in love with Anna, that film's heroine, but is afraid to declare his love because he cannot believe that a beautiful and successful film star would take any interest in the owner of a small bookshop. Charles, by contrast, is less shy than William and enjoys more success with women. His humour is also ironic, but for a different reason. He is afraid of his emotions and of commitment and uses irony as a means of distancing himself from life and of avoiding having to commit himself.

The film can be seen as the story of Charles's journey to emotional maturity. He has had a number of brief affairs, all of which have petered out precisely because he is afraid of his emotions. His relationship with Carrie initially goes the same way and she marries a richer and older man. The change in Charles's character is partly due to the fact that he sees his carefree bachelor world disappearing as most of his friends get married, but the event which seems to have the greatest effect on him is Gareth's funeral, at which a moving eulogy is read by Matthew, Gareth's gay partner, touchingly played by John Hannah. Charles realises the strength of the love that Gareth and Matthew shared for one another and comes to appreciate that such a relationship is something to be valued.

Grant does well to make Charles a sympathetic figure, despite his having many failings quite apart from his ironic distancing of himself from the world. He is clumsy, accident-prone (he manages to lose the ring at Angus's wedding), much given to profane language and can be appallingly tactless, especially about his former girlfriends. The other main character, Carrie, can perhaps be seen as a female Charles, someone who is on the same journey as him but who has travelled slightly further. (It is significant that her name is short for Caroline, the feminine equivalent of the name Charles). She freely admits to having had over thirty previous lovers, but she is the first to want to bring emotional commitment to their relationship. Am I, incidentally, the only one to have liked Andie MacDowell's performance?- she has come in for a lot of criticism, in my view undeserved, on this board.

The film is, however, more than simply a study of relationships- it is also very funny with some superb lines. Hugh Grant can be very amusing, and there was a great cameo from Rowan Atkinson as a bumbling, nervous trainee priest who keeps fluffing his lines during one of the weddings. ("Awful wedded wife", or "Holy Goat" for "Holy Ghost"). I also liked David Bower as Charles's deaf brother David, the late Charlotte Coleman as his impudent younger sister Scarlett and Anna Chancellor as his ex-girlfriend Henrietta (also known as Duckface), whose embarrassing emotional incontinence perhaps explains why Charles is so keen to distance himself from his feelings. I was less impressed by Simon Callow as Gareth, loud, extrovert and excessively hearty (like most characters Callow plays).

To sum up, this was a very good film indeed; proof that the British cinema can produce romantic comedies as good as Hollywood at its best. 8/10

"Four Weddings and a Funeral" is a nice little film from 1994. It did fair at the box office and did fair with critics. The Academy was charmed enough to award the film with a Best Picture nomination. The film deals with a British bachelor (Hugh Grant) who continues to run into a beautiful young American (Andie McDowell) at various weddings in England. As the film progresses their lust for each other turns into love and the finale is a real triumph. This film is a comedy for the most part, but its elements of drama put it above most films that go primarily for laughs. The screenplay is smart and the supporting cast is excellent. Kristin Scott Thomas and Rowan Atkinson (albeit in a very small role) are memorable. 4 out of 5 stars.

When I saw this film in '94, I was expecting something a little snappier & edgier like the rom-coms of the time (such as "Singles" or "When Harry Met Sally"). Instead, its low-key, subtle, British presentation caught me off guard and left me a little bit unfulfilled.

I now realize that's because I was an idiot at the time. Subtlety is this film's strength, and Hugh Grant's performance is impeccable in that regard. There aren't a lot of wisecracking zingers or situational craziness, but Hugh's portrayal of a cute, clueless, British playboy is something he does par excellence. Andie McDowell's portrayal of a disconnected, almost soulless enigma is equally compelling, although on first viewing I didn't understand the character.

The comedy comes through Hugh's strained reactions to the insane situations he finds himself in. Things happen that would reduce a normal human to hysterics, but Hugh is forced to ride it out with proper British decorum. For example, there's one scene where finds himself stuck at a table with EVERY ONE of his ex-girlfriends, trying to play it off as politely as possible while they take turns freaking out at him.

Something to note: Unlike films like "Harry Met Sally" and "Singles" which focus equally on the characters, this movie is essentially from Hugh's viewpoint, and Andie's character is almost peripheral. With that in mind, it's not a standard love story between two people. Instead it's about one man stumbling through the concept of romance.

If you like rom-coms that take a different approach, this is a good one for you to check out. I also recommend "Forget Paris" (about what happens to a couple AFTER 'happily ever after') and "Object of Beauty" (starring Andie McDowell & John Malkovich as a pair of dysfunctional, small-time con artists in love).

If you're a Hugh Grant fan, you'll love this film, period.

This movie is brilliant, funny, charming, witty, touching. It has two problems, both of them related to the lead female character, Carrie (played by Andie MacDowell).

The first is that the character is not written to be at all likeable. She is engaged to a rich older man she clearly doesn't really love (I think we're supposed to infer that she's a golddigger) and cheats on him with someone she doesn't really care about either (Hugh Grant). Later we learn that she's a slut and a homewrecker (see her appearance at wedding #4--don't tell me it wasn't conniving!). What would make us want this woman to win our beloved Charlie (Hugh Grant) (who is also something of a cad, but a loveable one)?

Carrie might not have been so unpalatable if they'd found an actress who could actually ACT to play her, but instead, they hired Andie MacDowell, who may be pretty, but is as stiff and lifeless as the scenery. Maybe she thinks that's what's called for in a British movie. I wonder that the people casting movies haven't realized that Andie MacDowell simply plays the same character in every movie she's in. By the end of this film, you're incredibly frustrated. You want to adore this movie, because everything about it is so perfect, except for the fact that you hate Andie MacDowell' s character with a passion and wish that she would die so that Charlie could find happiness with a woman who can act.

"Four Weddings And A Funeral" is indeed a delightful little comedy with some wondeful writing and polished performances.Hugh Grant shines in a role that unfortunately left Him typecast to this day (for a different side of Grant see his brilliant Fredrich Chopin in "Impromptu".) and Kristen Scott Thomas is perfect as the enigmatic Fiona...witty,beautiful and touching. Simon Callow nearly steals the film as Gareth..He is one of the world's finest stage actors and its nice to see him get a film role he can really sink his teeth into. Andie McDowall is very convincing as the object of Grant's affection and Corin Redgrave has a well acted cameo as McDowall's fiancee Hamish. over all a jolly good film,funny,touching and sharp.