Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)

Four Weddings And A Funeral3 Out Of 5Four Weddings And A Funeral is one's typical on and off, and morally obliged tale that is afraid to go beyond and is more than happy to play safe. Its unique idea plays on both the pros and cons' side, as after the audience sinks its teeth into the plot, the rudimentary process grows obvious and the audience finds itself waiting on the closure of it.Having said that, there are lot of high pitched dramatic sequence created in here that are filled with memorable even though cheesy dialogues, that ups the ante of the game in its genre. The script follows a textbook formula and is predictable as it ages on screen for the major part of it is spent upon by the makers on building the characters and the plots. It is short on technical aspects like sound department but is finely edited and has an amazing costume designing on its side. Richard Curtis; the writer, is satisfying on his job and delivers every essential ingredient for a typical love story but the real culprit in here is Mike Newell's; the director, execution as it fails create the anticipated impact which then latter leads to shallow emotional drama. The performance by Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell doesn't leave the audience in awe of it but they are neither exhausted by it too, it's a decent performance. Four Weddings And A Funeral is a never ending yet never succeeding love story whose self-created weapon is unfortunately the doom of it.

Four Weddings and a Funeral was a smash hit on release and it's easy to see why. A brilliant British cast and a funny clever and witty script make this a must see. It follows a myriad of characters as they intertwine as the title suggests four weddings and a funeral. What's great this film is that it is full of great characters. Hugh Grant leads the way as the charming Charles who finds it hard to settle down. Whilst Grant is superb he is by no means the only one with plenty of pitch perfect performances from the likes of Simon Callow, John Hannah and Kristin Scott Thomas. The only real weak link is Andie MacDowell but even though she has been slated for her performance it's not the worst in the world. This is a film full of genuinely funny moments but also some sad ones. The funeral is genuinely touching and uses the poem 'Funeral Blues' to great effect. This is a film that is entertaining from start to finish and as well as Grant's finest moment, for me is the best Rom-Com ever made. Highly recommended.

Four Weddings has achieved iconic status as a British film and for good reasons. It comes under the category of a romantic comedy but I would argue that it is in fact far more than that. It is a film about love in all its myriad and astonishing aspects - love between man and woman, or between 2 men, love between mother and child and longstanding friendship which can be much more important than sexual love. You would need a heart of stone not to cry at the funeral scene. The film is beautiful to look at with the contrasting weddings and gorgeous costumes. It is directed with a very light touch and interweaves the main characters in an ingenious way. The acting is generally superb and without a doubt it is Hugh Grant's greatest role - before he became middle aged and cynical. My only objection is that Andie McDowell was a very odd choice for the role, not very beautiful and not a serious actress. Apart from that, the film is perfect in every respect and I could watch it forever.

It doesn't matter how many times I watch this (and I keep watching it every single time I come across it on TV) I still quit changing channels and get completely sucked into this movie. It's such a classic. Funny, bumbling, charming, endearing. I just love everything about it.I also think this is when Hugh Grant became, well, the Hugh Grant we've seen in every single movie he's done since. It doesn't matter though, this is just fantastic.Randomly that scene at the funeral when the secret boyfriend recites the poem "stop the clocks" is my favourite scene. Beautiful.