Image by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. via IMDB
Hello friends! I hope you and a good weekend and enjoyed my personal blog yesterday. I got a lot of positive feedback from it. Turns put that my Titans vs 49ers Super Bowl fears were all in vain. Tennessee lost. But San Francisco won. So I am 100% behind the Niners to win Super Bowl LIV in two weeks! We shall see!
In my youth, British television was available, but harder to get than today. In the days before the Internet or BBC America or Britbox, Americans could expose themselves to British TV through PBS. Our local PBS affiliate in the bay area in the 90s, KQED, had a feast of BBC shows. Are You Being Served? was a favorite of mine and my mother. She was also really into Fawlty Towers and all the Jane Austin style dramas. Later in the decade, I we got into Mr. Bean and Keeping Up Appearances. I know I got my first glimpse of Doctor Who om KQED, at least a decade before I properly sought it out on my own. My Mom really liked the British shows. My Dad didn't. I think that's the same in many households. I loved it though, still love British programming today. And I love the dry whit British humor.
After Four Weddings and a Funeral was released in the US in 1994 (limited: March 11; wide: April 15), it was kind of a phenomenon. I think a lot of it was the quirky title. I think it was Jay Leno who made the joke "Four weddings and a funeral? Isn't that like... five of the same thing?" Hahahahaha. Hahahahaha. Hahahahaha. Oh man. That was actually kinda funny when I was 12.
I remember the movie getting a lot of attention and I know my mom loved it. She loved Hugh Grant, not just in this, but in many other movies as well. He and Colin Firth were her two Brit guys. And I don't know why I never watched this movie with her, I wish I had. But we always end up wishing we had done more with our parents while they were still here, no matter how much you actually did do with them.
After all this time, I finally sat down and watched Four Weddings and a Funeral. And holy crap. Now I'm in love with Hugh Grant!
Don't lie and say that he isn't devilishly handsome here
Image by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. via IMDB
So the movie is a romantic comedy and the plot revolves around (surprise surprise) four weddings and a funeral. Most of the scenes take place at the five events, with a handful of other parts scattered in between. The crux of the plot is Hugh Grant meets Andie MacDowell at a wedding, where they have mutual friends. They reunite again at another wedding a few months later, and it goes from there. I'm sure you can tell where the plot goes from the title of the movie and the genre. Yada yada yada.
The plot itself isn't special, it's predictable and straight forward. What makes it work so well is both the extremely funny jokes and the heart that the movie exhibits. You end up liking all the players right away. They're funny and have personality. I just want to be friends with the entire ensemble cast. This is a project where differing views melted together to create something wonderful. Richard Curtis, the writer, wanted the movie focus on the comedy. Mike Newell, the director, wanted it more grounded with realism and heart. Sometimes those conflicting interests make the movie have a personality crisis. I it funny or romantic? Thankfully, like peanut butter and jelly or chocolate and cheeburger, the two meet in the middle and create something magical.
Let's talk about Hugh Grant for a moment. Oh my god. He's so damn charming! Dorky and clumsy and handsome and funny and charming. He does some questionable stuff in the movie, in fact he pulls a real douche move at one point. But I think that makes him even more interesting. He's a flawed person, who doesn't do anything truly evil, but he makes a HUGE, devastating error, because he got caught up in making bad choices. It's easy to jump on a bandwagon and point fingers, but we've all made errors that really hurt someone else. I don't see him as a hero but as a real person. And the fact that he is willing to face the consequences of his action speaks for his character as a person. The supporting cast is terrific, but Grant is what makes this movie work. It's easy to see why the world fell in love with him. I did.
"Hey, ya know, other people are in this movie too! Bugger!"
Image by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. via IMDB
Okay, I'm gushing over Grant, but I don't want to take anything away from the rest of the supporting cast. Everyone in this movie is amazing. Andie MacDowell is beautiful and charming. The extended friend group consists of Charlotte Coleman, David Bower, Kristin Scott Thomas, John Hannah, Simon Callow, and James Fleet. They're all great and I wish they were real, so I could find them and hang out with them. Callow in particular was pretty great, I loved the carefree way he approached the role, he looked like he was having so much fun in that part. I really need someone like him in my life. Also in this movie, Rowan Atkinson plays a priest. Yep. If i get married, I want Mr. Bean to be the officiant. Rupert Vansittart and Corin Redgrave have small roles in this too.
They did a good job (for 1994) of diversifying the characters. They're all white, yes, but... the thing is that there is a gay couple AND a deaf character. And yes, this is a comedy, but they aren't played for cheap gags and comic relief. While there are jokes revolving around them, they aren't crass or disrespectful or insensitive. And there are no scenes where the deaf character is shown as being helpless, he's just as much of a functioning adult as everyone else. While I would never say this movie is a showcase for diversity, by 1994 standards, it was pretty progressive.
Okay, I should really talk about MacDowell for a minute. I don't want anyone to think I'm just talking so much about Grant because he was the male lead. The fact is, and please don't take this the wrong way, but she didn't blow me away in this. I've seen both actors in other things, they've always been good, and she was good in this. I have no complaints with her or her performance in this movie. It's just that Grant took me completely by surprise. I had no idea how captivating he would be in this and how much he would steal the show. That's all. But I liked her. She was good in this movie.
I liked her way more in this than Hudson Hawk
Image by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. via IMDB
My one gripe with this movie, and it's a small one, is the gay couple. The two men are clearly homosexuals, you can tell from their first scene. They aren't stereotypically flamboyant or anything like that, you just... you just know that they're in love with each other. But they never do anything truly overt and they try to murk the water a bit with it. And it kind of feels like they're trying to downplay the homosexuality for the movie. Like I don't think one of them should have yelled "I'm gay and FABULOUS" while doing the... the gay hand thing. I don't know what it's called. But I wanted them to go further with it. And, sadly, you could tell they wanted to be more progressive with this couple, but that's sadly the way things were back then. Remember that, a year previous to Four Weddings and a Funeral, in 1993, the movie Philadelphia was released. It came out to negative responses from the Christian community, for daring to depict a gay man dying of AIDS as sympathetic. And that was a movie trying to make a statement, trying to open people's eyes. So it had to be bold to get its message across. Four Weddings and a Funeral was just trying to tell a fun, heartfelt story. This was also an era where they had to re-shoot a scene where Grant was dropping the F-word over and over again, because it offended Mormons and they would have trouble selling tickets in Salt Lake City. So the fact that they had two males, heavily implied to be lovers, in the movie at all is impressive. I just wish they had pushed the envelope a bit more.
Hannah's scene here is not the most iconic from the movie, but might be the best.
Image by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. via IMDB
This is another "Heart of Darkness" movie, where the process of making the movie is super interesting. They had a budget of only £2.8 million! Hugh Grant made £40K for his role. Pennies compared to what he'd make today. But he was a total unknown at the time. Grant was about to quit acting until he read the script for Four Weddings. Seventy other actors auditioned before him, and they almost didn't even pick Grant! Alex Jennings and Alan Rickman were favorites, before they finally decided to go with Grant. Can you imagine Snape in this movie?
The budget was so tight that the actors had to provide their own clothes, including the aristocrats, many of whom were actual Marquess and Earls in British Aristocracy. Atkinston was cast as the priest for two scenes, so they wouldn't have to pay another actor. Interesting too is he and Richard Curtis were good friends, they broke in together doing Not The 9 O'clock News, Blackadder, and Mr. Bean. It's always amazing to me, reading about low budget movies and the shortcuts and tricks they have to take.
Here are some interest behind-the-scenes clips. First, they filmed a couple of fake behind the scenes trailer intros, which you can see here. A proper news clip, on location with Film 94. A Hugh Grant interview from 1994 and another one on Jay Leno in 1995, so you can really see how huge he would become. Recent interviews with Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis talking about the film.
I changed my mind about Mr. Bean being my wedding officiant. I want Blackadder instead. "Baldrick, your head is as empty as a eunach's underpants."
Image by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. via IMDB
We can't talk about this movie without also talking about The Song. Some movies are defined by a single tune from the soundtrack. This is one of those. The song in question is Wet Wet Wet's cover of "Love Is All Around." Originally by The Troggs, the Wet Wet Wet version went number one on the UK charts for 15 weeks, the third longest reign of all time, as well as the 9th (now 12th) best selling single in the history of the UK. The video for the song is here.
The movie was a smash hit, raking in a huge box office of $246 million worldwide. Well received by fans and critics, Four Weddings and a Funeral won some BAFTAs and a bunch of other awards and was nominated for Academy Awards for both Best picture and Best Original Screenplay. It was included on a bunch of lists in the early 2000s about "best comedies" or "best British films" of the century.
Almost overnight, Grant turned into an international sex symbol. Audiences and the media were pleased to learn that Grant was as dorky and charming in real life as he was in the movie. The studio took out full page advertisements in newspapers, which I remember seeing. Grant's then girlfriend, Elizabeth Hurley, famously wore a Versace dress with safety pins to the premiere.
That dress is still pretty awesome, I wish I had the body to pull that off!
Image by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. via IMDB
Last year, most of the surviving cast members of the original movie got together for a short reunion special called "One Red Nose Day and a Wedding." Richard Curtis and Mike Newell also returned to write and direct it, respectively. It was for an annual UK comedy charity event. Here's a news clip about it and the trailer. But you can actually watch the whole thing here.
Also, last year, Mindy Kaling created and stared in a miniseries for Hulu loosely based on the movie. I haven't seen it, so I can't comment one way or another on it, but it does exist.
Final Verdict:
Booyah! Five stars! I can't explain properly how much I love this movie and it's hard not to recommend it to everyone. Watch it if you love funny movies or romantic movies or British movies. If your heart is black and stone and you hate love and the Brits, don't watch it. But it's worthy of my first five-star review. Kick back, relax, and enjoy Four Weddings and a Funeral. "Isn't that like five of the same thing?" Ugh, as if!
Image by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. via IMDB
So, obviously, that was my opinion. But you should watch it anyway! Go to Just Watch if you want to see where you can stream it or buy a digital copy (recommend). Did you hate it? Or did you love it? Let me know in the comments! Also let me know if you've got any humorous wedding hook up stories or if you met the love of your life at someone else's wedding, I'm curious!
Next up, 1993's thriller Romeo is Bleeding, staring one of my favorite actors, Gary Oldman. Does this neo-noir stand up to the greats of its genre? Or should it just be left to bleed out? Find out next time!
Now if you'll excuse me, Hugh and I are off on holiday to Bath where we will engage in many British activities, such as tea and biscuits as well as being snarky to others. Cheerio!
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