Romancefest 3: Sadiefest - Four Weddings and a Funeral

Blah, blah, "You've never seen FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL?!" blah, blah. Broken record.

Anyway, I'm here to tell you FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL is as good as everyone has always said it was. No surprise there.

The story famously follows affable and scattered commitment-phobe Hugh Grant and his group of buddies through -- you guessed it -- four weddings and a funeral. At first, we're overwhelmed with the large group of friends and their various familial and other connections, until, social event after social event, we start to recognize them and grow closer to them until we feel like we're part of the gang.

Prominent among the guests is Simon Callow, older, wiser, and more drunk than the rest; his close friend -- and lover? (John Hannah); Grant's deaf brother (David Bower); Grant's punky roommate (Charlotte Coleman) and Kristin Scott Thomas as an old (and possibly future) flame of Grant's.

Over the course of the celebrations, Grant finds himself falling in love with an alluring, fresh-faced American (Andie MacDowell) who turns out to be engaged to another man. Grant is able to seal the deal with MacDowell in the sack, and they clearly have chemistry, but for whatever reason, whether ego or lack of communication, they're unable to confess their love for each other until it is seemingly too late.

The film wisely allows all of this to develop sneakily on the sidelines as small comedic bits take up the forefront. The weddings are far from perfect, including an unexpected death, a mix up with the wedding rings, a groom with cold feet and a vicar who gets stage fright (Rowan Atkinson in a memorable, scene stealing performance). Thanks to this structure, the machinations of the typical romantic comedy plot don't seem quite as contrived or obtrusive. They're relegated to the background as the personalities and quirks of the characters are given the spotlight.

Aside from avoiding cliche, this device also allows the film to develop some real poignancy. After all, you care more about weddings and funerals when you know and love the people involved, and FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL allows the audience to know and love the characters in a way most paint by numbers romantic comedies do not.