Confetti - Heirate lieber ungewöhnlich

There are few things so stressful in life as planning and executing a wedding. When that morass of charged emotions runs headlong into a contest held by Confetti Magazine for the "most original wedding," things are bound to get messy.

Three couples are chosen for their unique wedding ideas: Matt (Martin Freeman) and Sam (Jessica Stevenson) want a Hollywood musical style, Josef (Stephen Mangan) and Isabelle (Meredith MacNeill) vie for a tennis theme, while Michael (Robert Webb) and Joanna (Olivia Colman) are "naturalists" and want their nuptials to be done in the nude. Trying to wrangle these three disparate couples into some kind of order are wedding planners Archie Heron (Vincent Franklin) and Gregory Hough (Jason Watkins) who seem to be channeling Corky St. Clair...

In fact, shot as a documentary, this British ensemble piece is sure to be (justly) compared to Christopher Guest's mockumentaries (WAITING FOR GUFFMAN, A MIGHTY WIND, et cetera). Director Debbie Isitt does a fair job of aping Guest though she doesn't know when to go from documentary hand-held to a smoother choreographed camera and relies too much on non-diegetic music.

Clearly, too, Isitt is aware of the weaknesses to the storyline. Two of the three couples are off screen for long stretches and our "villainous" couple (think Parker Posey and Michael Hitchcock from BEST IN SHOW) is mishandled in the finale. Even when they're not working with the best material (how many jokes about a nudist wedding can there be?) the cast does a terrific job keeping the film afloat. Besotted with faces familiar to anglophile TV/film viewers, CONFETTI is an amusing farce.

Three young couples vie to win a magazine contest by holding their 'themed' weddings in public, with the winners being awarded a first prize of a brand new home. Step forward the three couples: nudists Michael and Joanna; tennis-mad Josef and Meredith, and Hollywood musical fans Matt and Samantha.

The fun comes for us as as viewers as we join the fly-on the wall documentary team that follows all three couples as the wedding organisers and their respective families try to get the weddings together in time for the contest.

This is a showcase of modern British comedy talent. Jimmy Carr, Felicity Montagu, Stephen Mangan, Martin Freeman, Jessica Stevenson and Alison Steadman all do their bit. But the real stars are the lesser known Vincent Franklin and Jason Watkins as the camp wedding organisers who won't let anything get in the way of the couples' dream day.

This is an enjoyable little film, with a nice basic idea, littered with lots of good performances. It is 'smile' humour, rather than 'laugh out loud' stuff. But the smiles are here a-plenty. It is also surprisingly moving at times as well, and refreshingly free of cynicism. If at times you doubt the sincerity of some of those involved, the ending leaves you on a high.

'Confetti' is not brilliant or ground-breaking, but it will make you smile. And that's not such a bad recommendation, is it?

I really wanted to enjoy this one. I great cast made up from shows I love, an interesting premise - what could go wrong? Well for starters, a lack of a decent plot. There's a flimsy storyline about three couples getting their (insane) dream weddings, and the preparations that lead to the wedding, but this appears to be nothing more than a narrative thread so they could decide what order to have the jokes in. Secondly, all the couples only have one joke. Admittedly, for two out of the three couples it is a funny joke, but it wears thin towards the end and could easily have been trimmed to make the film lighter. However, one couple (Josef and Isabelle) are just relentlessly annoying, their story falling flat. Finally, all the actors appear to be playing their sitcom roles. Martin Freeman plays his character as at least a relative of Tim from the office. Steven Mangan is Guy from Green Wing. The guys from Peep show are their characters, Jimmy Carr is Jimmy Carr. Only Jessica Stevenson is allowed to make a new character from herself, nowhere near to Daisy from Spaced (which, would've made an interesting addition to the film). But whilst I love Green Wing, The Office and Peep Show, it doesn't mean I want to see these characters merely transferred to film. However, despite these criticisms, the film is funny, with scenes that had me laughing loudly in the cinema. Unfortunately, it's nowhere near as good as it could've been with more work, more jokes and original characters.

I saw this movie this evening at a preview screening in Southampton knowing only 3 things: It was about weddings, all the scripts were improvised, and it contained one of my most hated people: Jimmy Carr. Fortunately though, I was pleasantly surprised. The film contained the cream of the British comedy crop - actors from Spaced, The Office, Peep Show, Green Wing etc etc, and was suitably hilarious. It follows three couples who are chosen to compete for the title of 'most original wedding' for Confetti magazine. The winner gets a half million pound house. Jessica Stevenson and Martin Freeman make for the nicest and most realistic couple in the film, and their wedding contains the most colourful characters.. notably Jessica's character Sam's sister, a dancer who tries to take over the wedding's choreography (their theme is old MGM musicals) to the couple's obvious annoyance. It was odd seeing the pairing of peep show's Jez and Sophie in the film, and i didn't know if i'd be able to shrug off the feeling that Mark would be getting jealous...the feeling passed. These two were brilliant playing the couple who had chosen a naturist wedding. The Green Wing's Stephen Mangan and Man Stroke Woman's Meredith MacNeill were also hilarious as the couple having a tennis themed wedding - along with a host of marital issues. The show-stealers in the film though had to be the wedding planners. Both gave mesmerising performances and were utterly fabulous. The film's dialogue was apparently improvised, and it shows in the realistic reactions of the characters, particularly these two. They alone were worth going to see the film for. Even if the rest had been terrible. Which it wasn't.

And finally...the true test of the film's greatness... I actually didn't hate Jimmy Carr in it. Wonderful. And also some kind of miracle...

The film's not out yet but i recommend anyone who gets the wonderful quirky British comedies of the last few years to seriously give this one a go when it's released. It's worth it.

The wedding magazine Confetti is holding a competition for the best wedding. They have selected three couples for the finals. Sam (Jessica Stevenson) and Matt (Martin Freeman) are a happy couple who wants to hold a musical wedding despite not being good singers. Josef (Stephen Mangan) and Isabelle (Meredith MacNeill) are tennis players. He's a former pro and she's a ultra-competitive player. Joanna (Olivia Colman) and Michael (Robert Webb) are naturists. They're naked. Gregory (Jason Watkins) and his partner Archie (Vincent Franklin) are the wedding planners for all three couples.

I like all four couples and that keeps the movie steady. It's definitely following the path of Christopher Guest mockumentaries. I actually like the journey of Josef and Isabelle the most. It is a little sad to read that Colman and Webb hated the amount of nudity. Otherwise, I like that couple. I like all the couples and the actors. It's not big laughs but there is plenty of quirkiness.