The Wedding Video

I read some of the other reviews posted about this movie, and wanted to add my voice to the mix. I disagree with others that this movie was a train wreck. I watched the movie on a flight from London back to Los Angeles, and enjoyed it very much. In fact, I found myself laughing out load so many times, I was worried the flight attendants or other passengers might think I was a basket case.

The concept, I thought, was a good one. The interaction between the groom, his brother and some of their friends was fresh and fun. Rufus Hound was absolutely perfect in the role of the goofy brother, trying to do well by his marrying brother. The movie , also finds Lucy Punch in a role as someone other than the crazy friend/girlfriend/stalker. She proved herself to be more beautiful, funny and a better actress than I had previously thought her to be, and I look forward to seeing her in more substantial roles in the future. But maybe the best part of the movie was the undertone of competition that constantly occurred among the mothers of the brides-to-be.

The end was slow, and could have been improved upon, but overall I thought this movie was very fun.

If you're looking for a sweet flick with a few belly laughs and a cast of well fleshed out characters, you could do a lot worse than giving The Wedding Video a look. Until now I haven't been a huge fan of Lucy Punch, but she gives a truly accessible and warm performance as Saskia Dutton in this and fits very comfortably along side Rufas Hound, playing Raif the brother of Saskia's intended, Tim. Robert Webb does well as the brother preparing for his imminent wedding to Saskia, in what, if Saskia's Mother has her way, will be the wedding of the year. A lot of the story is shown as if knocked together via hand held, but is rarely annoying or as distracting as some such movies that rely on hand held cameras to capture the "fly on the wall" aspect of story telling can be. There are a couple of notable cameos with, for this viewer, far too short a screen time, involving Miriam Margoyles and Matt Berry and Michelle Gomez' role as a former flight attendant come wedding planner is the crazy glue that holds much of the film together. Rom-coms don't usually do it for me, but the reason this one flies is the great dialogue, engaging characters and a storyline that is not dripping with the kind of sugary cheese Hollywood tends to fob off as entertainment these days. The low voter score probably relates to the differing appreciation and expectations of humour that seems to exist either side of the pond. Give me a well written, fun British made film any day.

Raif (Rupert Hound) has returned from being a perpetual vagabond to be the best man at his brother's wedding. Tim (Robert Webb), the groom, is glad his brother has arrived but is not too sure about the gift Raif proposes. It's his bro's dream, you see, to videotape the days up to the wedding fro this sibling as a one-of-a-kind momento. Alas, there is a sticky wicket almost immediately, as Tim tells Raif his intended is Saskia (Lucy Punch). Raif is astonished, as Saskia went to his school and was something of a wild child. But, her mother Alex (Harriet Walter) has married extremely well and has "re-invented" both of their lives. Now, Saskia presents a persona of rationality, staidness, and wealth. As Tim has also risen to become a rich businessman, the two now seem perfect. But, are they? As Raif films the couple from the wedding gala to the wedding dance instruction to visits with the uptight wedding planner, is Saskia truly in love with Tim? Or, is her heart still yearning for someone else? This very nice British romcom has a great cast. Punch, who was a scream in Woody Allen's You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, is quite fine as the reformed free spirit while Webb and Hound are great as the opposite leaning sibs. Walter does a quietly harried turn as the newly rich woman trying to plan a high society wedding and the rest of the cast is great, too. There are a bevy of comic scenes, as the one in which a society bride, whose wedding was to be the season event, ends up riding her party-ship into the ice sculpture. As noted, its Icebergs 2, Titanic 0. Also mirthful is the episode with the snooty Russian choreographer who has been hired to teach the couple a wedding dance or two. Costumes, sets, the lively script, and the zesty direction make for a vastly fun film. Again, Hollywood why have you forgotten women or fans of romantic comedy? Must we now go to Britain to view something we like? It appears so. As I found this in the DVD store, there is a happy ending but I long for romcoms to actually make it back to the theaters across the land.

Having read the 2 reviews on here and seen some of the critics reviews I wasn't expecting a lot from this film. I'm a fan of peep show and Robert Mitchell in general so thought I'd give it a go and was pleasantly surprised! If you take this film for what it is, a light hearted comedy romp, it's actually quite enjoyable. Rufus Hound, who I have never heard of or seen before, was rather irritating to begin with in a Ricky gervais kind of way and I was worried this would ruin the film, but his character really grew on me and I think I was a bit in love with him by the end! The characters are all likable and amusing in their own ways and I'm sure some of them are fairly true to life, particularly the rich society women who are the "friends" of the mother of the bride! I found myself chuckling through a lot of the film and laughed out loud several times and left the cinema with a nice warm glow! It may not be a lasting classic but it's a fun, sweet and enjoyable film and I would give it 7/10

Just watched The Wedding Video with my wife,She protested "Not another Wedding Movie"!,two hours later she was still laughing with me about this film,it won't win any academy awards or golden globes,characters do not look as though they are acting due to the semi "Doc'o" style of filming however the three main characters consisting of our Bride,Groom and Best Man with special mention of the the Brides mother and Grandmother made this film a laugh a minute,well maybe every two minutes. I don't know why some review's were so harsh,it is what it is,a mad movie about weddings and the loss of control by the "Couple To Be" the typical Mother outdoing her society friends and the Wedding Planner going out of her mind plus the best man (Also the Brother of the Groom)adding to the chaos. I liked the Doco style which reminded me of an Australian film "Kenny" a few years back,the acting was OK and worked well with the dialogue.

We did not want our money back after watching this film compared to a lot of the contrived American rubbish on offer in recent time,The English have a great knack for comedy and I give this a 8/10 for laughs.