Peter's Friends

When I first watched Peter's Friends, I was seventeen years old, still young and unexperienced. I wouldn't say that the five years since then have made me some sort of oracle, but I have made a few mistakes and also a lot of good choices. And even more, I am able to relate to the story that Kenneth Branagh's wonderful alternative to It's A Wonderful Life as a holiday film.

Today it makes me laugh. It makes me embarrassed. It evokes so many feelings that are pivotal for the human spirit, so many things that are universal. If you have friends, or if you've lost them, or if you've met any people at all in your life, you will be able to relate to the six friends in Peter's Friends. What the heck, you only have to be human to relate to it.

No other movie speaks so truly about us as human beings and how we behave in small social groups. Food for thought, but also for heart.

This movie has often been dubbed another rip off of The Big Chill. Except for the whole reunion bit, this movie bears little resemblance to the former. It is funnier, wittier and the characters are more clearly defined.The movie centers around Peter, whose father has just died and left him the house. He decides to have a big party and invite his friends from college that he hasn't seen in years.As it turns out, everyone has their problems. Roger and Mary have just lost a child,Maggie is trying to find a man and has her eye on Peter, who is definitely not interested,Sarah is involved with a married man and seems to have trouble getting involved with anyone who's available,Andrew and his Hollywood actress wife are having marriage problems.This movie is well acted, the script is well written,thanks to Rita Rudner and her husband Martin Bergman and the casting is excellent. Starring Stephen Fry as Peter,Kenneth Branagh as Andrew,Hugh Laurie as Roger,Emma Thompson as Maggie,Alphonsia Emmanuel as Sarah and Imelda Staunton as Mary.With Rita Rudner as Carol.

You won't find a laugh track. Or even any side-splitting laughs. Its not slapstick, indeed most of the humor is directed ironically at the character who's making the self-deprecating comment. Its not really tragic - its a situation comedy of the old school, with great actors, a reasonable framework for them to perform, and no artificial beginning or ending, just characterization. Like many movies of this kind, you have to bring your brain along and do some of the work yourself. It is, however, an effort that will be greatly rewarded, and highly rewarding. So find the movie, watch it, think about it, and enjoy it. You'll probably continue to do so through many viewings.

And while its not out on DVD in the US, it available out on laserdisc (if anyone still has one - I did for many years). Not much, but its something.

Good, solid drama in the best British style, replete with witty dialogues, more or less a showcase for Kenneth Branagh to bestow upon us something that is not in the least Shakespearian. Nicely-paced development lets the principal characters ease their way into the proceedings in an orchestrated way, such that there is a fine balance in screen presence as well as in the interwoven combinations of the players from scene to scene, very much in the straight theatre tradition. Therein lies a possible weakness: the film has a straight-jacket feel to it, as though indeed it was too severely and strictly transposed from the stage to the screen.

Very much in the vein of a `battle of the sexes', we have in `Peter's Friends' several couples meeting some years after graduating, supposedly to remember old times. I rather fancy that the ladies win this battle by a slight margin, as the performances by Imelda Staunton, Emma Thompson and Alphonsia Emmanuel manage to pull off a finely-tuned upper-hand over the gentlemen.

This is about the third time I have seen this film - and will doubtlessly see it again. However, having recently seen `Gosford Park' a couple of times, I cannot help marrying up the two films - and thus falling into the trap of comparing them. `Gosford Park' comes out clearly the winner: Altman's masterpiece.

Really, this is a great flick. Especially if you go for British comedy. Rita Rudner's writing is just fantastic. I caught this in the theatres by chance and loved it--and bought it as soon as it became available on video.

Since this is just commentary, I'm not going to get into the plot any--I'll just toss in my 2 cents.

In the Maltin Review, he mentions that many consider this a British "Big Chill". In a way, I can see that, but where the "Big Chill" focuses on how much the characters have changed since college, "Peter's Friend's" does a good job of showing how the characters really HAVEN'T changed since then. They have matured, but the root of who they are--their faults, strengths, and weaknesses--are still the same.

The wit flows, the humor can be obvious as well as understated, the interplay between the actors is simply sublime, and the overall feel is fun and warm. I've seen many of these actors together in other films and they're all first rate. Just because Emma Thompson is the only one to win an Oscar doesn't mean the others are slackers!!

The one thing I've had to accept, though, is that in 7 years, it has become dated--especially the reason why Peter decides to bring his old college buddies together. That last scene packed a much bigger punch in 1992 than it could in 1999. Not that the issues are any less significant now, just that, as a culture, we're more accustomed to the subject. (And I won't spoil it--if you want to know what the subject is, rent the movie! *grin*)

Also, the soundtrack is fabulous! And I'd say it's worth the price of a rental for those who "came of age" in the 80's just to watch the opening montage: The highlights of the 80's set to "Everybody Wants to Rule the World". Fantastically done.

Rent it and enjoy!!