Wedding Belles

For anyone who likes their films hard and fast and hilarious and sexy and rock n rolling, well look no further. Irvine Welsh and Dean Cavanagh have turned in an amazing script that is taken to another level with magical direction by Philip John and outstanding performances from Gomez, Henderson, McDermott and McDonald. It quite literally burns off of the screen. The soundtrack is awesome.

I'd be astounded if Wedding Belles didn't become a series. There has been talk of it in the media but no news as yet. Wedding Belles blows the usual rubbish like Skins and Goldplated and Shameless out of the water. It was a genuine joy to see something so original and exciting coming out of the UK.

I hope the BAFTA judges watched it because Henderson and Gomez deserve best TV actresses by a long mile.

Before starting the review I must say that if you are offended by swearing, drug use, necrophilia, violence, references to bestiality, more swearing, a priest receiving oral sex from a woman dressed as a nun, the use of derogatory terms for people suffering from mental illness or even more swearing then this probably isn't the film for you, if however you aren't easily offended and you like your comedy fairly dark then you may love this, I know I did.

Having enjoyed "Trainspotting" when I saw adverts for a new television film written by Irvine Welsh I just had to see it and when I did see it I enjoyed it so much I had to get the DVD as soon as it was released. Unlike his earlier film this film follows the lives of four women, the men in it are distinctly secondary characters. It opens with a bang as four women dressed in bridal gowns go to a grave yard and dig up a corpse before rounding up a teenage joy-rider, a Catholic priest and a Welshman who the take to a canal-side and shoot each of them. We then go back a week and see the events that lead up to these four women wanting to kill these four men.

Amanda, played by Michelle Gomez is looking forward to marrying her fiancé, a Welsh pilot who appears to have no major vices. Kelly, played by the excellent Shirley Henderson, is helping Amanda by doing her community service punishment for her at the local mental hospital, unfortunately Kelly isn't a hairdresser like Amanda so her attempts at cutting a patient's hair go disastrously wrong. Rhona, played by Shauna Macdonald, is having problems at her job in an old people's home after supplying an elderly gentleman with Viagra and is having an affair with a Catholic priest. Finally there is Shaz, played by Kathleen McDermott, who has turned to drugs following the death of her fiancé in a crash caused by a joy-rider.

The earlier part of the film is laugh out loud funny in particular the scene at the "saints and sinners" fancy dress party where Kelly is dressed as a Nazi and Rhona beats the living daylights out of a man while dressed as a nun. The comedy is however tinged with tragedy and by the end when we learnt Kelly's story I was almost in tears. I've avoided mentioning the funniest scenes as I'd hate to spoil the "I can't believe they did that" reactions they may cause.

If you liked "Trainspotting" I'd recommend this while I don't think the writing was as sharp here it is still great film with more laughs than his earlier work. The acting from the four leading ladies is very good, I particularly liked Shirley Henderson in her role as Kelly, but then she is always good.

Irvine Welsh. Where would he be without Trainspotting? No-where. He'd be an unpublished writer working in a bar. This awful attempt to write female roles is so clichéd and embarrassing that Mr Welsh should do the literary world a huge favour and go away.

Of course he's not the only writer credited for this inept script, but it has Welsh's grubby fingerprints all over it - unfunny farce, 'Allo-Allo style erotica, clichéd misanthropy, and his trademark nowhere-to-go ending! The fact that this has come out on DVD the day after being screened on TV is blind & ludicrous by the powers that be at CH4 who sanctioned this drivel in the first place. Who is going to buy this? If you watched it, you would never consider buying it. If you haven't seen it, surely you'll wait for the endless repeats on More4 or E4 - and then switch off within the hour. I'm not even going to talk about the plot-less plot. This is about Welsh. A one-hit wonder who has made enough money to respect his loyal audience and stop inflicting this unfunny lazy work upon them. 1 out of 10 for the hapless actresses who try & fail.

Wedding Belles was a breath of fresh air to British TV. The acting was outstanding with an exceptional performance from Shirley Henderson. The screen play was well written and extremely funny, with the actors executing the lines with perfect timing.

Welsh's cameo was amusing as his cameos usually are. The story is typical of welsh and I am sure people will be offended by his unrelenting honesty and attention to actual life he puts into all his work.

What is it about and who will like it? Fans of train spotting will enjoy the comedy and drama, it is not as controversial as the Acid House but still has the gritty sense of life in parts of Edinburgh, the comedy is the strongest and most important and entertaining part of this little drama.

The story is about the relationships between four female friends that have grown up in the east of Edinburgh, it takes place in the lead up to Amanda's wedding, a few secrets are revealed along the way. It is an amusing piece of entertainment.

Wow! Just caught this on DVD and I have to say I'm blown away. Irvine Welsh and Dean Cavanagh's "Wedding Belles" is simply a breath of fresh air. It's like a cross between a Quentin Tarantino and Mike Leigh film. It's got energy, hilarity, passion, irreverence and heart. A GREAT BIG HEART! I've haven't seen women portrayed this well on screen since...you know, I couldn't really say! From the surreal beginning to the heartbreaking end this film never slacks for a second. Wave after wave of attention grabbing scenes fly out at you and you just never know what's going to happen next.

It feels and looks so unlike a UK production because of its ambition. Like Trainspotting before it, Wedding Belles kind of invents its own genre. Chick flick? Romcom? Black comedy? Revenge movie? I couldn't really say. What I can say though is that you simply MUST SEE THIS FILM. I'd defy anyone to watch it and not get hooked.

The performances from Henderson and Gomez are career defining and Kathleen McDermott and Shauna McDonald are stars on the up. The direction from Phillip John is sublime and the photography? Wow! It's like a painting.

All this and a soundtrack that manages to put Queens Of The Stone Age, Irma Thomas, The Pixies and Lonnie Donegan side by side without it feeling anything but natural and you've got a great work of art.