Un mariage inoubliable

Harmless light entertainment, no bad acting, fairly predictable, yet enjoyable plot. None of it is laugh out loud, or gross out, but I found it enjoyable in a low key way. Also quite an astute take on the Cheshire set.

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.

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.

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.

Why this movie gets such angry reviews is a mystery to me. It's no way an innovative story and has no daring Hangover jokes but it's absolutely entertaining. The comic moments are delivered well but it stays a little on the timid side. It could have had more of an edge and there is a tendency to have rather great moments end in a bit of an anti climax. Lucy Punch is great as the former wild girl getting married. She has a unique quirky style that you either love or not at all; that was obviously the risk to leave the leading role to her. If this movie doesn't suit you this might be why but there is nothing wrong with either the acting performance or the script.