Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
May 21, 2024 4:15 PM - Subscribe
Over the course of five social occasions, a committed bachelor must consider the notion that he may have discovered love. [IMDB] [Letterboxd]
Although it seems to wander all around the British isles, from Somerset to Scotland, the template for the whole genre of British romcoms was filmed entirely in London and the surrounding Home Counties of the southeast. [Movie Locations]
Although it seems to wander all around the British isles, from Somerset to Scotland, the template for the whole genre of British romcoms was filmed entirely in London and the surrounding Home Counties of the southeast. [Movie Locations]
I recently saw this for the first time in the theater a couple months ago thanks to Alamo Drafthouse's "Time Capsule" series. I was too young to see it when it first came out but I know I've seen it at least once before on DVD when I was a teenager.
Seeing it as an adult who has Gone Through Stuff and on the big screen where I'm allowed very little distraction, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it! I'm not much of a Hugh Grant fan but his character worked for me. I was really there for the ensemble, though, and I am 100% convinced that this movie only works because of Matthew.*
Anyway, I thought it was funny-sad when I was leaving the theater and overheard some people discussing Matthew and Gareth's relationship. One person was convinced they were "just friends" because it didn't say anything explicitly, and the priest called Matthew "Gareth's good friend" and Matthew didn't say anything about Gareth that apparently this person would say about their own friends. That baffled me because there were so many subtle moments that I felt made it clear they were in a relationship, even if didn't explicitly say it (but also the movie kind of did with the focus on the various guests at the funeral? Like... how did this person miss that?)
Also I bought the soundtrack when I was a teenager just to listen to John Hannah recite the W. H. Auden poem over and over and over. So hearing that music again made me a little sentimental about that time in my life that had no relation whatsoever to what was happening on screen.
*I have described elsewhere my obsession with The Mummy (1999) which then led to a very age-inappropriate crush on John Hannah. So I may be biased. But only a little. Because Matthew is clearly the heart and soul of this film and I will fight you all.
posted by paisley sheep at 11:39 AM on May 22 [1 favorite]
Seeing it as an adult who has Gone Through Stuff and on the big screen where I'm allowed very little distraction, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it! I'm not much of a Hugh Grant fan but his character worked for me. I was really there for the ensemble, though, and I am 100% convinced that this movie only works because of Matthew.*
Anyway, I thought it was funny-sad when I was leaving the theater and overheard some people discussing Matthew and Gareth's relationship. One person was convinced they were "just friends" because it didn't say anything explicitly, and the priest called Matthew "Gareth's good friend" and Matthew didn't say anything about Gareth that apparently this person would say about their own friends. That baffled me because there were so many subtle moments that I felt made it clear they were in a relationship, even if didn't explicitly say it (but also the movie kind of did with the focus on the various guests at the funeral? Like... how did this person miss that?)
Also I bought the soundtrack when I was a teenager just to listen to John Hannah recite the W. H. Auden poem over and over and over. So hearing that music again made me a little sentimental about that time in my life that had no relation whatsoever to what was happening on screen.
*I have described elsewhere my obsession with The Mummy (1999) which then led to a very age-inappropriate crush on John Hannah. So I may be biased. But only a little. Because Matthew is clearly the heart and soul of this film and I will fight you all.
posted by paisley sheep at 11:39 AM on May 22 [1 favorite]
I had no idea this wasn't posted. I just rewatched this not long ago. It's well-scripted and directed, but it's really all about the stars: Hugh Grant in maximum charm mode; Andie MacDowell so luminous that it basically counts as a special effect; the late Charlotte Coleman as a perfectly peculiar platonic pal; Simon Callow being Simon Callow... there's just so much talent on screen.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 12:00 PM on May 22
posted by DirtyOldTown at 12:00 PM on May 22
I loved this when it came out and saw it a few times in the theater. I haven't watched it since then, and I wonder if much-older-me would still like it. Maybe it's one of those movies best left loved and not rewatched?
posted by The corpse in the library at 10:23 AM on June 14
posted by The corpse in the library at 10:23 AM on June 14
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posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 10:08 AM on May 22 [2 favorites]