DIRECTOR: Nigel Cole
SCREENWRITER: Tim Firth
Billing the film as "from the director of Calendar Girls" (and, according to IMDB, also Made In Dagenham), the DVD sleeve also neglects to mention it is also from the screenwriter of Calendar Girls. Credited as "a Nigel Cole film", the main auteurisms I could list from memory (it's been a while since I've seen Calender...) would be that The Wedding Video is a sunny British comedy set in the countryside.
If there is anything worse than a comedy film that isn't funny, it could be a British comedy film that isn't funny. The Wedding Video has an approximate two-and-a-quarter laugh record (which is probably two-and-a-quarter more laughs than Keith Lemon: The Film) but thanks to Robert Webb (Peep Show), manages to raise about 2-3 smiles. So it's not entirely without amusement or indeed interest, particularly in the second half (which may or may not be to do with my break to get a sandwich).
The film is made in the found-footage style with linking narration from our protagonist, Raif (Rufus Hound), and maybe a satire on the rich excesses of a society wedding (one excess did raise a laugh) and can be seen a contrasting with what the groom (Robert Webb) gets up to before the wedding (i.e. a stag night, which frankly, is probably more fun in concept).
Raif is the travelling brother who comes home to see his brother (groom Tim) after three years. Tim is marrying Saskia (Lucy Punch), Raif's former school peer and whose rebellious past sounds more interesting than as she is now but is eventually brought up. Raif is filming his own wedding video for them (despite Tim's initial reluctance) but once a professional is brought in, the film manages to split into separate-but-linked narratives once two cameras are involved. When things take a predictable turn (though there is the dubious use of audio when filming a conversation in a kebab shot while the camera is placed outside), the pay-off is slightly more interesting than the set-up.
There are some capable performances. Hound is kind-of well-cast as the slobbish brother while Webb shows he can do "drama" as well as raising a smile.
No comments:
Post a Comment