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Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)

Rate: 8
Viewed: 2/09

FourWeddings
2/09: After the slow start during the first half hour, Four Weddings and a Funeral picks up the momentum by executing the comedic aspects in a fluid manner, allowing the charm to win me over for good.

Andie MacDowell is a beautiful-looking woman, and her screen presence is unbelievably natural. It's keen to notice how she went from a timid housewife in Sex, Lies, and Videotape to a dominating American in this.

Charlotte Coleman is pretty as the red-haired Scarlett. Hugh Grant is terrific, and he has the knack for showing off his boyishness personality. Kristin Scott Thomas is also excellent, and so is the rest of everybody. What a chemistry they have.

My favorite is the dialogue. It's terrific in a simple way. The cinematography is pleasantly done with wonderful location shots in England and Scotland. It's interesting to see how the British signs look different from ASL although both operate within the English language. As for the film, there are two serious problems.

One is the first thirty minutes. It wasn't working out well, and I thought some scenes were poorly done where everybody was trying to be funny on purpose. Luckily, things started to improve when Mr. Bean broke the ice with his absolutely silly vicar performance. That brings up an observation: why so much of Simon Callow but little of Rowan Atkinson? Two is the lack of character development. I don't get to know Andie MacDowell's that much. She just shows up and disappears from time to time. The same goes for some of the others.

All in all, no matter what the negatives are, Four Weddings and a Funeral is a charmer.