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Four Weddings and a Funeral | 
 enlarge | Director: Mike Newell
Actors: Hugh Grant, James Fleet, Simon Callow, John Hannah, Kristin Scott Thomas
Studio: Polygram Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $29.95
Buy New: $8.96
You Save: $20.99 (70%)
New (6) Used (11) Collectible (1) from $3.99
Rating:  113 reviews
Sales Rank: 79958
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Full Screen, Letterboxed, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), Spanish (Subtitled)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 117
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
DVD Layers: 1
DVD Sides: 2
Picture Format: Array
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
ISBN: 6304493711
UPC: 780063176927
EAN: 9786304493717
ASIN: 6304493711
Theatrical Release Date: March 9, 1994
Release Date: June 25, 1997
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: NEXT BUSINESS DAY SHIPPING.
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Amazon.com essential video
A surprise hit and one of the highest grossing films ever to come out of Great Britain, this effortlessly enchanting romantic comedy finds confirmed bachelor Hugh Grant (Nine Months) attending weddings with his single friends as they all lament not being able to commit. Grant keeps running into an attractive American (Andie MacDowell) at these festivities and begins a long-running affair with her, even as he attends her own wedding, the funeral of one of his best friends, and his own pending nuptials. Featuring a spirited supporting cast including Kristin Scott Thomas (The English Patient) as the acerbic friend quietly in love with Grant, this touching and funny film with a mischievous sense of humor and some truly heartbreaking moments is destined to become one of the classic romantic comedies of all time. --Robert Lane
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| Customer Reviews: Read 108 more reviews...
Love and marriage; and a death thrown in for good measure... August 25, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Highly regarded as one of the finest British comedies of all time, `Four Weddings and a Funeral' started off rather harsh (with perhaps 20 F-Bombs before another word was even spoken) and ended on the other side of sweet (awwww, they're kissing in the rain). In the end, `Four Weddings...' works rather nicely, and while it's not the best British comedy in my opinion (I prefer screenwriter Richard Curtis' very own `Love Actually'), it is very enjoyable and worthy of most the love and accolades it has received.
The film revolves around a group of friends who discover love, friendship and life over the course of four weddings and a funeral (or should I say, `three weddings, a funeral and half a wedding' to be more precise). At the center of this group is Charles, a bachelor who is afraid of commitment. His commitment phobia seems to fade away when he meets the mysteriously elusive American, Carrie, at a wedding. They have a moment and then she is gone and he can't stop thinking about her. The remainder of the film follows Charles as he tries to reconnect with Carrie, obstacle after obstacle falling into his path.
I've read another review recently that mentioned how Andie MacDowell was perfectly cast as Carrie for the very fact that she is a boring actress, and her lack of natural charm made Charles interest in her all the more interesting. I can agree. I have never found MacDowell to be a particularly intriguing actress, that is for sure, but here she draws me in, mostly because I find myself trying to see what Charles sees in her.
The film is littered with wonderfully full performances, especially by Hugh Grant and Kristen Scott Thomas, but no one can really be singled out as `worst-in-show' since everyone involved rises to the occasion and hands the audience a wonderful experience. Grant though, should be singled out as `best-in-show' for he really personifies what he has been trying to personify since he first appeared on the big screen. Some actors are always given a hard time for constantly playing variations of the same character. Some do so wonderfully, others not so wonderfully. Grant has made a career of, rather wonderfully, playing the commitment phoebe that unintentionally pushes everyone away with his arrogance. Charles is the perfect example of this character because Grant has softened him to the point where his arrogance is an understatement and his gentle nature is his major selling point. I am still baffled at the fact that Grant has yet to receive an Academy Award nomination, for he is constantly effortless in his roles and typically stands out in every film he inhabits as `best-in-show'. Kristen Scott Thomas is also edible as Fiona, capturing the comedy within the script effortlessly, and inhabiting her character with real warmth and genuine heart. Her secret desires for Charles help create a three dimensional character who is both easy to love and easy to understand.
It must be said that Richard Curtis knows how to pen a winning comedy. His style of wit and poignancy help elevate `Four Weddings and a Funeral' from a generic romantic comedy to something much deeper and ultimately much more memorable. He has a knack for giving his characters something to sink their teeth into, something to really embellish and deliver to the audience. He creates characters that we can feel connected to, and we truly feel connected to the ones presented us in `Four Weddings...'.
In the end `Four Weddings and a Funeral' is a feel good romantic comedy that hits almost every mark and delivers a beautifully fulfilling cinematic experience. It has its faults, sure, and it misses the mark in some areas, but not every film is aimed at perfection. What every film is aimed at though is entertainment, and `Four Weddings and a Funeral' definitely entertains.
 Mild entertainment August 12, 2008
This film passes one's time reasonably pleasantly. However, if one is looking for laughter, one should look elsewhere. The story line and development are thin; indeed, we basically do just attend four weddings and a funeral, watching the lead actor struggle with his desire to avoid commitment.
 Tasteless. July 6, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
I never cared for Four Weddings and a Funeral. Andie MacDowell's character is disgusting, she sleeps aronund, plays with Hugh Grant's character affections and never seems to care about anyone but herself. The only reason I give this film 2 stars instead of 1 because this is Hugh Grant's breakout role and he is so charming in this one, god love him! The rest of the cast is annoying and wooden, if you want an intelligent british comedy then I recommend Bridget Jones's Diary which also has Grant as the romantic lead.
 4 Weddings and a Funerala July 2, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is to replace my VHS copy. I regard this film as one of my top 10 comedies and want it on a more substantial product.
Fine British Romantic Comedy June 19, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Mike Newell's stylish 1994 hit, "Four Weddings and a Funeral", expertly fulfills the traditional criteria of romantic comedy, the most important one being that unlike in real life, (almost) everyone finds love with the right person - a conclusion never really in doubt, so this piece of information won't spoil anything. A fine cast that includes Kristin Scott Thomas, Simon Callow, and John Hannah lends sparkle and charm to this tale of a group of long-time friends who, one by one, are crossing from carefree, single blessedness into the marital state. Except for one: Charles (Hugh Grant), who just can't seem to get himself over that line, despite successive relationships with attractive women who all want to hook him.
Charles and his friends apparently occupy some blissful realm where little matters such as jobs and careers don't seem to exist. Two (Phoebe and her brother Tom) are obviously wealthy aristocrats, but it's a mystery how the others support themselves as they float around, showing up at one wedding after another and co-mingling at receptions with a clearly upper-class crowd in which all the women wear large expensive hats. All the same guests appear to show up at all the weddings.
I'm not a great fan of Hugh Grant, whose lip-biting, stammering, hair-pushing mannerisms drive me up the wall. However, the role of the emotionally infantile and graceless Charles suits Grant almost too well, so it's hard to complain. As the film opens, Charles and his elfin roommate, Scarlett (a wonderfully eccentric portrayal by the unfortunately deceased Charlotte Coleman), are off to the film's first wedding, where Charles, as usual, is the perennial Best Man. Already troubled by his inability to commit, at the reception Charles meets a pretty American, Carrie, played by the mind-bogglingly talentless Andie MacDowell, whose casting is the only major flaw in this film. MacDowell could give Tippi Hedren a run for the "Least Talented Actress Ever To Have A Career In Films" award, and for the same reason: a hopelessly flat persona, voice, and delivery. This defect is particularly glaring amongst this group of fine British actors. MacDowell's flat delivery, devoid of nuance, imagination, color, or shading of any kind, turns her lines into the dramatic equivalent of Wonder Bread. It's a shame someone on the level of the rest of the cast couldn't be found for this role.
At any rate, although Charles doesn't figure it out for some time (although, of course, the audience does), Carrie is the Thunderbolt that has finally hit him. For the rest of the film, we wait for Charles to acknowledge what everyone around him sees clearly, and, as we wait, we are treated to three more weddings and that funeral. The second wedding contains a priceless turn by Britain's famed comedian, Rowan Atkinson, as a priest nervously performing his first marriage, and mangling the language of the wedding service as he does so.
The movie is also notable for including a happy gay couple (John Hannah and Simon Callow), without qualification or discussion. Callow, one of Britain's most distinguished stage and screen actors, gets to chew up the scenery a bit, while sharp-eyed devotees of BBC's "Wire in the Blood" and "MI-5" series's may spot a young Nicola Walker, later one of the lead detectives in "Wire" and an operative on "MI-5", as one of the maddening folk singers ("Can't live/without yuuuuuuuuu. . .") at the second wedding.
The outcome of the story is never really in doubt; as is often said, it's the journey, not the arrival, that counts. In this case, it's the wit and stylish performances (with the exception of MacDowell) that make this journey enjoyable - not to mention critiquing those varied wedding dresses, church settings, flower arrangements, etc. The traditions of romantic comedy make it easy to ignore such minor questions as, "When do these people work? What do they DO?!".
Nothing if not charming, "Four Weddings and a Funeral" goes down easy and raises many smiles.
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