Four Weddings and a Funeral

Four Weddings begins with an onslaught of fucks. It’s the first signal that this rom-com will break from tradition, despite the ritualized structural conceit described in the title. Weddings and funerals: these are sacred ceremonies that bring together friends and family in communion, and we’re supposed to be on our best behaviour (at least to start with). Add to that the film’s milieu: upper class Britain, which is even more in thrall to formality, good manners and social appearances. The charm of the movie is how the permanently befuddled Charles (floppy, self-deprecating Hugh Grant), with his disastrous romantic life, tries and fails to measure up to these expectations. The witty screenplay is by Richard Curtis — it’s still his best work. The movie was an unexpected box office smash in North America and propelled Grant to stardom and comparisons with namesake Cary… until his misadventure with sex worker Divine Brown a year later. That’s a comedy we have yet to see.

If ever a film resembled a wedding cake it is Four Weddings and a Funeral, a multi-tiered confection with a romantic spirit and an enchantingly pretty veneer.

Janet Maslin, New York Times

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