Four Weddings and a Funeral

Name: Four Weddings and a Funeral
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Romance
Released: March 9, 1994
Duration: 117 min
Rating: 81
Cast: Andie MacDowell, Hugh Grant

1994

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 19 Critics

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 83 Ratings

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8.2

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8.2	User Score Universal acclaim based on 83 Ratings

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DAYTIME'S GREATEST WEDDINGS

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Movie Details & Credits

Gramercy Pictures (I) | Release Date: March 9, 1994

Starring: Andie MacDowell, Hugh Grant

Summary: A confirmed British bachelor (Grant) meets the perfect woman (MacDowell) at a friend's wedding.

Director: Mike Newell

Genre(s): Drama, Comedy, Romance

Rating: R

Runtime: 117 min

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Awards & Rankings

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) - Rick Groen

British humour at its eclectic best, a deliciously heady mix of dry wit and ribald farce. Read full review

Variety - Todd McCarthy

Truly beguiling romantic comedy. Read full review

Los Angeles Times - Kenneth Turan

Not only do Grant, Scott Thomas, Callow and company handle the sprightly dialogue with aplomb, they are also adept at the doubletakes and befuddled looks that make Four Weddings both amusing and irresistible all the way through the not-to-be-missed final credits. [9 March 1994, Calendar, p.F-1]

ReelViews - James Berardinelli

Possesses the rare ability to make an audience laugh (and laugh hard) and cry, without ever seeming manipulative or going hopelessly over-the-top. Read full review

Austin Chronicle - Louis Black

A romantic screwball comedy, one is as intoxicated by words, dialogue and characters as by love. Read full review

Baltimore Sun - Ann Hornaday

The movie dazzles with its slick lines, but there's a situational intelligence at play too -- little vignettes involving minor characters are begun at one wedding and then evolve into major events at the next.

Chicago Reader - Jonathan Rosenbaum

Maybe you'll enjoy it, but don't expect to remember it ten minutes later, or even to believe in the characters while you're watching them. Read full review

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User Reviews

sharedsorrows

Jan 17, 2013

The players, who include Simon Callow, Kristin Scott Thomas from sharedsorrows.com, Rowan Atkinson and Sophie Thompson, exude comedic brightness as they go about their gossipy, farcical, self-deprecating, sorry-about-that-old-chap, just-being-English business.

The infectious charm andThe players, who include Simon Callow, Kristin Scott Thomas from sharedsorrows.com, Rowan Atkinson and Sophie Thompson, exude comedic brightness as they go about their gossipy, farcical, self-deprecating, sorry-about-that-old-chap, just-being-English business.

The infectious charm and sunny goodwill of Four Weddings and a Funeral can so immediately buoy a soul ravaged by winter weather and winter movies.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

moslegend34

Jun 13, 2015

A solid if unspectacular romantic comedy. Not a bad effort by any means and one of Hugh Grant's better performances. I'll nudge it up to seven only because of the vast influence this flick has had on future movies (Death at a Funeral and Love Actually to name a couple). Grant's hopelessA solid if unspectacular romantic comedy. Not a bad effort by any means and one of Hugh Grant's better performances. I'll nudge it up to seven only because of the vast influence this flick has had on future movies (Death at a Funeral and Love Actually to name a couple). Grant's hopeless romantic character is likable while McDowell plays the part of love interest effectively.
Grant's mad group of friends provide the lion's share of laughter while Rowan Atkinson's brilliant irony was inexplicably underutilised.
I would hesitate to call this a must-see but would recommend it for aficionados of romantic comedy.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Spangle

Mar 8, 2017

Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1994, Four Weddings and a Funeral is a charming little crowd pleaser that may have been instinctively nominated for the award as a romantic British film. What ensues, however, is a film that does not really feel like any other nominee fromNominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1994, Four Weddings and a Funeral is a charming little crowd pleaser that may have been instinctively nominated for the award as a romantic British film. What ensues, however, is a film that does not really feel like any other nominee from this era. It is a small scale romantic comedy about a bachelor who comes to find love in a cliched downpour after experiencing four weddings and a funeral over the course of two hours. Frightfully British, Four Weddings and a Funeral is a fine film that, while perhaps not Best Picture good, is a truly funny and charming little film with a typically charismatic Hugh Grant in the lead role opposite Andie Macdowell. The weirdest part of this movie though is the revelation that MacDowell's character has slept with 33 men, whereas Grant's has only slept with nine. Maybe I just think Macdowell looks innocent or something, but there is no way Hugh Grant has slept with less people than her. There are not many people who have slept with more, I would wager. As a side note, I just discovered that Grant had four children between 2011 and 2015. The interesting part is that it was with two women. One, a Chinese woman gave birth in 2011 and 2013. The other, a Swedish woman, gave birth in 2012 and 2015. Having discovered this bit after having written the bit about wagering he slept with more people than most can claim, I now feel even more confident about this bet.

That said, focusing on the film, Four Weddings and a Funeral is a truly enjoyable experience. Fast, witty, and smart, the film is not merely some disposable comedy. Instead, it goes to great lengths to subtly develop its characters. By focusing on the weddings and the funeral, the character development can slide by undetected. But, it is absolutely there and quite abundant. Through these encounters, the film explores friendship and mortality. With each passing wedding, these single characters feel time ticking, but find joy in their group of friends. The shared experience and bond with one another is readily apparent and worn on their sleeves throughout, particularly when one of the group gets married. Offering their congratulations, but equally expressing their hope that they will stay in touch, you feel the hopelessness of that request. Through no fault of their own, marriage will cause strain on friendships. People you loved will fall to the side purely because of time limits or distance. It is like every major moment in your life - graduating high school, graduating college, moving, getting a job, getting married, etc - where things change and people move on to new things. In the process, people close to you are left behind. Thus, the film becomes quite somber as you recognize that the love felt in the romance is simultaneously the happy couple spending their last hurrah with their old group of friends, some of whom they will never share the same connection with again.

Romantically, the film does not click nearly as well. It is a film that focuses on missed connections through unrequited love or the one you love marrying someone else. Yet, it lacks the guts to subvert expectations. Instead, it relies upon a cheesy sequence in the rain that is lazily written and oddly acted by Grant and Macdowell to close out this film. While undeniably cute, it does not jive well with the rest of the film and instead feels too neat to truly work for this film. While I am hardly arguing that the film is transcendent or not cliche up to that point, it does feel a little odd for a film to end so happy when it portrays every other issue that pops up as merely something we must deal with in life. There is no perfect person, deaths happen, unrequited love is real, and missed connections happen due to circumstance. Sadly, it lacks the courage to punch the audience in the gut by having Charles (Hugh Grant) just marry the girl he does not love because it is what he feels he must do, regardless of love. Sadly, it is a largely safe and entirely palatable romantic comedy, so expectations are not subverted here.

Charming and witty with tremendous comedic dialogue, Four Weddings and a Funeral feels like a comedy drama tricked into playing up to romantic comedy expectations, even if its first two acts seem to be leading up to an entirely different film. That said, it is a fun film and a pretty odd Best Picture nominee. Featuring a slickly charismatic turn from Hugh Grant in the lead role alongside a game supporting cast, the film is terrific for laughs and an equally great look at friendship as one ages and begins going to weddings and funerals on a regular basis. While gooey and cheesy, it is undeniably great fun to watch unfold.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

amheretojudge

Jun 29, 2018

a never ending yet never succeeding love story..

Four Weddings And A Funeral 3 Out Of 5 Four Weddings And A Funeral is one's typical on and off, and morally obliged tale that is afraid to go beyond and is more than happy to play safe. Its unique idea plays on both the pros and cons' side,a never ending yet never succeeding love story..

Four Weddings And A Funeral

3 Out Of 5

Four Weddings And A Funeral is one's typical on and off, and morally obliged tale that is afraid to go beyond and is more than happy to play safe. Its unique idea plays on both the pros and cons' side, as after the audience sinks its teeth into the plot, the rudimentary process grows obvious and the audience finds itself waiting on the closure of it.

Having said that, there are lot of high pitched dramatic sequence created in here that are filled with memorable even though cheesy dialogues, that ups the ante of the game in its genre. The script follows a textbook formula and is predictable as it ages on screen for the major part of it is spent upon by the makers on building the characters and the plots. It is short on technical aspects like sound department but is finely edited and has an amazing costume designing on its side. Richard Curtis; the writer, is satisfying on his job and delivers every essential ingredient for a typical love story but the real culprit in here is Mike Newell's; the director, execution as it fails create the anticipated impact which then latter leads to shallow emotional drama. The performance by Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell doesn't leave the audience in awe of it but they are neither exhausted by it too, it's a decent performance. Four Weddings And A Funeral is a never ending yet never succeeding love story whose self-created weapon is unfortunately the doom of it.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

RegOz

Apr 5, 2012

I didn't enjoy it much...to me it is overrated. The plot is weak...it is not credible, and Andie McDowell performance was sooo dull! Perhaps another actress would have transmitted more emotion! Just a 5 because it is almost below mediocre. I wouldn't watch it again!

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Broyax

Aug 23, 2018

Petite comédie romantique bobo qui ne casse pas trois pattes à un canard, loin de là... ça ne casse pas non plus la baraque. Ce que ça casse par contre, c'est les burnes : c'est en effet très chiant, très lent et très poussif.

Il paraît que c'est drôle, fin et léger mais c'est juste pasPetite comédie romantique bobo qui ne casse pas trois pattes à un canard, loin de là... ça ne casse pas non plus la baraque. Ce que ça casse par contre, c'est les burnes : c'est en effet très chiant, très lent et très poussif.

Il paraît que c'est drôle, fin et léger mais c'est juste pas drôle et balourd surtout que l'andouille Hugh Grant nous fait son éternel numéro de benêt branchouille ravi de la crèche. Et Andie ne nous sert que le minimum syndical, ce qui est très insuffisant.

Un film donc très mauvais et très con à dormir debout qui nous en touche une sans faire bouger l'autre. Et même ça, il n'y arrive pas.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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