Confetti

There are few things so stressful in life as planning and executing a wedding. When that morass of charged emotions runs headlong into a contest held by Confetti Magazine for the "most original wedding," things are bound to get messy.

Three couples are chosen for their unique wedding ideas: Matt (Martin Freeman) and Sam (Jessica Stevenson) want a Hollywood musical style, Josef (Stephen Mangan) and Isabelle (Meredith MacNeill) vie for a tennis theme, while Michael (Robert Webb) and Joanna (Olivia Colman) are "naturalists" and want their nuptials to be done in the nude. Trying to wrangle these three disparate couples into some kind of order are wedding planners Archie Heron (Vincent Franklin) and Gregory Hough (Jason Watkins) who seem to be channeling Corky St. Clair...

In fact, shot as a documentary, this British ensemble piece is sure to be (justly) compared to Christopher Guest's mockumentaries (WAITING FOR GUFFMAN, A MIGHTY WIND, et cetera). Director Debbie Isitt does a fair job of aping Guest though she doesn't know when to go from documentary hand-held to a smoother choreographed camera and relies too much on non-diegetic music.

Clearly, too, Isitt is aware of the weaknesses to the storyline. Two of the three couples are off screen for long stretches and our "villainous" couple (think Parker Posey and Michael Hitchcock from BEST IN SHOW) is mishandled in the finale. Even when they're not working with the best material (how many jokes about a nudist wedding can there be?) the cast does a terrific job keeping the film afloat. Besotted with faces familiar to anglophile TV/film viewers, CONFETTI is an amusing farce.

A highly entertaining and original comedy using the cream of British comedy acting talent, who spent weeks improvising before arriving at the final script.

At times the writer/director Debbie Isitt doesn't seem sure whether to make her characters comic or endearing, but usually succeeds in doing both.

The 'Tennis Match' wedding is very funny, while the cast of non-dancers failing to achieve perfect symmetry in the Busby Berkeley sequence adds to the general hilarity.

Martin Freeman gets better with each role, Alison Steadman turns in her usual immaculate performance, with Jimmy Carr making the most of his first big screen role. Look out for the spectacularly camp wedding planners, who nearly steal the show from bigger names.

If you liked 'The Office' and 'Shaun of the Dead' you'll love this.

The wedding magazine Confetti is holding a competition for the best wedding. They have selected three couples for the finals. Sam (Jessica Stevenson) and Matt (Martin Freeman) are a happy couple who wants to hold a musical wedding despite not being good singers. Josef (Stephen Mangan) and Isabelle (Meredith MacNeill) are tennis players. He's a former pro and she's a ultra-competitive player. Joanna (Olivia Colman) and Michael (Robert Webb) are naturists. They're naked. Gregory (Jason Watkins) and his partner Archie (Vincent Franklin) are the wedding planners for all three couples.

I like all four couples and that keeps the movie steady. It's definitely following the path of Christopher Guest mockumentaries. I actually like the journey of Josef and Isabelle the most. It is a little sad to read that Colman and Webb hated the amount of nudity. Otherwise, I like that couple. I like all the couples and the actors. It's not big laughs but there is plenty of quirkiness.

I personally found the film hilarious, it was cringe worthy, but in a good way. Well acted and very funny.

The highlights of the film are The mother and sister of Jessica Stevenson's character and The Wedding Planners. The funniest scenes contain interaction between these four.

i'd say its not going to be to everyone's taste, thats a given. I seemed to find it funnier than most of the people I was in the cinema with, i think its one of those cult things. Some people think Freddie got fingered is the funniest film they have ever seen, others think its stupid.

its not as good as Spinal Tap, but i saw American Dreamz the other week and its a million times funnier than that.

I think as with any comedy its a sense of humour thing, this would appeal more to fans of Shaun of the Dead than Four Weddings, but my honest opinion is that this film was the funniest thing i have seen since the 40 year old Virgin.

I really wanted to enjoy this one. I great cast made up from shows I love, an interesting premise - what could go wrong? Well for starters, a lack of a decent plot. There's a flimsy storyline about three couples getting their (insane) dream weddings, and the preparations that lead to the wedding, but this appears to be nothing more than a narrative thread so they could decide what order to have the jokes in. Secondly, all the couples only have one joke. Admittedly, for two out of the three couples it is a funny joke, but it wears thin towards the end and could easily have been trimmed to make the film lighter. However, one couple (Josef and Isabelle) are just relentlessly annoying, their story falling flat. Finally, all the actors appear to be playing their sitcom roles. Martin Freeman plays his character as at least a relative of Tim from the office. Steven Mangan is Guy from Green Wing. The guys from Peep show are their characters, Jimmy Carr is Jimmy Carr. Only Jessica Stevenson is allowed to make a new character from herself, nowhere near to Daisy from Spaced (which, would've made an interesting addition to the film). But whilst I love Green Wing, The Office and Peep Show, it doesn't mean I want to see these characters merely transferred to film. However, despite these criticisms, the film is funny, with scenes that had me laughing loudly in the cinema. Unfortunately, it's nowhere near as good as it could've been with more work, more jokes and original characters.