The Wedding Video

Having read the 2 reviews on here and seen some of the critics reviews I wasn't expecting a lot from this film. I'm a fan of peep show and Robert Mitchell in general so thought I'd give it a go and was pleasantly surprised! If you take this film for what it is, a light hearted comedy romp, it's actually quite enjoyable. Rufus Hound, who I have never heard of or seen before, was rather irritating to begin with in a Ricky gervais kind of way and I was worried this would ruin the film, but his character really grew on me and I think I was a bit in love with him by the end! The characters are all likable and amusing in their own ways and I'm sure some of them are fairly true to life, particularly the rich society women who are the "friends" of the mother of the bride! I found myself chuckling through a lot of the film and laughed out loud several times and left the cinema with a nice warm glow! It may not be a lasting classic but it's a fun, sweet and enjoyable film and I would give it 7/10

British comedies are hit and miss to say the least. My expectations were decidedly low for this one. I love Peep Show and will watch pretty much anything with Robert Webb (or David Mitchell) in it. However, when I watched 'Confetti' (another Brit-com with Robert Webb in it) I was left severely disappointed that even he couldn't elevate it out of the doldrums. The Wedding Video is, as you can probably guess, a 'film' made in the deliberately documentary style of the first person. Rufus Hound plays 'Raif' the long lost brother who returns to England when his brother, Tim (Robert Webb) is getting married.

Raif's 'special' gift is a wedding video, charting the build up to the happy day - think 'Blair Witch, but with witches is posh hats from Cheshire.'

The first thing I thought was how much Rufus Hound comes across as a cross between Simon Pegg and Ricky Gervais. His character is only one step away from being pretty damn annoying. However, in my (slightly biased) opinion, it's Robert Webb's character who saves it, as he doesn't suffer his annoying brother too gladly and frequently slaps him down when need be.

As you might imagine, the build up to the wedding goes about as smoothly as the wedding itself. There are a whole string of unfortunate and cringe-worthy events, captured on camera for our viewing pleasure.

The Wedding Video hasn't been that well received by people. I don't know what they were expecting. Granted it's hardly comedy gold, destined to become a future classic, but I found it certainly watchable enough for an hour and a half. There are a few good gags and the characters are actually quite amusing, especially the bride's mum who's totally obsessed with 'outdoing' her friends when it comes to her daughter's big day.

Some people have criticised the ending. I didn't think it was that bad, but without spoiling it, I'll leave that for you to decide.

The Wedding Video isn't amazing, but it's no turkey either.

Just watched The Wedding Video with my wife,She protested "Not another Wedding Movie"!,two hours later she was still laughing with me about this film,it won't win any academy awards or golden globes,characters do not look as though they are acting due to the semi "Doc'o" style of filming however the three main characters consisting of our Bride,Groom and Best Man with special mention of the the Brides mother and Grandmother made this film a laugh a minute,well maybe every two minutes. I don't know why some review's were so harsh,it is what it is,a mad movie about weddings and the loss of control by the "Couple To Be" the typical Mother outdoing her society friends and the Wedding Planner going out of her mind plus the best man (Also the Brother of the Groom)adding to the chaos. I liked the Doco style which reminded me of an Australian film "Kenny" a few years back,the acting was OK and worked well with the dialogue.

We did not want our money back after watching this film compared to a lot of the contrived American rubbish on offer in recent time,The English have a great knack for comedy and I give this a 8/10 for laughs.

There seems to be a throng of Wedding based films recently. After Bridesmaids but it could've been Four Weddings and a Funeral that really started the trend. Whatever the root it seems both Hollywood and Britain are enamoured by the sheer social minefield that it causes. The worst of human beings are exposed in this high stress scenario, the glamour and need to show the guests a fabulous time tend to overwhelm the fact that this is, at the end, an expression of love between two people. Which should be the easiest thing in the world but is just... not...

Even though every single idea that could surround the central theme of the wedding has been explored, especially the Hen/Stag Parties, this film tries find a unique idea the Best Man making a Wedding Video as a gift to his brother, the Groom. In doing so he records the build up to one of the most stressful experiences the poor Bride has ever endured. The Brides Mother taking a lot of creative control in the matter causing much vitriol between the Bride and Groom.

It's a very predictable affair. But there's a lot enjoyable aspects. I personally found the visibility of the camera refreshing, knowing a character was in control of gave the actors the chance to really react to the absurdity of the situation and also feel the embarrassment of it being captured. It added a layer to the proceedings which was fun to watch, plus Rufus Howard's character trying to be creative and shoot as much as possible, plus the microphone man, Matt Berry, causing arguments and writing songs. The decadence of the Mother of the Bride was always a good mine for comedy too. But it's all subjective really and how much experience you have with weddings. Of course everyone will find humour in different jokes.

I thought the acting was particularly good. Rufus Hound, who I've never really considered as a Leading Man, or even an actor, having only seen him on panel shows, was really quite good. The man can definitely act and he really sold the emotional beats along with the comedy. Lucy Punch is always fantastic and completely underrated for some reason. Harriet Walters was fabulous as the Mother and Robert Webb was perfectly lovely as the nervous Groom.

There's nothing remotely surprising but there's a lot to be enjoyed. It's well acted, got a few funny bits and still manages to strive for a unique thread even though we know the ending by a mile off. It's the journey though, hanging around with these perfectly lovely characters and watching a wedding you're damn well pleased you won't be involved with.

Why this movie gets such angry reviews is a mystery to me. It's no way an innovative story and has no daring Hangover jokes but it's absolutely entertaining. The comic moments are delivered well but it stays a little on the timid side. It could have had more of an edge and there is a tendency to have rather great moments end in a bit of an anti climax. Lucy Punch is great as the former wild girl getting married. She has a unique quirky style that you either love or not at all; that was obviously the risk to leave the leading role to her. If this movie doesn't suit you this might be why but there is nothing wrong with either the acting performance or the script.