The Wedding Video

This is a very funny film. To the people who gave a score of 1, please tell me a film that you consider to be funny as I would surely die laughing if I watched it.

SLIGHT SPOILER IN THIRD PARAGRAPH - I'm surprised at the good reviews this film has received on here. It was a pretty awful film. I think the scriptwriter must have some dodgy photographs of someone to get the backing to make this film, because I can't believe anyone would put their money behind such a poor script as this. There are a couple of big names in the film too, so it makes me think money is more important to them than their reputation. I gave up before the end, and not before time, which I rarely do with films, but saw enough to give a negative of the film As for the "bad acting" issue, someone got slated in another review for mentioning this, and told it was meant to be like that because its about amateurs videoing the lead up to a wedding, but maybe he didn't mean that and meant real bad acting from Hound and Punch. The scene where they meet in the flat after kissing and are awkward about it, is pretty awful acting.

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.

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

I saw the trailer for this film, I may have misjudged it for looking terrible, but actually it was rated not too badly by most of the critics, and obviously there were some good names in the all British cast, and even if it was going to turn out cheesy I was prepared for that, from director Nigel Cole (Calendar Girls). Basically Raif (Celebrity Juice's Rufus Hound) is a shambolic oaf with an alternative sense of humour, and he has been chosen as best man for the wedding of his brother Tim (Peep Show's Robert Webb) and his girlfriend Saskia (Lucy Punch). His wedding present to them is a wedding video that he is filming himself, along with his fellow cameraman Roger (Matt Berry), so almost the entire film is from his camera's point of view starting from while all the ceremony preparations are going ahead, right up until the wedding day and reception. As everything is getting ready, we see that Tim is marrying into a higher class lifestyle, Saskia has a hideous upper-class grandmother Patricia (Miriam Margolyes) who has particular tastes, and the bride's mother is continuously trying to interfere with the wedding plans and arrangements, while The Wedding Planner Jenna (Green Wing's Michelle Gomez) is a bit bonkers. Raif also finds out that he remembers Saskia as a constantly rebellious and trouble making school girl, and when Tim and her are having small tiffs with each other because of all of the wedding difficulties Raif and her start to spend more time together, talking mostly about her increasing stress. It becomes apparent that as they continually get together Raif and Saskia have unintentionally fallen for each other, and Tim is having his own doubts about the oncoming ceremony as well, and after the hen and stag parties have been and the day finally comes, it is unclear what the conclusion will be. In the end Tim before the wedding asks Saskia if getting married to him is really what she wants, to which she tearfully answer "no", and reaching the altar Raif announces that the ceremony will not go ahead, but then he steps forward and asks the vicar to marry him and Saskia as their feelings are true, and Raif ends his wedding video in a much different but better way than thought before. Also starring Harriet Walter as Alex, Angus Barnett as Reverend Dobbs, Julianne White as Tara Devlin and Felicity Dean as Jacqui. Hound is suitable as the jokey brother of the groom, Webb does his awkward persona well, and the supporting cast members all get their moments to make you laugh as well, I will admit the jokes aren't hilarious but it is relatively good fun, if you imagine The Blair Witch Project (without the scary moments) mixed with Four Weddings and a Funeral that is kind of what this is like, it is a relatively likable romantic comedy. Worth watching!

Rufus Hound plays the bohemian of the two brothers in this comedy. He travels home six weeks before his brothers wedding and has a surprise for him, he's going to video the events before the wedding to give to him as a wedding gift. What Hound doesn't know is that his brother is getting married to a girl at school who was a tear away and a pretty wild child back then. She is now prim and proper and very wealthy thanks to her mothers marriage. The thing is, the more Hound spends time with her, the more his feelings grow for her... I like Hound. When he's in it, he's the best thing about the awful Celebrity Juice, and he's quite funny. The same thing goes for Webb. He's great in Peep Show and HIGNFY, so this should have been a throwaway romp with a lot of laughs. It isn't, and it doesn't provide any laughs. And. The main reason? Because everyone is so nice and the only reason what Punch and Hound grow feelings for each other is because half of the time they are together they are drunk. The supporting cast are your bunch of perfunctory middle class English people you see in every sitcom, the neurotic wedding planner, the comedy vicar, the wannabe posh parents, and the hilarious grandmother played by someone famous. All here present and bland. But Lucy Punch is brilliant as usual and is the best thing here, and it appears that everyone is put into the shade when she's on screen. It's predictable, and we have the cringeworthy scenes, that are not so anymore, because you can see them coming from a mile off. To be honest, the trailers looked good, but don't give in for the rom com thing, its really awfully bland...

The problem with The Wedding Video is that it is just too darn predictable. Oafish Raif (Rufus Hound) is going to be the best man at his uptight brother's Tim (Robert Webb) wedding. His gift to the happy couple is to make his own wedding video which gives the film a point of view look. The bride to be Saskia (Lucy Punch) is a one time wild child, now reformed and a daughter of a higher up Cheshire set. Saskia also went to school with Raif and he has always carried a torch for her. Pretty early on it becomes apparent that Tim and Saskia lack sexual chemistry and that things are not going to go well with the preparation of the wedding. On the other hand Saskia and Raif seem to get on very easily but the trouble is, it is difficult to get behind Raif, who appears to be too self absorbed and easily gets into silly scrapes. The film is only intermittently amusing despite having several eccentric characters such as the highly strung wedding planner.

Well, "Four weddings" it is not! That movie had so much intricate plotting, witty dialogue, genuine passion and tragedy. You really got involved and it swept you along. This one is basically just a jolly jape with some comedians fooling around in front of a camera. The plot can be told in a few lines. Best man Raif (Rufus Hound) is making a wedding video for his brother Tim (Robert Webb), but discovers that he knows the bride Saskia (Lucy Punch). in fact he was in love with her at school. He knew her as a rebellious character, totally at odds with the rather staid bridegroom. With the wedding preparations in full and frantic flow, Saskia increasingly seeks out the company of Raif, with predictable and dramatic consequences for all concerned. The conceit is that the film is shot using what appears to be a camcorder. Yes, it's paper-thin and primitive. But actually Rufus Hound and Robert Webb are rather good and charming comedians who are very capable of making you fall off your chair. There are also some fun cameos from Harriet Walter, Miriam Margolyes, the brilliant Michelle Gomez (off the brilliant "Green Wing"), and above all, Angus Barnett as the hysterical vicar. Within a year I will have forgotten all about this little frolic. But while I was watching it, I enjoyed it and laughed rather a lot. So there.

If you're looking for a sweet flick with a few belly laughs and a cast of well fleshed out characters, you could do a lot worse than giving The Wedding Video a look. Until now I haven't been a huge fan of Lucy Punch, but she gives a truly accessible and warm performance as Saskia Dutton in this and fits very comfortably along side Rufas Hound, playing Raif the brother of Saskia's intended, Tim. Robert Webb does well as the brother preparing for his imminent wedding to Saskia, in what, if Saskia's Mother has her way, will be the wedding of the year. A lot of the story is shown as if knocked together via hand held, but is rarely annoying or as distracting as some such movies that rely on hand held cameras to capture the "fly on the wall" aspect of story telling can be. There are a couple of notable cameos with, for this viewer, far too short a screen time, involving Miriam Margoyles and Matt Berry and Michelle Gomez' role as a former flight attendant come wedding planner is the crazy glue that holds much of the film together. Rom-coms don't usually do it for me, but the reason this one flies is the great dialogue, engaging characters and a storyline that is not dripping with the kind of sugary cheese Hollywood tends to fob off as entertainment these days. The low voter score probably relates to the differing appreciation and expectations of humour that seems to exist either side of the pond. Give me a well written, fun British made film any day.

This film serves as an excellent reminder that some people simply do not understand comedy. What dull lives they must lead. When you are criticising the cinematography and acting of a film which is deliberately designed to seem like something shot on a camcorder by an amateur I feel you have just totally missed the point. What were you expecting? Overacting nonsense and wildly exaggerated characters as the stars all via for Oscar nominations? Dramatic sweeping shots of the American plains which last ten minutes and establish nothing more than a willingness to fall asleep? The fact that the three hour yawn fest that was 'There Will Be Blood' can be critically acclaimed whilst a genuinely funny film with a lot of charm and character can be slated is everything that is wrong with film these days. Everything that is wrong with the world frankly. This film is simply fun. It is enjoyable to watch, entertaining and there are some good laughs to be had. The end is even oddly poignant. Why do people always have to delve headfirst into stuff looking for contrived meaning and commentary on modern society? Wait... I should probably read my own review back right?