Three weddings and a lot of shouting

Director: Debbie Isitt
Starring: Martin Freeman, Jessica Stephenson, Stephen Mangan, Jimmy Carr
Classification: 15

The film follows three couples who are competing to win the “Most Original Wedding of the Year,” in a competition set up by Confetti magazine. The editor, Antoni (Jimmy Carr, as annoying as usual) is given the pick of the couples, and manages to find some real ‘winners’. They include: a pair who want a musical-themed wedding (Freeman and Stephenson), tennis-mad lovebirds (Mangan and Meredith MacNeill) and, of course, the naturist couple (Peep Show’s Robert Webb and Olivia Colman), who are opposed to any kind of clothing at their ceremony. The fact that a dream first house is also on offer for the winning wedding leads to ever-greater competition between them.

This mockumentary stars some of British comedy’s finest talents, showcasing their improvising skills. There was no script at all: the director just gave the actors the gist of the scene and let them carry on. The result of this is to give the film a very natural quality, with the actors reacting to difficult situations in the same way that we might. For instance, when Sam’s (Stevenson) mum and sister aggressively muscle in onto the preparations – and forbids her beloved father from attending – Sam’s fiancé understandably erupts with anger. Similarly, when the tennis couple realise that much more care and attention is being given to the musical wedding, they become jealous and step up their own game.

However, it’s all just a bit predictable. It’s obvious from the start that Stevenson and Freeman will win, not least because they are the biggest stars in the film, but also because they are the only fully-rounded characters, and the camera is focussed upon them and their family strife for the majority of the running time. In contrast, the other couples remain caricatures, one-note jokes who each are defined by their tennis/naturist quirks. The camp wedding planners, themselves a couple, are also ridiculously clichéd. This means that the tone often veers from out-and-out farce to grim family drama from one scene to the next. That’ll keep you on the edge of your seat.

Still, it’s fun, light viewing, and great for spotting your fave TV stars taking their onscreen personas to the big screen: you’ve got Tim from The Office, Daisy from Spaced, Guy from Green Wing…

 3/5 Summary: Good for a laugh, especially if you’re a fan of the humour in The Office, etc.

The soundtrack to the film is now available from amazon.co.uk