CONFETTI

I read a story on the Internet once, about a couple who got married whilst bungee jumping. The bride, the groom, the priest, and two witnesses, dived off of a bridge in the middle of nowhere, and tied the knot... so to speck. Nothing strange happened mind you; all went according to plan. Hopefully, like this characters film. Directed by Debbie Isitt; and Starring: Jimmy Carr, Stephen Mangan, Jessica Stevenson, and Martin Freeman. It was made in 2006, and lasted for 95 minutes.


Confetti


THE STORY:
The big wig's at Bridal magazine, “Confetti”, Antoni and Vivienne (Jimmy Carr and Ferlicity Montagu), have a great new idea for promoting their wares. Stage a themed wedding completion between three couples, where the winners will win a house of there dreams. Wooo! Moreover, hire gay wedding planners, Archie and Gregory (Vincent Franklin and Jason Watkins), to aide the competitors mold their ideas into something more acceptable to the magazines leanings.

Nice concept, right? But before any of these marriages can take place, both Gregory and Archie have to do quite a lot of running around. Such as; meet with the couples, liaise with the couples, and plan with the couples, whilst at the same time kowtowing to any matters that may arise in the process. Also, to enhance the overall ambiance of these processing’s, all the couples involved have to attend a wedding exhibition, as well as a marriage guidance session too.

Now who are these couples? Well...

SAM AND MATT (Jessica Stevenson and Martin Freeman): Sam and Matt are a young suburban couple who desperately need to break away from where they currently live - Sam’s parental home. Sam’s mother is an overbearing self-centered old cow you see, with an estranged husband, and another daughter who has come back from performing on cruise ships, to help Sam and Matt out with their wedding (no comment).

Now what is Sam and Matt’s wedding idea? A Busby Berkeley musical from the 1930s and 1940s. Great idea, huh? Well, not to Matt’s best man, Snoopy, it isn't. Who wants to turn their special day into a showcase for his rock band. Worst still, Sam cannot sing or dance, and Matt is feeling resentment towards Sam’s family because of there behavior.

How will Archie and Gregory cope with all of this?

JOANNA AND MICHAEL (Olivia Colman and Robert Webb): Joanna and Michael are naturists, and they want there wedding in the nude. Well, of course they do! But this fact slipped from the minds of ‘Confetti’ magazine, who want them clothed for this occasion. Also, to make this whole experience more intense, Joanna feels awkward being naked in front of people who are clothed – especially her somewhat conservative Mother.

Help?

ISABELLE AND JOSEF (Meredith MacNeil and Stephen Mangan): Josef is a disgruntled and self-loathing ex-tennis player, and Isabel has a strange looking nose – two facets that ‘Confetti’ magazine did not take in consideration when they chose them for this completion. Plus, another issue that they must have also overlooked, is that they are both competitive people with hardly no friends to speak of – except for an affectionate Spanish tennis coach, named Jesus, who Josef does not like.

Now what is their wedding theme? The only thing that they have in there life that makes any sense – tennis. New balls please!

THE BIG DAY: The judges are in place. The themes have been set-up within a big venue. And most of the wrinkles in the ‘wedding dynamics’ have been ironed out. However, the questions remain? Will Sam be able to sing and dance? Will Isabel’s nose be too distracting? Will the naturists strip bare? And most important of all, does any of this matter if the couples are in loves? Who cares! As long as a cheesy song comes out of it!

THE REVIEW:
Now I am sure that many of you out in cyberspace have been to a wedding before. Either your own or somebody else's. Also, I am sure that when you attended this function, you took note of the stress, the gala display, the emotions, the food, the attire, the other guests, and all of that type of thing that catches your eye at one of these shindigs. Therefore, with all of this hullabaloo mixed together into a flimic-plot, sprinkled with some mirth and mayhem, how can this movie, 'Confetti', ever go wrong?

Answer - it's cant'

Well, to be absolutely honest with you, I love this type of film I do. It is a mocumentary. It is a British comedy. Plus on top of that, I really like the cast involved. Still, with this in mind, this can also have the opposite affect on me as well – because with high expectations, also comes’ a low tolerance level for failure.

OK, so was this wedding satire a hit or miss then for me?

HIT!

Personally speaking of course, I find that the overall pretext is a marvelous platform for comedy. Because as the old equation goes - stress + characterization = HAI-YAH! (That means I like it). Truthfully, this film just kept me on tender hooks through out - be it the cringe worthy nudity, the overbearing outsiders, the congenial camp wedding planners, or the couples themselves. All in all this film was a blast.

Now the main reason why I loved this flick so much; is because of one key ingredient – the characterization. You see, each and every one of these guys and girls you can associate with on a certain level, thus giving us (the viewer) a archetype to cling onto. Martin Freeman is the every-man. Jessica Stevenson is the girl next door. Vincent Franklin and Jason Watkins are the good natured poofters. Olivia Colman is the well meaning lady with conflicts in her life. Robert Webb is the rebel who is blindsided with his own passions. Stephen Mangan is the pessimist with a heart clouded by his past. And my darling sweet darling, Meredith MacNeil, has such a lovely nose, I want to shag her.

Granted, some of the characters were particularly one dimensional in tone – boarding on the broad. Nevertheless, whilst saying that, these characters still had a certain charisma about them, making me want to see if they got their comeuppance or not at the end. Plus, something else which was also slightly single-faceted, yet managed to entertain me at the same time, was the repetitive ‘external forces’ whom interfered with the couples weddings.

Oh! On a side note. I have to say that I did admire those actors - most notably Robert, Olivia, and Meredith - who was more than happy to have some fun with their own overall appearance. Robert and Olivia walking around with their giblets hanging out, must have been a very awkward thing for them to do. And as for Meredith and that whole 'nose thing' - ohhh - bless her (or shag her), she's a star in my book.

However, to juxtapose my positive vibe for a moment or two, I have to confess that 'Confetti' did have two minor flaws to it (though only to someone who is as nerdish as me). The first flaw was the blatant dubbing during Sam and Matt's wedding song (which was a tad too 'off'). And the second flaw was the subliminal over editing that this film must have had. You see, in places, I could tell that certain scenes must have been cut out, and then replaced with exposition Still, this is only a minor flaw really, and does not in any way shape or form impede the fractured nature of the movie. Correct, Martin and Jess?

This is a great film, with great performances, and a must see for fans of British humor and mocumentary’s.

THE RATING: A