Four Weddings and a Funeral

The movie that put Hugh Grant (not to mention poet W.H. Auden) on the map, this 1994 romantic comedy was the most successful British film of its time. A decade later, it has lost little of its literate wit and charm, although its more precious moments can still be quite cringe-worthy (the climactic line, 'Is it still raining? I hadn't noticed,' was recently voted one of the top 10 cheesiest movie moments in a British poll). And tousle-haired Grant's bumbling, stuttering, blinking act, while thoroughly engaging here, quickly grew old in subsequent films. Grant stars as Charles, a confirmed bachelor and commitment-phobe, who falls in love with Carrie (a somewhat lackluster Andie MacDowell), an American he meets at a succession of weddings and that one funeral (for a time, the name of the Auden poem that is read at that funeral was the No. 1 question asked of research librarians--it's 'Funeral Blues'). Richard Curtis' sparkling script is well served by the seamless ensemble. Presented on a flipper-disc (with widescreen and full screen version) in a so-so transfer with no extras, this is still recommended. (D. Liebenson) [DVD Review—Feb. 7, 2006—MGM, 118 min., R, $19.95—Making its third appearance on DVD, 1994's Four Weddings and a Funeral (Deluxe Edition) sports a great transfer and Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. DVD extras include an audio commentary (by director Mike Newell, writer Richard Curtis, and producer Duncan Kenworthy), a 30-minute 'The Wedding Planner' behind-the-scenes featurette, an eight-minute production featurette, 'Two Actors and a Director' featurette (6 min.), five deleted scenes with optional commentary (4 min), a behind-the-scenes photo gallery, and trailers. Bottom line: a step up from the earlier bare-bones releases, this extras-packed 'deluxe edition' is recommended.] [Blu-ray Review—Feb. 12, 2019—Shout! Factory, 118 min., R, Blu-ray: $34.99—Making its latest appearance on Blu-ray, 1994’s Four Weddings and a Funeral features a fine transfer with DTS-HD 5.1 audio. Extras new to this release include an interview with cinematographer Michael Coulter (26 min.). Carried over from the DVD release are audio commentary by director Mike Newell, producer Duncan Kenworthy, and writer/co-executive producer Richard Curtis, 'The Wedding Planners' production featurette (30 min.), deleted scenes (10 min.), a 'making-of' featurette (8 min.), and a 'Two Actors and a Director' behind-the-scenes segment (6 min.). Bottom line: this British hit rom-com sparkles on Blu-ray.]