FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL: Blu-ray reissue (Polygram/Gramercy, 1995) Shout! Factory

The movie to have introduced North American audiences to a cacophony of England’s noteworthy madcaps and make an international star and heartthrob out of Hugh Grant, Mike Newell’s Four Weddings and A Funeral (1994) is a daft and delightful English farce. Can it really be 25 years since this wacky tale of a gun-shy bachelor and his obtuse gaggle of friends hit our screens? Apparently so. Budgeted at a paltry £2.8 million, and shot in just six weeks, this decidedly low-budget comedy gem went on to gross $245.7 million worldwide. At the time, Four Weddings and a Funeral was the biggest moneymaker in British history, receiving a slew of honors and accolades along the way, including 2 Oscar nominations. Screenwriter, Richard Curtis came up with the idea, based on his own experiences as a chronic wedding guest. By his own estimate, he had attended some 65 nuptials in just a little under 11 years; at one of these, propositioned by a female guest, whom he politely turned down. “I really came to regret that decision later,” Curtis confided. And although his stand-in, the fictional Charles (Hugh Grant) does, in fact, take advantage of the offer, his journey from one-night-stand to happily ever after is fraught with just as many regrets and heartache. It took Curtis 17 drafts to get the chemistry just right; his teaming with director, Newell making all the difference, as Newell’s verve for keeping the situations real, countered Curtis’ broader interest to simply make everything as ribald as possible. In the end, the balancing act proved seamless and richly rewarding – a story about real people who just happen to be terribly funny.  
But how fickle is fate? Even as an early deal to produce the picture fell through, Curtis and Newell began considering casting choices, starting with the pivotal role of Charles – the amiable bachelor whose romantic follies fuel the central narrative. We forget that in 1992, Hugh Grant was a virtual unknown, and, in fact, was seriously contemplating giving up on his stagnated acting career. The script for Four Weddings and A Funeral arrived on his doorstep just in the nick of time, giving him pause to reconsider. And yet, even after nailing the audition, Curtis voted against hiring Grant, not because the actor had miserably failed to impress, but rather because Curtis – who had modeled Charles on himself – could not envision someone as good-looking as Grant having difficulties finding romance. Due to this bias, Curtis preferred either Alex Jennings or Alan Rickman – both of whom he had already auditioned for the part. Eventually, Newell persuaded Curtis to see to reason and Grant was cast in the life-altering role that would ultimately propel him into super-stardom. It could so easily have gone the other way for Grant, whose agent pressed the cash-strapped producers to consider paying his client £5,000 more than his usual £35,000 salary. Initially, producer Duncan Kenworthy balked at this request. However, as casting choices for the lead dwindled, Kenworthy reworked the picture’s finances to accommodate this payout. Grant stayed in the picture.
To make Hugh Grant appear less transparently obvious as leading man material, Kenworthy instructed costumer, Lindy Hemming to provide Charles with slightly gaudy and ill-fitting clothes, also, to have his hair styled shaggy, adding heavy-rimmed glasses to suggest a near-sighted stigma. Together, Grant and Newell came up with the idea of Charles’ chronic stammer; Grant, concentrating on flubbing his lines, and/or creating pregnant pauses in all the wrong places to affect an endearing ‘shy’ quality. Grant, who grappled with a hellish bout of hay fever throughout the shoot, later reasoned that, at the time, he thought his performance utterly atrocious. However, after witnessing the results on the screen, Grant was elated. Although Newell had appeared to have given Grant bad advice, or, at the very least, counter-intuitive to “the natural beats of the comedy”, Grant suddenly realized Newell had grounded his performance by gilding the comedy with a subtler underlay of truth.
Before a death in her family forced the actress to withdraw, Jeanne Tripplehorn had been hired for the part of Carrie, the forthright American who wins Charles heart.  Even after Tripplehorn’s departure, model cum actress, Andie MacDowell was not among the front-runners to replace her; producers, turning first to Marisa Tomei, then, Sarah Jessica Parker. Neither showed an interest to partake. Despite her own successful foray into movies, MacDowell is, arguably, the weakest link in Four Weddings and a Funeral, at times, grotesquely out of place; the delivery of her lines, stilted and unintentionally silly. Bluntly put, MacDowell lacks spontaneity. While the rest of the cast appear to be reacting to their situations as though they were ‘of the moment’ and happening to them for the very first time, MacDowell’s elegantly attired woman of the world seems far too rehearsed, to the point where all casualness has evaporated, her cue cards MacTac’ed to her imagination and stiffly committed to mere memory. Blessedly, Four Weddings and a Funeral is an ‘English’ show – chalked with a luscious assortment of great faces and formidable talents, including James Fleet (as the ineffectual fop, Tom), Simon Callow (the bombastic, Gareth), John Hannah (his gay lover, Matthew), David Bower (Charles’ hearing-impaired brother, David) and Kristin Scott Thomas as the irrepressibly brittle, Fiona (Tom’s emasculating sister).
Herein, we pause a moment to acknowledge the only member of the cast, tragically no longer with us; actress, Charlotte Coleman, who died in 2001, age 33, from an acute asthma attack, and who, as Charles’ brash and dotty sister, Scarlett, made an indelible impression on movie fans the world over. By her own account, a pre-teen and teenage hell raiser, and, avid smoker, Coleman’s Scarlett is supremely a born flirt – her auburn-dyed tresses and diminutive stature, masking a genuine powerhouse of a performer lurking just beneath the surface. Our introduction to Scarlett in Four Weddings and a Funeral is sheer delight – Coleman, reaching over to the total stranger seated next to Scarlett at the first reception dinner being given, planting a full-on kiss on his lips, before instructing the startled man, “My name’s Scarlett. Don’t let me drink too much or I might get flirty!” Coleman’s death, apart from depriving British cinema of one of its most genuine madcaps, was a peculiar tragedy; the actress, having spent the previous evening at the home of her parents, before complaining she felt ‘unwell’ and desiring to return to her own newly decorated flat in Islington. In the morning, unable to reach Coleman by telephone, her mother elected to pay a call, discovering Coleman lifeless on the floor, rushed to hospital where she was pronounced dead.   
Four Weddings and A Funeral was such a massive hit on both sides of the Atlantic that to discover it was almost never made is a bit of a shocker. Still, Newell and Curtis could find no takers after initial funding fell through. Undaunted, they continued to evolve and pre-plan. Eventually, producer, Kenworthy convinced Working Title Films to step up to the plate. Very reluctantly, the shoring of another $1.2 million forced Newell to scale back his shoot to just 36 days – a breakneck schedule with zero opportunities for retakes. The budget proved so restrictive, extras were encouraged to wear their own wedding clothes. Co-star, Rowan Atkinson (already beloved as the goony Mr. Bean), was kept on as Father Gerald – originally meant to officiate only at the first wedding – so as to save on the cost of hiring another actor to play the second Vicar later on. Shooting all over England, Four Weddings and a Funeral would wrap on time and on budget. Alas, toiling with his editor, John Gregory, Newell’s first rough-cut of the picture failed to impress. Indeed, Hugh Grant was so nervous about the results that he jokingly suggested everyone involved in the production would have to immigrate to Peru to escape their shame. Returning to their editing suite for only a few minor tweaks, Four Weddings and A Funeral had its first sneak peek in Santa Monica where, to even Grant’s surprise, the picture went over with a bang – an instant success.
Even so, Gramercy Pictures, the U.S. distributor, had pause for concern over what they deemed as the movie’s objectionable sexual content and explicit language. The repeated use of the word ‘fuck’ – however, light-heartedly applied – had caused conservative members of the Mormon City Council in Salt Lake City to walk out. And although Newell agreed to dub the lines over with the word ‘bugger’ – that other explicatives stayed in.  Executives at Gramercy also believed the title, Four Weddings and a Funeral would not appeal to a male audience. In its place, the studio hoped to convince Newell to rechristen the picture as ‘True Love and Near Misses’, ‘Loitering in Sacred Places’, ‘Skulking Around’, or ‘Rolling in the Aisles.’ Mercifully, they failed to persuade Newell.
In hindsight, Four Weddings and a Funeral is the perfect English comedy – its off the cuff wit harking all the way back to the Ealing comedies of the 1940’s, while updating the social mannerisms and mores to appeal to contemporary audiences. Curtis’ screenplay totters along its dotty trail of marital mishaps that can make weddings either a supremely joyous occasion or utterly kooky clap-traps fraught in romantic misfires. Here, we have an 18-month slice-o’-life in the ongoing sad-eyed saga of a serial monogamist, Charles. As a man in his early thirties, Charles knows he is expected to marry. And truly, the opportunities to wed have been presented to him time and again. Yet, somehow, Charles can never bring himself to the altar. His previous relationships have all been unqualified disasters. Having broken too many hearts along the way, it stands to reason Charles has set himself up to have his own crushed. This, of course, does happen, though not without maturing the reluctant boy into full-bodied manhood, while promising him a reprieve – or more astutely – a trade-off for his sacrifice of these youthful anxieties. On the surface, Four Weddings and A Funeral is just a jolly good romp through all this misshapen merriment. But beneath the surface there are clever observations about the subtler art in male/female seduction, love - discovered by accident, and, having to face the inevitable loss of a truly good friend; a bittersweet core, tinged in loneliness and lingering, even after our principle players have all presumably found ever-lasting love. 
Charles lives with his free spirited – also single - sister, Scarlett in a dingy London flat. The two are chronic procrastinators and prove it when they almost miss the marriage of Angus (Timothy Walker) and Laura (Sara Crowe), in which Charles is expected to partake as best man! Bad luck all around, Charles has forgotten the rings. Never fear. With his menagerie of loyal friends including dimwitted millionaire, Tom, his cool – if abrupt - sister, Fiona, and, gay couple, Matthew and Gareth, the day, the hour, and, the moment are saved - barely. At Angus and Laura's pastoral reception, Charles meets American socialite, Carrie. She is experienced, witty, enjoys people, and, lives life to its fullest – all qualities Charles finds engaging. After spending the night with Carrie at a quaint country inn, aptly titled ‘The Lucky Boatman’, Charles blows his opportunity to win Carrie’s heart the next morning when she bluntly suggests that since they have slept together, a proposal of marriage is imminent. Charles’ awkward realization the joke is on him gives Carrie pause to reconsider. The couple part as friends, but with Carrie inferring they have sincerely missed out on a great opportunity.
Three months pass. Carrie and Charles are reunited for the wedding of Bernard (David Haig) and Lydia (Sophie Thompson), who casually met at Laura and Angus’ wedding. At first, Charles believes he has been given a second chance at love. But then, Carrie reveals she has since become engaged to Hamish (Corin Redgrave); a much older, wealthy Scottish businessman. Carrie further compounds Charles misery by dragging him to every bridal shop in London on her quest for the perfect wedding dress. Only Charles' deaf brother, David sees through the ruse. David tells Charles he must follow his heart before it is too late. However, when one of Charles old flames – the mentally unstable - Deirdre (Susanna Hamnett) resurfaces, Charles decides to marry her instead. Two events intercede to save the day. The first is Carrie's marriage to Hamish. This miserably fails almost from the moment the two say 'I do'. The second is the unexpected death of Gareth from a heart attack. This forces Charles and all his friends to reassess the brevity of life and love, ergo - life without love is no life at all. Meanwhile, Fiona confesses to Charles she has always harbored a secret affection for him. Quite aware he does not reciprocate it, Fiona softens in her usual brittle resolve, hoping Charles’ pending marriage to Deirdre will at least make one of them happy.  Only now, Carrie arrives at the church moments before the ceremony.
Carrie confesses she has left Hamish. Their timing again off, Charles grasps he cannot marry Deirdre. And yet, he intends to go through with the wedding. Mercifully, David intercedes, informing the bridal party via sign language that he suspects the groom is having second thoughts – that the groom is in love with another. As Charles can no longer deny his true feelings, he confesses as much and is promptly knocked unconscious by the bride-never-to-be.  A short while later, Charles and his friends are gathered together at Matthew’s flat where Charles is nursing his black eye. There is a knock at the door. Carrie is standing in the rain. She pours her heart out to Charles and he reciprocates his truest feelings towards her. The couple decide ‘not’ to get married, but rather, begin their lives anew as a couple. In the movie’s penultimate montage of still photographs, we discover virtually all of these good friends have eventually found happiness in their various relationships; the cream of the jest – a snapshot of Fiona, with an adoringly fixed gaze, standing next to Prince Charles, looking very solemn indeed.
Four Weddings and a Funeral is an inspired ensemble comedy. Its humor is as wry as ever; its characters, straight out of Emily Post's ‘how not to conduct yourself at a wedding’ guidebook. What makes the movie work spectacularly well is Hugh Grant’s Charles. Despite his considerable flaws, and a casual wardrobe that would make Mr. Blackwell throw up, Grant’s innate charisma, shy and retiring, with a twinkle of petty larceny caught in his eye, is the perfect male pin-up for this ribald English sex comedy. The rest of the cast do their part; some, like the aforementioned Charlotte Coleman, striking an indelible chord, in spite of being given only brief moments to shine. Apart from Grant, Kristin Scott Thomas’ post ‘Four Weddings…’ career was to benefit most; the actress, appearing in such high-profile smash hits as Mission Impossible and The English Patient (both in 1996), The Horse Whisperer (1998) and Gosford Park (2001). Grant’s meteoric rise as everyone’s favorite heartthrob was swift and assured, appearing in period costume and contemporary comedies, Sense and Sensibility, Nine Months, and, in support in the period drama, Restoration (all in 1995); also, the highly effective medical thriller, Extreme Measures (1996); his first tenure, capped off with the ebullient, Notting Hill (1999), something of a ‘Four Weddings…in reverse. Ironically, Grant’s brief incarceration, charged with procuring a Hollywood hooker for oral sex in 1995, did not invoke a downturn in his popularity with movie audiences; although, shortly after Notting Hill, Grant’s on-camera persona was to morph from lovable leading men to arrogant bastards we loved to hate, like Daniel Cleaver in Bridget Jones’ Diary (2001). Grant has never quite been able to shake off this stigma. If his then gal/pal, super model, Elizabeth Hurley, never quite forgave him this indiscretion, the public did, and has continued to do so ever since. Viewing Four Weddings and a Funeral today, reminds us how well Grant could play the innocent; just a shy and retiring bloke who had trouble finding the right girl.  
Shout! Factory’s ‘select series’ 25th anniversary Blu-ray of Four Weddings and a Funeral is an interesting ‘surprise’. Advertised as being remastered in 4K from the original camera negative, the image does snap together with bolder colors. Oddly, fine detail is only marginally improved when directly compared to MGM/Fox’s Blu-ray release from 2008. Where this remaster does show its props: first, in correcting the marginal gate weave that once afflicted the main titles. This has been eradicated (although the accompanying and very nasty edge effects remain). Also, age-related nicks and chips have been digitally removed. While marginal wear and tear sporadically crops up, most of this transfer is free of its inclusion. However, an even greater anomaly persists: during the montage at Bernard and Lydia’s wedding, the scene depicting an inept Tom repeatedly walking in front of the wedding photographer, trying to immortalize the happy couple, there is a sudden, and inexplicable loss, of both color density and saturation.
Directly comparing this scene with the old Blu master from 2008, no such problems intrude. Actually, colors on the old Blu are considerably more robust in this scene than on Shout!’s remastered edition. Exactly what happened this time around to so badly bleach out the color scheme remains open for discussion. The 5.1 DTS audio is virtually identical to the previously mastered Blu.  Extras, save one, are all directly imported from the aforementioned MGM/Fox release; the one exception - ‘The Wedding Photographer’, an insightful interview with Director of Photography, Michael Coulter. For the rest, expect the same audio commentary from Newell, producer, Duncan Kenworthy and Richard Curtis, plus, ‘The Wedding Planners’ featurette, a ‘making of’, another backstory on casting the movie, some deleted scenes, promos and a theatrical trailer. None of these have been upgraded and are in 480i, looking careworn and severely dated. Bottom line: if you are buying this 25th anniversary Blu-ray reissue for new extra content, save your money. If you are buying it to improve the overall image quality of the feature – then yes, by all means, double dip. Just be aware, this 4K remaster is not reference quality: a genuine shame and something of a real mystery to boot. Judge and buy accordingly.  
FILM RATING (out of 5 - 5 being the best)
3.5
VIDEO/AUDIO
3.5
EXTRAS

2

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