On film four recently I managed to catch one of the best and well known British comedies of all time. ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’. This is the film starring Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell which really made British comedies popular all around the world.

Hugh Grant is Charles, a bumbling commitment phobic Englishman who can’t seem to hold down a steady relationship. That is until he meets Carrie, a confident beautiful American woman who Charles soon finds himself besotted with. They meet in various different ceremonies that they have attended with their mutual friends such as happy occasions like weddings (Rowan Atkinson plays a bumbling priest in one scene), and the emotionally moving funeral scene - for me one of the best parts of the film - when John Hannah reads W.H. Auden’s poem “Funeral Blues” (”Stop all the clocks”):

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead,
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood,
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

However, the question has to remain are Carrie and Charles really ready for a relationship, and can Charles bring himself to commit to the woman he is falling head over heels for?

Four weddings and a funeral is still great to watch, even though it is a bit dated now. Since its release in 1994 it has managed to gather somewhat of a cult following and has catapulted Hugh Grant to stardom in similar films since he took the lead role like Notting Hill. As of 1999 Four Weddings and a Funeral was the highest grossing British film in history, with worldwide box office revenues exceeding $260 million, so they obviously hit on a winning idea.

Andie MacDowell and Hugh Grant have great chemistry together, and make a believable couple. The film also has some hilarious comedy moments which never lose their appeal. If you get chance this is definitely a great movie to look out for on Film 4 (I am starting to get a grip on their repeats schedule now…) and one that will appeal to men just as much as women.

Check out the best price for Four Weddings and a Funderal at Amazon UK

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Full cast list for Four Weddings and a Funeral: Amanda Mealing, Andie MacDowell, Anna Chancellor, Bernice Stegers, Bryn Burrows, Charlotte Coleman, Christine Hewett, Corin Redgrave, David Bower, David Haig, David Wright, Donald Weedon, Duncan Kenworthy, Elspet Gray, Emily Morgan, Gordon Blackwell, Hannah Taylor-Gordon, Hugh Grant, James Fleet, Jason Bruer, Jason McDermid, Jeremy Kemp, John Abbott, John Hannah, Juliette James, Ken Drury, Kenneth Griffith, Kristin Scott Thomas, Lucy Hornack, Mark James, Melissa Knatchbull, Michael Mears, Neville Phillips, Nicola Walker, Nigel Hastings, Pat Starr, Paul Stacey, Paulette Ivory, Philip Voss, Polly Kemp, Randall Paul, Ray Uren, Richard Allen, Richard Butler, Robert Lang, Robin McCaffrey, Ron Griffiths, Ronald Herdman, Rosalie Crutchley, Rowan Atkinson, Rupert Vansittart, Sara Crowe, Simon Callow, Simon Kunz, Simon Wallace, Sophie Thompson, Struan Rodger, Susanna Hamnett, Tim Thomas, Timothy Walker.