| | |
 |  | Get Showtimes... |
BONUS REVIEW
Film: Confetti (2006) [R] 100 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $13.00
Where Viewed: Landmark Esquire Theatre, Denver, CO
When 1st Seen: 27 September 2006
Film's Website: Confetti
Time: 9:40 p.m.
Review Dedicated to: Judy and Dennis E. of Chicago, IL
Directed by: Debbie Isitt (Nasty Neighbours)
Written by: Debbie Isitt
Featured Cast (Where You Might Remember Him/Her From):
Martin Freeman (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) • Jessica Stevenson (Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason) • Stephen Mangan (Billy Elliot) • Meredith MacNeill (Blackball) • Olivia Colman ("Green Wing") • Robert Webb ("Peep Show") • Jimmy Carr (Stormbreaker) • Felicity Montagu ("Suburban Shootout") • Vincent Franklin (The Illusionist) • Jason Watkins (Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason)
Soundtrack: order the CD soundtrack below
Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word or less review of this film]
Three cheers for Debbie Isitt for her delightfully hilarious mockumentary, Confetti. Not only has she created wonderful characters to inhabit her story, but she takes some spirited jabs at the ritual of weddings. Picture the English version of "Runway Magazine's" Miranda Priestly, a powerful woman named Vivienne (Felicity Montagu) who has served as Editor-in-chief of "Confetti Magazine", England's most prominent wedding magazine, for years. She and her publisher / owner, Antoni (Jimmy Carr) have grown weary of featuring the top 5 weddings of the year and decide, instead, to host a contest to select from one of three most unusual weddings of the year. They ask for pitches from couples intending to be married and offer up a £0.5 million house as the prize. All sorts of completely idiotic ideas come forth; but, eventually, they select three couples: Matt (Martin Freeman) and Sam (Jessica Stevenson) with a tribute to musicals theme, Josef (Stephen Mangan) and Isabelle (Meredith macNeill) with a tennis theme, and Michael (Robert Webb) and Joanna (Olivia Colman) with a naturists theme. Then they hire London's premier wedding planning couple, life partners Archie (Vincent Franklin) and Gregory (Jason Watkins) to plan all three weddings to occur on the same day in the same venue where all three will be judged and a winner selected. Right off the bat, the date of the weddings, therefore, is out of the control of the people being married which, of course, would be more of a stumbling block than it was were it not for the amazing grand prize. So, Archie and Gregory have their work cut out for them. They have just under three months to plan these three gigantic weddings with couples that will endure all of the typical pre-wedding jitters.
Matt and Sam
They've picked a tribute to musicals theme in which they plan to sing and dance and have their wedding party members sing and dance in a grand musical number. The problems are: (a) Sam is tone deaf, (b) Sam's sister is the professional dance while she can barely move about a room without tripping over the furniture, (c) Matt is a lovely guy, but his mother-in-law-to-be cannot stand the sight of him, (d) Sam really wants her estranged father to be there, but she hasn't the courage to invite him and endure more of her mother's wrath.
Josef and Isabelle
They have selected the theme of a tennis match. Which, is a bit odd for a wedding. But, first and foremost, Isabelle has nostrils that challenge the Chunnel in size making her most undesirable for the future cover of "Confetti". That wouldn't even begin to be the worst problem for these two however, for their hypercompetive nature has Josef constantly at odds with their Spanish tennis coach—a young buck with an eye for Isabelle.
Michael and Joanna
They've selected a naturists wedding. For USAers, that's a nudist wedding. Well, Antoni picked this couple not realizing that it would mean they'd be naked on the cover of his magazine. So, Vivenne leaves it up to Archie and Gregory to let them know they cannot be naked at their wedding. As you can predict, this does not go over well with Michael, however, Joanna is new to the naturist's lifestyle and she's not sure she wants to marry in a public ceremony in the nude in front of her own mother.
"…clever, creative, and fun, it's laugh a minute hilarity for anyone who's ever been through someone else's wedding planning process…"
As the weeks progress, Archie and Gregory encounter any number of complications from Matt's best man, a self-proclaimed rock star writing a wedding musical theme song that's off color to say the least, to Antoni sort of indicating that Isabelle and her nose in present condition don't stand a chance to win inducing her to have plastic surgery just before the big day, to the magazine people refusing to let there be any sort of nudity at the Michael/Joanna wedding. They are good sports and approach each challenge as an opportunity despite almost being beaten up in a brawl between Josef and the Spanish tennis coach.
Eventually, the big day arrives and the weddings are, pardon the pun, unveiled. And here's where the box of Kleenex® will come handy. Even if you end up not liking the people, the weddings, each in their own way, are spectacular displays. In some cases, they might be displays on what not to do for your wedding, yet on the other hand, they are each clever and entertaining. They are nothing like the traditional weddings that everyone has seen a thousand times. Each one brings its own unique brand of joy. Of course, the true test is whether the couples will reach the day still couples, will they stay couples long after the weddings, and what can be learned about preparing for the pressures of the momentous occasion when two people pledge to spend their lives together.
The acting, considering the actors are all playing more than just regular characters, they are playing characters who are acting themselves to impress each other and the judges, all deliver charming performances. It's easy to forget they are not real people in this contest filmed like a big reality show. Despite the brides on their wedding day, really it is Vincent Franklin and Jason Watkins as the wedding planners themselves that steal the show and the movie. Ms Isitt's entire concept is so clever, creative, and fun, it's laugh a minute hilarity for anyone who's ever been through someone else's wedding planning process, and the finale is a show stopper. I don't say this often, but I will hope for a Confetti 2.
Eventually, the big day arrives and the weddings are, pardon the pun, unveiled. And here's where the box of Kleenex® will come handy. Even if you end up not liking the people, the weddings, each in their own way, are spectacular displays. In some cases, they might be displays on what not to do for your wedding, yet on the other hand, they are each clever and entertaining. They are nothing like the traditional weddings that everyone has seen a thousand times. Each one brings its own unique brand of joy. Of course, the true test is whether the couples will reach the day still couples, will they stay couples long after the weddings, and what can be learned about preparing for the pressures of the momentous occasion when two people pledge to spend their lives together.
The acting, considering the actors are all playing more than just regular characters, they are playing characters who are acting themselves to impress each other and the judges, all deliver charming performances. It's easy to forget they are not real people in this contest filmed like a big reality show. Despite the brides on their wedding day, really it is Vincent Franklin and Jason Watkins as the wedding planners themselves that steal the show and the movie. Ms Isitt's entire concept is so clever, creative, and fun, it's laugh a minute hilarity for anyone who's ever been through someone else's wedding planning process, and the finale is a show stopper. I don't say this often, but I will hope for a Confetti 2.
Back to Top | W.I.P. Scale™ | Most Recently Reviewed Films | Films of 2005 | Films of 2006
Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word review of this film]
Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word review of this film]
Other Projects Featuring Confetti (2006) Cast Members
Martin Freeman
• Jessica Stevenson • Stephen ManganMeredith MacNeill
• Olivia Colman • Robert WebbJimmy Carr
• Felicity Montagu • Vincent FranklinJason Watkins
| CD Soundtrack | VHS | DVD |
Confetti (2006) Review-lite [150-word cap]
Three cheers for Debbie Isitt's delightfully hilarious mockumentary, Confetti. Not only has she created wonderful characters to inhabit her story, but she takes some spirited jabs at the ritual of weddings. Picture the English version of Miranda Priestly, a powerful woman named Vivienne (Felicity Montagu) who has long served as Editor-in-chief of England's prominent wedding magazine "Confetti". She and publisher, Antoni (Jimmy Carr) having grown weary of featuring annually the top 5 weddings of the year decide, instead, to host a contest to select from one of three most unusual weddings of the year. They ask for pitches from couples intending to be married and offer up a £0.5 million house as the prize. Ms Isitt's entire concept is laugh a minute hilarity for anyone, and the finale is a show stopper. I don't say this often, but I will hope for a Confetti 2.
No comments:
Post a Comment