The Wedding Video on DVD

Description

Britain is hardly shy of wedding-centred romantic comedies, but The Wedding Video does manage to find one or two new angles. The setup here is that Rufus Hound plays Raif, who’s asked to be best man for his brother, played by Robert Webb. Raif is one of those bumbling oafs who tend to inhabit such comedies, but his plan is to give his brother and his new wife a wedding of their video as a gift. What could go wrong there? It all sets the scene for a down-to-earth, enjoyable romantic comedy, that gives room for its talent ensemble to thrive. Robert Webb is a good leading man, and Lucy Punch also gives a quality performance as his wife-to-be, Saskia. Miriam Margoyles is in scene-stealing form, too. Granted, at the heart is a fairly conventional spin on the genre, but director Nigel Cole finds enough in the material to keep things interesting and pacey. The disc itself, on top of the main feature, bundles in a lengthy collection of interviews with the cast and crew of The Wedding Video. They don’t have anything particularly revolutionary to offer, but it’s interesting nonetheless. And it’s the warm, amiable and frequently funny film that remains, rightly, the main attraction here. Worth checking out. Raif (Rufus Hound), a shambolic oaf with a unique sense of humour, is asked to be his brother Tim’s (Robert Webb) best man when he marries Saskia (Lucy Punch). To Raif’s surprise, he finds his once-bohemian brother is marrying into Cheshire’s most socially aspirant family. Saskia’s grandmother, Patricia (Miriam Margolyes) would give Hyacinth Bucket a run for her money and mum Alex (Harriet Walker) has successfully married into life in the ‘Cheshire Set’--the English ‘Beverley Hills’. Raif’s present to the happy couple will be a video of their wedding. His film is our film--the final edited version with music, live action, interviews--the works. Amidst the chaos of planning their big day and fending off unwanted help, the couple begins to wonder ‘whose wedding is it anyway?’