CONFETTI

There will be inevitable comparisons drawn between this British comedy and the films of mockumentary master Christopher Guest but, unfortunately, Confetti falls a little short of the benchmark set by such films as Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show.

The premise of the film is simple: a popular wedding magazine invites three different couples to compete to see which one can come up with the most outrageous theme for their impending nuptials. There’s Matt (Martin Freeman) and Sam (Jessica Stevenson), who want to have a ceremony inspired by Hollywood musicals; Josef (Stephen Mangan) and Isabelle (Meredith MacNeill), fanatical tennis lovers, who want their sport featured in their wedding; and “naturists” Michael (Robert Webb) and Joanna (Olivia Colman), who plan to be totally naked.

The mockumentary then follows the couples as they work with flamboyant wedding planners, cope with familial discord, question their decisions to marry and, eventually, execute their ceremonies before the judges.

But, somehow, it all just feels kind of flat. Hilarity never ensues. It’s pleasant, but not outrageously funny. The action clicks along at a predicable pace, but it seems to take a long while to actually get to the end… where the ceremonies then come off as mildly quirky instead of totally insane, and the filmmakers miss the opportunity to push the envelope.

The couples are each cute in their own way, with the standouts being the naturists—mainly because both Webb and Colman are completely, full-frontally naked for almost every second they’re onscreen. (Note to prospective audiences: in fact, there are plenty of breasts and penises flapping about onscreen—more than I’ve ever seen in a romantic-comedy before, that’s for sure!—so if you’re a prude, you may wish to avert your eyes.)

Again, though, there’s nothing exceptionally amazing or terrible about this movie. It’s decidedly middle-of-the-road, and would likely make for a more fulfilling rental than a riotous big-screen experience.