''The Wedding Video'' is a 2012 British

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Nigel Cole Nigel Cole (born 1959) is an English film and television director. Career Cole began his career in the 1980s, directing current affairs shows and documentaries for Central Independent Television. Into the 1990s, Cole co-wrote the play ''Sod'' ...

and written by

Tim Firth Tim Firth (born 13 October 1964) is an English dramatist, screenwriter and songwriter. Life and career Firth was born in Frodsham, England. He spent much of his time at school writing songs and it was only a few weeks before going to Cambrid ...

. Presented in the " found footage" style, the film stars

Rufus Hound Rufus Hound (born Robert James Blair Simpson 6 March 1979) is an English actor, comedian and presenter. Early life Hound was born on 6 March 1979, in Essex and moved to Surrey at the age of seven. He was educated at Hoe Bridge School Woking ...

Lucy Punch Lucy Punch (born 30 December 1977) is a British actress. She has appeared in the films '' Ella Enchanted'', ''Hot Fuzz'', ''You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger'', '' Dinner for Schmucks,'' and ''Into the Woods''. She is also known for her role as ...

and

Robert Webb Robert Patrick Webb (born 29 September 1972) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and television personality. He is one half of the double act Mitchell and Webb, alongside David Mitchell. Webb and Mitchell both starred in the Channel 4 sitco ...

. It follows an engaged couple's best man as he creates a video documentary of their wedding.

Plot

Raif Moyle (

Hound A hound is a type of hunting dog used by hunters to track or chase prey. Description Hounds can be contrasted with gun dogs that assist hunters by identifying prey and/or recovering shot quarry. The hound breeds were the first hunting dogs. T ...

) has been chosen to be the best man to his brother Tim (

Webb Webb most often refers to James Webb Space Telescope which is named after James E. Webb, second Administrator of NASA. It may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Webb Glacier (South Georgia) * Webb Glacier (Victoria Land) *Webb Névé, Victoria ...

) and Saskia (

Punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pun ...

) at their wedding. Raif decides to give Tim and Saskia an unforgettable present in the form of a wedding video. He discovers that Tim has left his bohemian life behind and is marrying into a family aspirant of a higher-class lifestyle—especially Saskia's hideous

Hyacinth Bucket Hyacinth Bucket is a fictional character in the BBC sitcom ''Keeping Up Appearances'', portrayed by Patricia Routledge. Routledge won a British Comedy Award in 1991, and was nominated for two BAFTA awards in 1992 and 1993 for her portrayal. Hy ...

-esque grandmother (

Miriam Margolyes Miriam ( he, מִרְיָם ''Mīryām'', lit. 'Rebellion') is described in the Hebrew Bible as the daughter of Amram and Jochebed, and the older sister of Moses and Aaron. She was a prophetess and first appears in the Book of Exodus. The Tora ...

). With the bride's mother interfering with wedding plans (such as arranging horses dressed as unicorns and butterflies to release by the bridesmaids), Raif finds out that Saskia is the rebellious Saskia he knew at school. Spending an increasing amount of time with her during the wedding arrangements, Raif and Saskia kiss after the stress of the planning takes its toll on her. Eventually revealing this to Tim en route to the wedding, they decide to intercept Saskia on her way to the church. Tim asks Saskia whether she really wants the marriage to go ahead; she tearfully says "no". Arriving late to the church, the three make their way up the aisle to the altar, where Tim announces that his and Saskia's wedding will not proceed. However, Raif steps forward and the vicar conducts a brief, but non-legal, ceremony for Raif and Saskia. At the

wedding reception A wedding reception is a party usually held after the completion of a marriage ceremony as hospitality for those who have attended the wedding, hence the name reception: the couple ''receive'' society, in the form of family and friends, for t ...

, being held at a grand

stately home An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

(the real-life

Basildon Park Basildon Park is a country house situated 2 miles (3 kilometres) south of Goring-on-Thames and Streatley in Berkshire, between the villages of Upper Basildon and Lower Basildon. It is owned by the National Trust and is a Grade I listed buildin ...

), Saskia's mother realises that all she wants is for Saskia to be happy.

Cast

– Raif Moyle *

– Saskia *

– Tim Moyle *

Matt Berry Matthew Charles Berry (born 2 May 1974) is an English actor, comedian, musician, and writer. He is best known for his roles in comedy series such as '' The IT Crowd'', ''Garth Marenghi's Darkplace'', ''The Mighty Boosh'', ''Snuff Box'', ''What ...

– Roger *

Michelle Gomez Michelle Gomez (born 23 November 1966) is a Scottish actress. She gained recognition for her roles in the comedy series ''The Book Group'' (2002–2003), ''Green Wing'' (2004–2007), and '' Bad Education'' (2012–2013). She went on to appear ...

– The Wedding Planner *

– Patricia *

Harriet Walter Dame Harriet Mary Walter (born 24 September 1950) is a British actress. She has received a Laurence Olivier Award as well as numerous nominations including for a Tony Award, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 20 ...

– Alex *

Olegar Fedoro Olegar Fedoro ( ''né'' Olegár Pablo Fedóro; born 6 March 1958) is a Ukrainian-born former Soviet performer who later became a Spanish and then English actor. He enrolled in the acclaimed VGIK Film School (All-Russian State University of Ci ...

– Konstantin * Geoffrey Newland – Spencer * Julianne White – Tara Devlin * Chris Wilson – Mr. Devlin

Production

Filming began in August 2011. The film was recorded at a number of locations, including two

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

properties—

Alderley Edge Alderley Edge is a village and civil parish in Cheshire, England. In 2011, it had a population of 4,780. Alderley Edge is northwest of Macclesfield and south of Manchester, at the base of a steep and thickly wooded sandstone escarpment, Alder ...

and

—as well as St. Andrew's Church in

Sonning Sonning is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England, on the River Thames, east of Reading. The village was described by Jerome K. Jerome in his book ''Three Men in a Boat'' as "the most fairy-like little nook on the whole river". Geogr ...

, and

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

city centre.

Reception

The film received mixed reviews from critics. It received a "fresh" rating of 67% based on 18 reviews from aggregating site ''

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

''. ''

Total Film ''Total Film'' is a British film magazine published 13 times a year (published monthly and a summer issue is added every year since issue 91, 2004, which is published between July and August issue) by Future Publishing. The magazine was launched i ...

'' gave the film 3/5 stars, describing it as "one of Robert Webb's lesser wedding-coms" and suggesting that Webb's performance in 2006 wedding film ''

Confetti Confetti are small pieces or streamers of paper, mylar, or metallic material which are usually thrown at celebrations, especially parades and weddings. The origins are from the Latin ''confectum'', with ''confetti'' the plural of Italian ''con ...

'' was better. Joey Godman, writing for ''The Upcoming'', gave the film 1/5 stars, stating that the plot was simplistic and the jokes "predictable". He praised Hound's realism and the film's easy viewing, but thought that the plot's climax was detached from the majority of the film. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' wrote the film was "moderately funny", and described Margolyes' and

's characters as "sharp and credible". In a review for ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', Nicholas Barber stated that the upsets and mayhem in the film are "small beer" compared to those in ''

Peep Show A peep show or peepshow is a presentation of a live sex show or pornographic film which is viewed through a viewing slot. Several historical media provided voyeuristic entertainment through hidden erotic imagery. Before the development of the ci ...

'', ''

The Worst Week of My Life ''The Worst Week of My Life'' is a British television sitcom, first broadcast on BBC One between March and April 2004. A second series was aired between November and December 2005 and a three-part Christmas special, ''The Worst Christmas of My ...

'' and ''

Gavin & Stacey ''Gavin & Stacey'' is a British sitcom written by James Corden and Ruth Jones about two families: one in Billericay, Essex; one in Barry, South Wales. Mathew Horne and Joanna Page play the titular characters Gavin and Stacey and the writers st ...

''. Similarly, '' The Metro'' wrote that the "irreverent, observational character humour ..will win lots of laughs from Peep Show fans", and rated the film 3/5 stars. Other three-star reviews came from ''

The Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...

'' and ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

''. Anthony Quinn, also writing for ''The Independent'', gave the film 2/5 stars.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wedding Video 2012 films 2012 romantic comedy films British romantic comedy films Films about weddings Films set in England Films shot in Berkshire Films shot in Cheshire Found footage films Films directed by Nigel Cole 2010s English-language films 2010s British films