WEDDING comedies can be difficult films to watch.
Rarely do real life couples have the budget to produce the glamorous and extravagant sights we have seen in Four Weddings and a Funeral or Wedding Crashers.
Even the romantic elopement or friends and family wedding can be pricey.
But when it comes to film, all you need is a script to say one side of the family is rich for a fairytale wedding to take place.
Add into the mix a gruff, over-protective father and a wild mix of characters including funny and disgusting groomsmen and promiscuous bridesmaids and it usually makes for entertaining viewing.
A Few Best Men follows the pre-planned wedding plot.
David and Mia meet while on an island holiday and after 10 days of desert island bliss decide to marry.
The only issue is the fact that the best mates of Englishman David are less than keen to follow their lifelong friend to Australia, where Mia, the daughter of a senator, lives.
They trudge off and are impressed at the wealth and elegance of Mia’s family and politely taken aback at the antics of father-in-law Jack Ramme.
After a wild stag night, the quartet awake on the wedding day and have a number of fires to put out including a cross-dressing sheep and a misunderstanding involving cocaine.
Xavier Samuel and Laura Brent play the passionate newlyweds while Kris Marhsall as Tom heads up the best men.
Marshall is the highlight of the film and would be well known to audiences after earning laughs as Colin Frissel in Love Actually (2003), pharmaceutical student Troy in Death at a Funeral (2007) and as the ever-present butler Furber in Easy Virtue (2008).
Olivia Newton-John also gets a great deal of laughs as the proper senator’s wife who reveals her party animal side after one too many champagnes.
What is plain is the gap in class between the English and Australian actors. The Brits have more subtlety and presence.
This film isn’t a classic but it is a great pick for date night.
The Verdict: 2½ stars.
- A Few Best Men is now showing at Bendigo Cinemas. See page 3 of the Bendigo Advertiser for session details.
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