Conference bookie::movies

    
    	Will we see it over here in the US?
    
    	Sounds good!!
    
    							GTI
    

    Re .1: Yep, it's out now. [I haven't seen it; S&E gave it thumbs up.]
    
    -b

It's playing in limited release around the US; doesn't
open in the UK until JUNE!  Apparently it has done
extremely well at the box office so far, even with
the limited release.  The UK film industry is looking
for a commercial success ($$$) and this could very
well be it.  There's a flavor of "Sleepless in Seattle"
with a great deal more humor and fun.

In Boston it's playing at the two Loew's and at the
West Newton cinema (which is where I saw it).

Chris

  Joyce Kelhawick (sp?) of WBZ Boston panned this movie. She said it should
have been called "Four Funerals and a Burial."

  George

    Well, if Joyce didn't like it, that makes it a sure hit in my book!
    
    -- Bill

    Well, I tried to go see this. We were 4 reels into the movie when the
    4th reel starting playing again. It seems that reel 5 arrived damaged
    and the replacement they sent was reel 4. These large movieplexes use
    automated projectors, so you can't fix the movie even if you did have
    the 5th reel. The manager said he'd fix it. 10 minutes go buy and the
    reel is still playing. More patrons confront him and he finally tells
    us he can't fix it due to the fact he doesn't have reel 5. So, my wife
    and I get passes and will wait for home video. This stinks because we
    were enjoying the movie. For me, I'll simply take the pass and see 2
    movies when I'm in the movieplex. My wife will wait for the video. 

    What movieplex is this?

    Freehold Raceway Multiplex, Freehold NJ.
    
    

    I loved this.  Hugh Grant is especially appealing in his role, and the
    humor is a bit off-beat and refreshing.  I'll probably see it a second
    time.
    
    Lorna
    

    I'll echo the positive reviews for this movie.  I really loved it. 
    This was the best thing Andie McDowell has done, and Hugh Grant was
    terrific.  The script was witty without being smug, and the plot twists
    were surprising yet not unrealistic.  The group of friends that kept
    meeting at these events was the kind of group you'd like to have for
    friends.  They seemed like decent, normal, fun-loving people.  I
    especially liked Scarlett!
    
    9 out of 10
    
    NAZZ

When this film opens in the UK, would someone please
help me identify one of the cameos?  (The answer 
might also show up in the pre-opening hype over there.)
The person in question has zero recognition factor in
the U.S., but he makes the papers periodically
in London at least.

At the first wedding reception, when father of the 
bride (Philip Voss, Royal Shakespeare Company) calls 
everyone into dinner, the camera watches the guests
roll in.  It lingers briefly but carefully on a gent
done up in Lord Mayor's chain, white hair (rug?) and
beard.  Who is this person?  Is it Sir Peter Hall
(former director of the RSC and Royal National Theatre, 
and currently running eponymous production company)?  I 
think it is, but I've never seen him look this good,
so I'm unsure.  The part is uncredited, naturally!

Thanks.

Chris

It the person referred to in .-1 Richard Attenborough?
I think maybe that's it, not Peter Hall.

    Absolutely 4 ****, a MUST SEE. A British import in the flavor of 
    "The Commitments," this is fast-moving, witty, with plenty of plot
    twists and scenery to keep you amused for 2 hours.

Well,

I didn't want to go see it.. but boy am I glad that I did.  Its the best
movie I've seen in quite a while.  I don't think I've laughed that hard
in a long time!  I'd hightly recommend it!

    I'm glad I saw it too (4* out of 5).  But.... (semi-spoiler)...
    
    I didn't buy for ONE SECOND that Carrie would marry that-- that-- (what
    Charles called him when signing to his brother)!  All the other matches
    made perfect sense to me, including Scarlett's catch; they all rang
    true.  But since Carrie was IMO such a thankless role (look lovely,
    don't fall down, have no motivation and Be Enigmatic) I think it was
    impossible for Andie MacDowell to give us a clue.  Hugh Grant was
    wonderful in the scene outside where he's trying to tell her he loves
    her! 
    
    I was *completely* shaken by whose death it turned out to be (I thought
    they'd take the easy out and have Hamish bite the dust).
    
    I was just THRILLED with the entire depiction and treatment of the gay
    couple: respected, loved, but not under the microscope, not throwing
    the movie out of proportion by undue emphasis.
    
    And, because I *love* Rowan Atkinson in "Blackadder", I thought they
    should have given him MUCH more time, and they should have kept his
    best lines out of the trailer.  My vote for funniest cleric is still
    Peter Cook (is that his name? corrections welcome) in "The Princess Bride".
    
    Leslie

    
    I saw FWAOF this weekend and liked it a lot. I thought Hugh Grant was
    absolutely adorable! He has that kind of self-effacing charm that
    totally disarms all who come in contact with him. Andie McDowell was
    ok, my opinion of her acting is smile or don't smile. I loved all 
    Charlie's friends. 
    
    More after spoiler warning:
    
    
    I didn't really buy the great romance between Charlie and Carrie.
    That's what kept me from loving this movie. After the scene where 
    Carrie ennumerates the lovers she'd had, I couldn't see him deciding 
    that he really loves her. After that scene, I said she really *is*
    a slut (comment made to him by a person at the first wedding). Not
    because of the number of lovers (though that seemed excessive) but
    because she slept with him even though she was engaged to someone 
    else. Also, she was probably a gold-digger.
    
    At the fourth wedding, I couldn't believe he was marrying "duck-face"!
    After what happened there, I saw why it had to be duck face, cuz he
    wouldn't leave Fiona at the altar, but after her revelations to him 
    that she had loved him all that time, and his conversation with Tom
    about there not having to be thunderbolts, I assumed he would have
    tried to make a go of it with Fiona.
    
    Oh well, we can't have everything......
    
    
    Marilyn

    I agree with the previous noter.  I saw this movie on Saturday in
    Harvard Square (loews) and I did not really have any interest in 
    seeing this movie but I got talked into it.  Anyway, I did enjoy
    the movie especially the "Scarlett" friend.  I thought she
    was very funny.  Andie Mcdowell is a bore IMO, I usually yawn
    when I see her face but, in this case there was so much going on in 
    the movie that I did not seem to notice that much and I did laugh
    in some of the scenes with Hugh Grant.  

    I recently saw this for the second time and still enjoyed it, and still
    laughed a lot, and, also, cried.
    
    Spoiler:
    
    
    I think the funeral scene where Matthew reads the Auden (I think?) poem
    and talks about his lover is extremely sad.  It made me cry both times
    that I've seen the movie.  I think it's very well done, too, though.
    
    Lorna
    

I just saw this with a bunch of people, and everyone had a good time.
Like some previous noters, we thought the Charles/Carrie chemistry
was a little bland.

For me, the movie seemed like a sly update on the Bertie Wooster comedies,
with the devouring aunts simply replaced by devouring ex-girlfriends.
Charles, like Bertie, remains the perpetual boy-bachelor beset by
bad luck.

The humor had a meanspirited edge to it.  Which I like in British films
because they're so restrained to begin with.

Actually, the best "British" comedy I've seen this year has been
by far "Mrs. Doubtfire".

Brian

My wife and I enjoyed it a lot, but I have to agree that Andie M. didn't bring 
much, other than a smile.  She's a pleasant enough character in all her movies,
but does she ever act?

Bob

In "Greystoke" she was so bad they had to overdub her
entire part.  It's something she'll never live down,
no matter how fine an actor she might be someday.

    Re: .21
    
    That might be the cinematic equivalent of an urban legend.  I have also
    heard that she needed to be dubbed because she has one heckuva Southern
    accent, which didn't exactly match the setting.

I didn't remember she was in Greystoke.  So another person dubbed her lines?

Bob

    Andie was dubbed in "Greystoke" by none other than Glenn Close.  
    I suspect she was dubbed because of the very Southern accent.
    
    - Dave

re: .20, does Andie McDowell act at all.

There was an interview with Andie McDowell in the (UK) Independent on Sunday
last Sunday. The interviewer seemed to find her a bitch and a half. Some of it
might have been a fair reaction by McDowell to the same old questions--like
people keep banging on about how she used to be a model.

But it's possible that she acts a nice, pleasant, attractive normal middle-class
woman all the time on screen, when she's only some of those things.

Helen

    Which ape did McDowell play in "Greystoke"?
    

    Ho ho.  
    
    (She was Jane, for those who can't recall.)

    
    What I liked about this film is that it showed men relating to men in
    a human way - I would say there wasn't any pawing of the ground or
    head bashing or physical mayhem (unless you count when a bride to be
    ... well never mind).  I think many male moviegoers would find this
    movie 'empty' .... like waiting for something real to happen.  And of
    course it was happening all through the movie in a subtle 
    British way.  I'd say this movie goes some to help men get out from
    under that iron clad dictum which says to be a man you must have a
    certain demeanor.
    
    carol

    It is very interesting to hear all the comments of the film from over
    the water.
    
    The film is now showing on general release in the UK and it is a real
    hit.  I went to see it and intend to go again. It is the best film I
    have seen for a long time.  I didn't find any part of it dull.  I was
    also suprised about the funeral and was expecting it to be someone
    completely different.  I never cry at films but I'm afraid this bit got
    to me.
    
    I didn't think the relationship between Charlie and Carrie
    unbelievable or shallow.  Maybe Charlie was just typically British in
    not saying what he meant in good enough time.
    
    Ju
    
    
    
    
    

    What else has Scarlett been in?  She looked awfully familiar.  
    
    After the buildup I really expected to see more of Rowan Atkinson, but
    was just as glad he didn't have to stretch the Peter Cook "Have you the
    wing" schtick any further.  It got old pretty quick.
    

    A good film - a Feel good film! - Very good apart from oner bit;
    Andy Mc Dowel towards the end, when they are outside Mr Grants flat 
    and she says
    "Is it raining - I had'nt noticed!"
    Brilliant - absolutly brilliant!!!
    Thay should have jusy cut it out - cut her out infact - she just cannot
    act...sorry but its true!
    It seems to me inorder to have a British movie success in America,
    there is always the need for the token American....ie
    A Fish Called Wanda etc etc - 
    Shame really - oh well!!
    But apart from that a good film - 8/10..
    
    

She was hopeless, wasn't she?  Really, she's at her 
best when she's just modeling.

Loved the film.  Hugh Grant was very very good ("Good
man, Tom.  Disastrous haircut.")

dcl

    I have now seen the film.
    Absolutely Excellent!
    A masterpiece of human emotions, and a very good film....
    I'd recommend it to all <adults>.
    This film should make Hugh Grant *huge*
    At present the film is #1 in the UK cinema charts.
    The movie theme tune "Love is all around" by Wet Wet Wet,
    is in its 4th week as number #1 in the UK pop charts.
    How are the film and them doing in other parts of the world, or is
    this just a british thing? ;-)
    Phil.  

It's also #1 in Australia and still in the top 10 in the U.S.  They've
done about $42M in the domestic (sorry, U.S.) market in 13 or 14 weeks
of release here.  That's a sneeze compared to something like "Flintstones"
that did $38M in their first weekEND, I think, but considering the
cost of Mike Newell's film, "Four Weddings..." is already well into
the black.  Very, very good for the UK industry.

Chris

could someone post the words for the poem read that was written by
Auden? It was called something like "Stop the Clocks".

Thanks/james

    A friend says:

    What he recited is the first part of two-part poem by Auden entitled "Two
    Songs For Hedli Anderson". It goes:

    Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
    Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
    Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
    Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

    Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
    Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead,
    Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
    Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

    He was my North, my South, my East and West,
    My working week and my Sunday rest,
    My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
    I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.

    The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;
    Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
    Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.
    For nothing now can ever come to any good.   

Scarlett was played by Charlotte Coleman.

Filmography as Actor:

  Oranges are Not the Only Fruit (1989)
  Map of the Human Heart (1992)  [Julie]
  Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)  [Scarlett]

[I can't remember off the top of my head: was Julie the main female character?
I think so.]

re: .36

Thanks/james

    RE: .37  by QUARRY::reeves 
    
>Scarlett was played by Charlotte Coleman.
    
  >Map of the Human Heart (1992)  [Julie]
    
    >[I can't remember off the top of my head: was Julie the main female
    >character? I think so.]
    
    No, but MotHH must be where I saw her, thanks.
    

    In the UK, The Times newspaper quotes FWAAF as 50M dollars in UK alone.
    Its still Number #1 movie in the UK, although The Flintstones opens here
    next week.
    The movie theme by Wet Wet Wet has just entered its 8th week at No.1.
    It really is an excellent "adult" film.
    Go see it, you won't be disappointed.
    Phil. 

Due out on videotape and LBX laserdisc (in the U.S.)
the week of 22 August.

    I just rented this.  I suspect it's would have been a better experience
    in a theater.  As it was, I found it a very enjoyable film.  I really
    liked Charlie's friends.  They weren't entirely "real" people, but they
    were more real than the typical "movie" people one finds in movies.
    
    Certainly worth renting (if you can get your hands on a copy).

    This was a fun movie. I enjoyed it.
    
    I'm glad I wasn't the only one that thought Andie McDowell (sp?) was
    really lame.  Her acting was very weak.  Mainly because of this,
    I didn't find their relationship very believable.  I'm
    not sure what he saw in her. I perceived her as a slutty, gold-digger
    (to quote an earlier note).  I didn't think she really cared for him.
    She simply seemed to be flattered by the attention.
    
    Question: Where have I seen Hugh Grant before?? He was excellent!
     

    Hugh Grant played Chopin in "Impromptu".
    

    >> Hugh Grant played Chopin in "Imprompto".
    
    That's it! I knew he looked familiar.  Thx. 

    
    It's also the second-biggest film of the year in France, not far behind
    Aladin.
    
    Hugh Grant also played the 'typical' Englishman in Roman Polanski's 
    "Bitter Moon" alongside Peter Coyote and Kristin Scott-Thomas who played 
    his wife, obviously having better luck than she did in FWAAF.
    
    Steve.
    
    

I rented Four Weddings and a Funeral yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it.  
This was one of those rare movies that had me smiling through most of it.  
The funeral was tragic, but generally this was a light, romantic comedy. 
I agree with many here who've already questioned the chemistry between
Hugh Grant and Andie McDowell.  I found Charlie utterly charming and her
rather unbelievable as anything but a shallow woman who couldn't make up 
her mind about what/who she wanted.  But other than that, it was great.  

    
    "'Four Weddings and a Funeral?'....  sounds like 5 of the same thing!"
    
                                                - Al Bundy
    

Is there anyone out there (probably British) who can confirm or refute the
feeling I've got that Hugh Grant starred as Tom Brown in Tom Brown's Schooldays,
back in the early 70's?

Thanks,
Nick.

    For one who doesn't typically enjoy British humor, this was a good
    movie.  I wanted to like the Andie McDowell character, but couldn't.
    Probably the funniest part of the movie for me was during the second?
    wedding the little group playing that "classic" Barry Manilow tune,
    "Can't Smile Without You" and the reaction it brought from the older
    fellow (that later died).  Unfortunately, it also stuck in my head for
    a day too long.  Aggggghhh!  :*)
    
    
    Spud

    I loved this movie.  It's been quite some time since I've seen
    something this good.  Unlike most of you, I liked Andie McDowell's
    portrayal of an American woman in Europe.  In my view she was chique.  
    
    spoiler
    
    I was dissappointed when the character she played abruptly left
    Hugh Grant only to return sometime later engaged, but that's what
    made the movie so appealing.  
    
    It's a movie I would recommend to anyone.
    
    Thumbs up.
    
    PChaplinsky

    
    Why oh why oh why oh why!!
    
    I thought this movie was the biggest pile of cak I have ever laid my
    eyes on the first time I saw it.
    
    But then I watched it a second time....
    
    
    
    And realised that it actually was the biggest pile of cak I have ever
    laid my eyes on.
    
    AH.

Perfectly serious, but your opinion is as valid as
those who liked it a year ago and still do.

    
    I guess I was pretty underwhelmed myself.  I've had so many friends
    and family build this up, that I even prepared for a letdown.  But
    I really thought this movie was kind of tame.
    
    More and more, I really believe movies are being judged as "great" simply
    because they are better than the vast amount of junk we are being 
    inundated with.  A lot of movies are being made simply to get on video
    store shelves - the sheer amount of new releases is incredible and
    the signal to noise ratio is pretty low.
    
    I can think of lots of romantic comedies that were released with much 
    less fanfare but that were much better pictures.
    
    It wasn't bad, just so-so.
    
    - Sean

    re .55
    
    I agree totally, I think the film was overated. I dont think the film
    deserved any sort of nominations at for any awards at all. The film was
    competing with the likes of Forrest Gump. This in my opinion was not in
    the same leaugue as such a film.
    
    I wonder, if Four weddings and a funeral was not British would it of
    got the same acclaim ??????
    
    
    daks

    Yes Daks, "Four Weddings and a Funeral" has British appeal but it's
    more than that.  The movie was fun to watch, the idea was fresh and
    new; and I simply love weddings.  As Sean pointed out two notes
    earlier, I'm tired of violence, shooting, blood, and gore.  And yes, I
    can think of other movies that were just as good, like "Benny and
    Joon", "Chaplin", and "Frankie and Johnny".  I haven't seen "Forrest
    Gump" yet but based on Tom Hank's performance in "Philedelphia" I'm
    sure the oscar was well deserved.  Nonetheless, I loved this movie and 
    there is definitely a market for this genre of romantic comedies.
    
    PChaplinsky
    

Matter of taste.  FWIW "Forrest Gump" was completely
stiffed at the BAFTAs which _Variety_ found completely
incomprehensible.  The British industry and
market quite simply *hated* it.  (Since this is an 
international notes file, international opinions have 
just as much validity as those of AMPAS, et al.)

    re .58
    
    thanks to this noter. This is what I was trying to say but did not have
    the facts to put them as well as that.
    
    
    daks

Hey, Daks, a side request, if you please...

....don't put so many form feeds into your replies - it makes them
hard to read and breaks up the flow to the next reply or note.

- tom]

>                     <<< Note 502.59 by BAHTAT::BROWNED >>>
>                            -< yes that's it...... >-
>
>    re .58
>    
>    thanks to this noter. This is what I was trying to say but did not have
>    the facts to put them as well as that.
>    
>    
>    daks

    
    	Well I can agree with the Brits then. I thought Gump was a very
    	stupid film comprising the biggest share of Hollywood's Dumber 
    	and Dumber theme for the year. I walked out of Gump (during the 
    	supposed highpoint moment of the film during his "box o' 
    	chocolates" line of 'wisdom' delivered in such an over-done 
    	dim-witted slow drawl that it was more grating to me than
    	fingernails dragged across a chalkboard), yet I truly enjoyed 4 
    	Weddings. It's a tame film yes, but a very enjoyable one.

    	Different movie-going tastes and all that...

    	-Erik

    
    >>  dim-witted slow drawl that it was more grating to me than
    	fingernails dragged across a chalkboard), yet I truly enjoyed 4 
    	Weddings. It's a tame film yes, but a very enjoyable one.
    
    Even more grating than this particular bit in Four Weddings and a
    Funeral?
    
    Charlie:     "It's Raining"
    
    Stupid Cow staring into his eyes: "Is it? I hadn't noticed"
    
    
    AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!
    
    Give me the blackboard anyday.
    
    Andy_who_perhaps_isn't_romantic_enough_to_appreciate_this.
     

    >The British industry and market quite simply *hated* it.
    
    Well, it was a retrospective of recent American history, so they can't
    be expected to have the same emotional reaction.

    I liked both movies. I've seen FW&F four times, and haven't tired of it
    yet. It's warm, witty and sophisticated which makes it an excellant
    romantic comedy in my book. I was glad it was nominated for best picture. I
    was glad "Forrest Gump" was nominated too. I had to really think about
    which I would have voted for. I finally picked "Forrest Gump" because it
    had more elements of movie-making to contend with and it did them all well,
    sort of like when in a diving competition, someone wins not because the
    opponent didn't execute his dive well, but because the winner's dives were
    executed well and were also more difficult.

    Still, it doesn't surprise me at all to hear that the British didn't like
    "Forrest Gump". When I walked out of the theater, I even thought to myself,
    "You have to be an American to get this movie." I'm honestly not sure you
    can even get this movie if you aren't old enough. At the very least, I
    think I can say you get more out of it if you have actually experienced for
    yourself what America was like before Vietnam and what it's like now. 

    "Forrest Gump" is modern mythology. All good mythology expresses
    something  of a culture's belief system. Gump is a symbol and not
    altogether as simple a one as he appears. I recommend that all
    foreigners study this film carefully if you want to understand American
    culture. It isn't that Gump is a quintessential American, but if you
    can understand exactly why Americans loved Gump, I think you'll know a
    lot more about us. Actually, I think if Americans analyzed why they
    found this film so appealing, they would find the insight into their
    own culture interesting. I did.

    John
    

re: .62  Probably the low point of the film.  Definitely
cringe-making.  Andie McDowell is a model, not an
actor.

Chris

    I saw Four Weddings before all the hype hit and enjoyed it immensely.
    
    I saw Forrest Gump after all the hype hit the UK from the States and
    didn't enjoy it as much. When I saw it a second time (without being hyped
    up), I enjoyed it much more.
    
    For me, if I go and see a movie that I know very little about, it
    becomes twice as enjoyable because it feels like a personal discovery
    and you can't wait to your friends about it, thus hyping up your
    friends who won't then enjoy it as much as you did.
    
    SO I guess the moral of this note is just tell you friends "Go see it"
    and leave it at that, no matter how much they demand to know how good it is,
    just say "Go see it".
    
    Al.

    
    Do we tell our friends to "Go see it" even if it is really really bad?
    
    :-)
    
    Andy.

  I rented this movie and saw the tape last night. My impression is that it is
about as good as a romantic comedy normally gets, entertaining, funny in parts
and somewhat insightfull but not something that you would remember for very
long. 

  Hugh Grant, Andie McDowell and the rest of the cast do a fine job. The 1st
two weddings have lots of funny moments and the funeral is very touching but
the film starts to run out of gas a bit by the last wedding. The scene were
well done and they fit in the story but the entertainment value from that point
to very near the end fell kind of flat. 

  Still worth seeing especially on tape or a movie channel. Better than most of
what's on TV. 

  ***, out of 5
  George

Story Line Stuff but no ending spoiler


  Someone asked why Carrie married the Scotsman after meeting the man she
loved. I believe it was because he was very rich. And yes she was something
of a lose woman but that was part of her charm. After all she was an American
and in America woman have equal rights. Ever hear of a lose man?