Confetti (2006) / Comedy-Romance

MPAA Rated: R for nudity and language
Running Time: 99 min.


Cast: Martin Freeman, Jessica Stevenson (Jessica Hynes), Stephen Mangan, Meredith MacNeill, RObert Webb, Oilivia Colman, Vincent Franklin, Jason Watkins, Felicity Montagu, Jimmy Carr, Alison Steadman, Marc Wootton, Sarah Hadland, Ron Cook
Cameo: Debbie Isitt

Screenplay: Debbie Isitt
Review published March 26, 2008

Yet another mockumentary, a la Christopher Guest, full of eccentric characters and offbeat situations to embarrass them.  If made a few years ago Confetti might have proven to be a rare treat rather than just another mildly amusing diversion. 

The title derives its name from a fictional British magazine on weddings.  The latest gimmick to grace a potential future cover is a contest to see who can come up with the most original idea for a wedding, with the lucky couple getting money to apply to a new home.  After many interviews the editors settle on three couples.  First, there's Matt (Freeman, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) and Sam (Stevenson, Bridget Jones 2), who yearn for their vows to be given in the midst of a Busby Berkeley musical extravaganza.  Next, there's tennis pros Isabelle (MacNeill, The Queen's Sister) and Josef (Mangan, SuperTex), who see a tennis-themed wedding.  Lastly, there's Michael (Webb, The Gist) and Joanna (Colman, Hot Fuzz), naturists who will be exchanging vows in the nude, in front of all-nude guests. The film mostly follows the duo of wedding planners, Archie (Franklin, The Illusionist) and Gregory (Watkins, Onegin), hired to get the couples ready for their big day.  However, all isn't going to be easy, as fights erupt between the couples, and petty jealousy.  For one reason or another, it looks like none of them will be able to make it down the aisle.  

Writer-director Isitt (Nasty Neighbours) delivers the comedy with a light and fluffy touch, perfectly adequate for the kind of wedding film that it is, without bogging things down with seriousness.  It's the kind of movie where one laughs if the characters are believable enough, amused by the foibles as they try their best to conform to the rules of a contest that would rather make a spectacle of them than see marital bliss result. 

Isitt's scenarios are clever, and the two non-naturist weddings have an interesting visual appeal, but if there is one thing that Confetti lacks is the knack to deliver big laughs.  Watching the couples jump through hoops to get to their wedding day delivers on a number of smiles, especially as the wedding planners try to cajole the couples to their way of doing things, but the payoff is about as modest as the build-up.  One more downside is that the nude wedding is lackluster; perhaps if the pay-off were that we finally get the see them in all their full-frontal glory, it might be enough of a surprise to justify the time we spend exploring them.  We see dangling wobblies throughout, so when the couple reveal themselves at the end, we've already seen all there is to see. 

I'm scoring Confetti as passable material that may please those looking for a light comedy without much overhead.  Mockumentary fans have certainly seen better, and there are certainly more innovative, and funnier, examples of reality shows on TV revolving around weddings to deliver similar entertainment without the overhead of contrivance and predictability, two things Isitt's comedy has in abundance.  However, though the returns aren't big, it does entertain enough for the duration.  You may not ever take it down the aisle, or even a second date, but for a drunken one-night stand, there are worse films to wake up next to.

Qwipster's rating:

©2008 Vince Leo