Plot: What’s it about?
Confetti Magazine has sponsored wedding contests before, but in previous promotions, they’ve sought out the “Brides of the Year.” But this year, the publishers want to shake things up a little and since Confetti is the hottest wedding magazine around, they don’t want to rest on their laurels. This year, Confetti seeks to find the Most Original Wedding and award the winning couple with a new home worth a million pounds. The magazine sorted through countless applicants and some outrageous wedding ideas, to find three finalists. Confetti has hired two wedding planners to craft all three weddings, which will take place one after another, then a winner will be decided. The first couple is Matt (Martin Freeman) and Sam (Jessica Stevenson), who want a ceremony in the style of the old Hollywood musicals. The only problem is, neither can sing or dance, but the planners still seem optimistic. The second couple is Josef (Stephen Mangan) and Isabelle (Meredith Macneill), who seek a tennis themed wedding, but their competitive natures might stand in the way. The final couple has nothing to hide, as Michael (Robert Webb) and Joanna (Olivia Colman) are naturalists and wish to tie the knot while totally naked. Which of the three couples will win the prize and as problems arise, will any of them be able to have their dream wedding?
As a fan of Christopher Guest’s brilliant series of mockumentaries, when I read Confetti was in that same vein, I couldn’t wait to see it first hand. Confetti is indeed in that same line and you can tell the filmmakers were inspired by Guest’s work, but this also has a fresh texture. This is because the film has that British slant, but not to the extent that humor is lost, but even aside from the accents, you can tell this is a British production. A word of warning, there is quite a bit of nudity on showcase, full frontal for both sexes, but this is never sexual in nature. The nudity is simply part of the characters and since it leads to some hilarious moments, I doubt anyone would be offended. I didn’t find Confetti to be as consistently great as Guest’s films, but there ample laughs and some quirky folks to enjoy, no doubt. Martin Freeman, famous from the original Office, turns his usual performance, but I think the nudists steal the show here, with standout performances. I had fun with Confetti and while it wasn’t as laugh out loud hilarious as I hoped, it was still fun and well worth a rental.
Video: How does it look?
Confetti is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. I saw some grain in certain places and some debris also, but these issues proved to be minor and didn’t detract much from the film. The colors look very good, from the rich hues to the natural desert tones, with no smears in the least. The flesh tones also look good, very warm and with no distortion at all to be seen. The contrast looks sharp as well, as black levels are dead on and detail level is high throughout. I also detected no compression flaws with this transfer, which prompts me to give this disc a very high score in this section.
Audio: How does it sound?
This is a dialogue fueled film and as such, the included Dolby Digital 5.1 track is not one to showcase your system with. But this mix has the punch when it needs it, so don’t think you won’t get a high quality audio presentation. The surrounds are used by the musical score, which sounds terrific here and really adds to the tone of the film. This is a film based in the Southwest and the music reflects that, very cool and proper tunes here. I didn’t hear much from the sound effects, but a decent amount of subtle use is present and the track never seems inadequate. The main element is dialogue and it sounds great in this mix, no volume or clarity problems surface in the least. This disc also includes Spanish and French language tracks, as well as subtitles in English and Spanish.
Supplements: What are the extras?
You can choose your own end sequence with the winning couple of your choice, as well as watch a brief behind the scenes featurette.
