Four Weddings and a Funeral is a 1994 British romantic comedy film directed by Mike Newell. It is the first of many films written by Richard Curtis that feature Hugh Grant as the main actor. The story follows Charles, played by Grant, and his friends as they attend several social events and experience romantic relationships. Andie MacDowell stars as Charles’s love interest, Carrie, with Kristin Scott Thomas, James Fleet, Simon Callow, John Hannah, Charlotte Coleman, David Bower, Corin Redgrave, and Rowan Atkinson in smaller roles.

The film was created in six weeks and cost less than £3 million. It became very popular without being expected and was the most successful British film in history at the time. It earned $245.7 million worldwide and received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. Hugh Grant won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy Film and the BAFTA Award for Best Actor. The film also won BAFTA Awards for Best Film, Best Direction, and Best Supporting Actress for Kristin Scott Thomas. The film’s success helped make Hugh Grant a famous actor worldwide.

In 1999, Four Weddings and a Funeral was ranked 23rd on the British Film Institute’s list of the 100 greatest British films of the 20th century. In 2016, Empire magazine placed it 21st on their list of the 100 best British films. A 2017 survey of 150 actors, directors, writers, producers, and critics for Time Out magazine ranked it the 74th-best British film ever.

In 2019, Richard Curtis worked again with director Mike Newell and some of the original cast to create a 25th-anniversary reunion short film called One Red Nose Day and a Wedding. The film aired in the UK during Red Nose Day on March 15, 2019.

Plot

At the wedding of Angus and Laura in Somerset, Charles, the often late best man, his roommate Scarlett, his friend Fiona and her brother Tom, Gareth and his partner Matthew, and Charles's deaf brother David, all attend. None of them are married. During the reception, Charles meets Carrie, an American woman working in England. They spend the night together. The next morning, Carrie, who is returning to the United States, says they may have missed a chance to build a relationship.

Three months later, at the wedding of Bernard and Lydia in London, Tom is the best man. At the reception, Charles sees Carrie again, now in the United Kingdom with Hamish, her older, wealthy Scottish fiancé. Meanwhile, a young woman named Serena is interested in David.

During the reception, Charles is embarrassed by several former girlfriends, including Henrietta, who says Charles is someone who dates many people but avoids long-term relationships. Charles leaves the party and finds Carrie and Hamish leaving in a taxi, though Carrie returns and they spend another night together.

A month later, Charles receives an invitation to Carrie and Hamish's wedding. While looking for a gift, he meets Carrie and helps her choose a wedding dress. Later, he nervously tells her he loves her, but she politely refuses.

A month later, Charles and his friends attend Carrie and Hamish's wedding. Scarlett meets Chester, a man from Texas, at the reception. Henrietta introduces her new boyfriend to Charles. Fiona, who knows Charles is sad about Carrie, tells him she loves him. Charles is kind but does not return her feelings. During Hamish's speech, Gareth has a serious heart attack and dies.

At Gareth's funeral, Matthew honors him by reading a poem by W. H. Auden called "Funeral Blues." Carrie and Charles share a quiet moment, and Charles and Tom reflect that, even though their friends take pride in being single, Gareth and Matthew had a close relationship like a married couple. They question if finding a true love is possible.

Ten months later, Charles and Henrietta are married. While seating guests, Tom meets Deirdre, a distant cousin he hasn't seen since childhood, and they become close. Scarlett and Chester are happy to reunite.

Carrie arrives and tells Charles she and Hamish have ended their marriage. Charles has a difficult time in the church's back room. After talking with David and Matthew, Charles decides to continue with the wedding. When the priest asks if anyone objects to the marriage, David uses sign language to say the groom has doubts and loves someone else. Charles agrees, and Henrietta becomes angry, hits him at the altar, and stops the ceremony.

Later at his apartment, Charles and his friends talk about what happened. Carrie arrives to apologize. Charles tells her he loves her and proposes a lifelong promise without marriage, which she accepts. As they kiss, lightning flashes in the sky.

In a final scene showing the future, Henrietta is married to an Army officer; David is married to Serena; Scarlett is married to Chester; Tom is married to Deirdre; Matthew has a new partner; Fiona is with Prince Charles; and Charles and Carrie have their first child.

Production

Screenwriter Richard Curtis based the movie Four Weddings and a Funeral on his own experiences as a guest at weddings. Curtis began writing the script when he was 34 years old, after realizing he had attended 65 weddings in 11 years. At one wedding, a guest asked him to go on a date, but he refused and later felt sorry about it. This event inspired the beginning of the romance between the characters Charles and Carrie in the film.

It took Curtis 17 attempts to complete the script. He originally planned the movie to be called Four Weddings and a Honeymoon, but he changed the title to include a funeral after getting advice from Helen Fielding. Curtis said that director Mike Newell helped shape the film by focusing on realistic characters and their stories, not just jokes. He described the film as a romantic story about love and friendship that includes many humorous moments.

Curtis decided not to include details about the characters’ jobs because he thought friends would not realistically talk about their careers at a wedding.

Curtis, Newell, and the producers started casting actors for the film in early 1992. Alex Jennings was first chosen to play Charles, but the film’s funding ran out in mid-1992. Jennings later appeared in a supporting role in a 2019 TV adaptation of the film. The team continued searching for actors for over a year, trying about 70 people for the role of Charles before selecting Hugh Grant.

Grant was considering quitting acting when he received the script for Four Weddings and a Funeral. He said he was surprised to get a good script from his agent. Curtis, who based the character Charles on himself, initially thought Grant was too attractive for the role and preferred Alan Rickman, but Rickman refused to audition. Curtis eventually agreed to cast Grant after Newell and the producers supported the decision.

Jeanne Tripplehorn was first cast as Carrie, but she had to leave the project when her mother died. Marisa Tomei turned down the role because her grandfather was sick. Sarah Jessica Parker was also considered for the part. Andie MacDowell was cast after reading the script while in London for publicity work. She accepted a lower salary to appear in the film, earning $250,000 upfront but later making about $3 million due to the film’s success.

Grant’s casting faced another issue when his agent asked for a higher salary. The producers initially refused because of the film’s limited budget but eventually agreed. Supporting actors were paid £17,500 each.

Duncan Kenworthy produced the film while on a break from his job at Jim Henson Productions. Funding for the movie was unstable, with production nearly stopping in 1992. In early 1993, Working Title Films helped cover the costs. However, the budget was cut by $1.2 million before filming began, forcing the team to make the film in 36 days with a final budget of £2.7 million (about $4.4 million in 1994). Channel Four Films contributed £800,000. To save money, extras wore their own wedding clothes, and Rowan Atkinson played a vicar at two weddings to avoid hiring another actor.

Amber Rudd, who later became a government official, was credited as “Aristocracy Coordinator” for arranging appearances by aristocrats as wedding extras.

To make Grant look more nerdy, the producers styled him with messy hair, glasses, and poorly fitting clothes. Director Mike Newell encouraged Grant to act awkwardly and stumble over his lines, written in complex sentences, to make the character seem nervous. Grant struggled with hay fever during filming and was unsure about his performance, which he described as “atrocious.” He later said Newell’s direction focused more on real emotions than jokes.

Most of the film was shot in London and the Home Counties, including areas like Hampstead, Greenwich Hospital, and St Bartholomew-the-Great church. Exterior scenes for the funeral were filmed in Thurrock, Essex, near the River Thames. Stately homes in Bedfordshire and Hampshire provided settings for some of the weddings.

Hugh Grant said the first screening of an early version of the film was not well received.

During production, Gramercy Pictures, the film’s U.S. distributor, sent many messages objecting to the movie’s use of strong language and sexual content. They worried the film would not be suitable for American audiences. They especially disliked the opening scene, where characters repeat the word “fuck,” after a screening in Salt Lake City caused some people to leave. To address this, the scene was reshooted using the British word “bugger” for the American version. The distributor also disliked the title and suggested other names, but none were accepted.

The film’s music was composed by Richard Rodney Bennett. The soundtrack included a version of The Troggs’ song “Love Is All Around” by Wet Wet Wet, which was number one on the UK Singles Chart for 15 weeks and became one of the best-selling singles in Britain. This song later appeared in Richard Curtis’ 2003 film Love Actually, where it was performed by a character named Billy Mack. The soundtrack album sold over 750,000 copies.

Release

The movie Four Weddings and a Funeral had its first showing in January 1994 at the Sundance Film Festival in Salt Lake City, Utah. It began showing in the United States on March 11, 1994, in five theaters. The money made from ticket sales during the first five days of its release in the United States impressed the film’s distributor, who decided to spend a large amount of money on promotion. This included full-page newspaper advertisements and television commercials costing about $11 million. The film also received free attention because of Hugh Grant’s popularity in the United States. He became very admired and participated in a successful tour with reporters and television shows to promote the film. The film’s producer, Duncan Kenworthy, said, “It was the most amazing luck that when Hugh went on the publicity tour, he turned out to be very funny and very similar to the character of Charles. That doesn’t ever happen.” The film had a wide release in the United States on April 15, 1994.

At the UK premiere in Leicester Square on May 11, 1994, Hugh Grant’s then-girlfriend, Elizabeth Hurley, helped the film get a lot of attention when she wore a black Versace safety-pin dress. This dress became very famous in the press. The film opened in the United Kingdom on May 13, 1994.

Reception

The film Four Weddings and a Funeral received praise from critics. On the website Rotten Tomatoes, the movie has a 92% approval rating based on 134 reviews, with an average score of 7.9 out of 10. The site’s summary says the film is a charming romantic comedy with a talented cast and a witty script written by Richard Curtis. Metacritic gave the film a score of 81 out of 100 based on 19 critics, meaning it was widely praised.

Film critic Roger Ebert gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, calling it "delightful and sly" and saying it was directed with "light-hearted enchantment" by Mike Newell. He praised Hugh Grant’s performance as "endearing awkwardness." Todd McCarthy of Variety described the film as a "truly beguiling romantic comedy" that was "frequently hilarious without being overly sentimental." Producer Duncan Kenworthy later said that McCarthy’s review helped the film succeed at the box office.

Jonathan Rosenbaum of the Chicago Reader called the film "generic" and "standard issue," saying audiences might forget it quickly. Richard Corliss of Time magazine agreed it was forgettable, joking that he had already forgotten the film’s name by the end of his review.

When Four Weddings and a Funeral first opened in the United States, it earned $138,486 from five theaters. Later, during its wide release, it earned $4.2 million in its first week. The film eventually made $52.7 million in the United States and Canada.

In the United Kingdom, the film earned £1.4 million in its opening weekend, a record for a UK film. It earned £2.7 million in its first week and was the top movie for nine weeks, making £27.8 million total. This made it the second-highest-grossing film in the UK at the time, behind Jurassic Park. It also became the highest-grossing British film, surpassing A Fish Called Wanda. In France, the film was the top movie for ten weeks, earning $34.4 million. In Australia, it was the top movie for five weeks, earning $21.4 million. Worldwide, the film earned $245.7 million, the highest return on investment for films released in 1994. Its success helped Working Title Films recover past losses and earned Polygram over $50 million.

In 2000, Total Film readers voted Four Weddings and a Funeral the 27th-greatest comedy film of all time. In 2004, the same magazine ranked it the 34th-greatest British film. It is also listed as number 96 on Bravo’s "100 Funniest Movies."

In a 20th-anniversary review, The Guardian said the film had a major influence on British cinema, romantic comedy writing, pop music, and even funeral traditions.

Hugh Grant spoke about the film’s success in 2016, saying it was surprising. He mentioned that while working on another film, he received faxes saying Four Weddings and a Funeral had reached number one in the United States and that he was offered a big role in another movie for $1 million. He called the experience "completely surreal."

Franchise

In November 2017, it was reported that Hulu was creating an anthology television series based on a film. The series would be written and executive produced by Mindy Kaling and Matt Warburton, with Richard Curtis also serving as an executive producer. In October 2018, Jessica Williams, Nikesh Patel, Rebecca Rittenhouse, and John Reynolds joined the cast. The miniseries premiered on July 31, 2019.

On December 5, 2018, it was announced that Richard Curtis wrote One Red Nose Day and a Wedding, a 25th-anniversary Comic Relief television reunion short film. The original film’s director, Mike Newell, returned, along with the film’s surviving cast members, including Hugh Grant, Andie MacDowell, Kristin Scott Thomas, John Hannah, Rowan Atkinson, James Fleet, David Haig, Sophie Thompson, David Bower, Robin McCaffrey, Anna Chancellor, Rupert Vansittart, Simon Kunz, and Sara Crowe. The film was shot on December 13–14, 2018, at St James’ Church in Islington, London. It focused on the reunion of all the characters from the original film at the wedding of Charles and Carrie’s daughter Miranda to Fiona’s daughter Faith. Lily James and Alicia Vikander, who played the young couple getting married, were not announced until the film aired in the UK. The film aired in the U.S. on Red Nose Day on May 23, 2019.