“Lovable Englishman Charles (Hugh Grant) and his group of friends seem to be unlucky in love. When Charles meets a beautiful American named Carrie (Andie MacDowell) at a wedding, he thinks his luck may have changed. But, after one magical night, Carrie returns to the States, ending what might have been. As Charles and Carrie’s paths continue to cross — over a handful of nuptials and one funeral — he comes to believe they are meant to be together, even if their timing always seems to be off.” – Official Synopsis
Four Weddings and a Funeral is a romantic comedy film starring Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell. Charles, played by Hugh Grant, is a single man living in London. He is a very awkward guy looking for love. Charles and his friends attend a wedding of Laura and Angus, because Charles was asked to be the best man. Charles meets Carrie, played by Andie MacDowell, at the wedding and ends up staying the night with her. Carrie jokingly acts as if her and Charles should get married. Charles is clearly into her, so he thinks deeply about the question before realizing she was only joking. Following the wedding, Carrie returns to America.
Charles attends a second wedding for Bernard and Lydia. Bernard and Lydia had met at the first wedding and started dating. Charles runs into Carrie again, except this time she is with her fiancé Hamish. At the reception, Charles finds himself in an awkward situation when seated by several of his ex-girlfriends. Charles sees Carrie and her fiancé, which led him to return to his hotel suite. One of Charles’ ex-girlfriends, Henrietta, confronts him about how he gets scared of letting someone get too close to him. After listening to her advice, he runs into Carrie once again and they spend the night together.
The third wedding Charles attends is for Carrie and Hamish. Charles is obviously upset about the thought of the girl he loves marrying someone else. Fiona has a feeling Charles has feelings for Carrie after seeing how Charles watches Carrie and Hamish’s first dance. Shortly after, Fiona confesses her love to Charles. Then suddenly, during the groom’s toast, Gareth has a heart attack and dies. A funeral is held for Gareth, which everyone attends.
Months after the passing of Gareth, a fourth wedding is held for Charles and Henrietta. Carrie arrives before the ceremony to tell Charles her and Hamish have separated. This is when a turn of events occurs. The wedding ceremony begins, and the priest asks if anyone knows a reason why Charles and Henrietta should not get married. Charles’ deaf brother, David, reveals in sign language that he believes the groom loves someone else. Charles admits that he loves someone else and Henrietta punched Charles and the wedding is called off. Carrie visits Charles later on to apologize. Charles confesses his love for her and asks for her hand in marriage, in which she says yes. The film ends with everyone finding their true love.
After attending four weddings and one tragic funeral, fate finally brought Charles and Carrie together. Four Weddings and a Funeral is simply about a couple that is in love, but the timing just isn’t right. Overall, I thought the film was everything from comical to romantic. It ended with the happy ending the audience was waiting for. I would recommend this film to anyone who enjoys romance movies. It has several funny scenes so even if romantic films aren’t your favorite, it is still a good film to watch.
