Confetti
Confetti is one of those movies where you either adore it or you hate it. I’m an adult, I can confess that I adored it. At the same time, I can totally understand why some of you might hate it (check your chromosomes). Either way, give it a chance, we all can benefit from a romantic flight of fancy once in a while.
In the spirit of the improvised mockumentaries directed by Christopher Guest (A Mighty Wind in particular), Confetti chronicles three contestant couples vying for most original or creative wedding. The contest is run by Confetti magazine, its editors balancing taste, wit, sensationalism, and photogenicity. Our three couples are Martin Freeman (Britain’s The Office) and Jessica Stevenson (Spaced), Meredith MacNeill and Stephen Mangan, and Olivia Colman and Robert Webb. Their wedding concepts could not be more different from each other (Colman and Webb are naturalists, or nudists), and the mechanics of bringing their disparate (and desperate) visions to fruition are swiftly handled. The pair of professional wedding planners ringleading this circus contribute their own delightful flavor to this whole affair.
Did I mention that all the dialogue was improvised? Good improvisation (as demonstrated defly in Guest’s movies) flows as if it were scripted. This dialoge actually felt as though it were scripted, but more because it did not have that chaotic feel of improvisation. (Interestingly, Freeman’s The Office felt wild and improvised and was actually meticulously scripted.) What Confetti seemed to lack for me was a fullness of character. I have frequently complained in this venue that sometimes the Guest mockumentaries sacrifice a satisfying story arc on the altar of rich, glorious characters. Here, Confetti gives us 20 nibbles of each of the couples (really as much as a movie spread might, come to that) and delivers a rapid fire, reality-TV-style docudrama about the competition, with full arcs for everyone. It’s a sly comment on today’s Who Wants to Eat a Millionaire TV show trends, but we also want to care about these couples’ weddings. The fact is, any one of these contest weddings could have easily been its own feature film, so it’s impressive that we got three plus the ancillary characters. I did find it hard to connect with the actors whose work I was unfamiliar with as a result, so it was like going to the wedding of a stranger.
In today’s absurd consumerist culture, the ludicrousness and commercialization of these six people’s special day doesn’t even feel that outrageous with shows like Bridezilla and wacky celebrity theme weddings on the air. What stands out here is the crazed competitiveness between the couples. That said, there are some big laughs and many large chuckles and plenty of wry giggles. The beleaguered pairs struggle with the pressures of the competition but in the end, love really is the winner. Naturally the film’s climax is the weddings themselves, and I defy you not to grin.
Gentlemen: Do not see this with your lady love unless you are affianced or wed. Trust me.
Ladies: Do all you can to bring your boyfriends to see this movie or give up and take all the girls.
Full disclosure: It is simultaneously rapturous and mortifying to see your most secret, impractical, and gauche wedding fantasy on the big screen, and no, I’m not a nudist.
MPAA Rating R-nudity
Release date 9/15/06 (limited)
Time in minutes 100
Director Debbite Isitt
Studio Fox Searchlight
