Four Weddings and a Funeral 30 years on: How a low budget movie won over critics
Taking just six weeks to make and costing £3million, it was a small film – but it was big at the box office, raking in £144million worldwide.
And 30 years on from its US release on March 11, 1994, Four Weddings and a Funeral remains one of the top British romantic comedies of all time. It made an overnight star of Hugh Grant, who played foppish commitment-phobe Charles. Wet Wet Wet’s theme tune, Love Is All Around, spent 15 weeks at Number One and Hugh’s then-girlfriend Liz Hurley shot to fame after the London premiere, thanks to THAT safety pin-adorned Versace dress.
Millions enjoyed the film’s witty one-liners, outlandish wedding dresses, and the tears at the funeral of larger-than-life Gareth, played by Simon Callow.
Producer Duncan Kenworthy, 74, recalls how he, screenwriter Richard Curtis and director Mike Newell lived and breathed their “little film” for two years of development and production. He says: “I remember sitting and watching the Oscars on telly with friends the year before we made Four Weddings and they all said, ‘You’ll be there next year’ and laughed.
Andie MacDowelll, Duncan Kenworthy and Hugh Grant (Polygram/Working Title 1994)“Literally a year later, there I was, at the Oscars, with a Best Picture nomination. It was unthinkable, really. In those days there were only five nominees for best picture at the Oscars. It shows what a big impact the film made – not just with the public but within the film world, too.” It did not win the Oscar (well, it was up against Forrest Gump, Pulp Fiction and The Shawshank Redemption) but it did scoop four BAFTAs.
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The storyline centres around floppy-haired Charles as he awkwardly navigates five gatherings, batting off disgruntled former flames and falling for American socialite Carrie, played by Andie MacDowell.
Just months before filming, Duncan and Mike flew to the US to audition actresses for Carrie. They offered the part to two women who each accepted, only to later decline for personal reasons.
Four Weddings scooped four BAFTAs (Alan Davidson/REX/Shutterstock)Duncan says: “Back in London, we found out Andie MacDowell was staying at The Dorchester, so Mike and I arranged to meet her in the bar. As soon as we met her, Mike knew she was the one.”
She was already a Hollywood star and the role brought her even greater fame. And it was Carrie, standing on a very wet London street, who delivered one of the film’s most memorable – and cheesiest – lines, saying “Is it still raining? I hadn’t noticed” as an equally soaked Charles finally declared his love for her. Her straight delivery is something Duncan regrets. “Of course Carrie knows it’s raining! She’s drenched, he’s drenched. She means it ironically,” he says. “If Andie had said it with a smile, no one would have mentioned it!”
Paid £35,000 – twice as much as any of the other actors – to play posh boy Charles, Hugh Grant was not a unanimous choice. More than 70 actors were considered, according to Duncan, who went on to make Notting Hill and Love Actually with Hugh and Richard Curtis.
He says: “It sounds odd now but the other actor in the frame was Alan Rickman, who’d really cut through in the Robin Hood movie. Mike, Richard and I simply couldn’t agree which of them to cast, so we voted in secret.
The famous kiss (Stephen Morley/Polygram/Working Title/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)“We were an odd number, and it came out 2 to 1 in favour of Hugh Grant. It’s a cause of enormous delight to me that it was Richard who nearly ended Hugh’s romcom career before it even started.” It took over a year to get funding, with UK company Working Title developing the script. Channel 4 Film came on board later, stumping up some finance. We were making it for a long time in our heads before we actually made it in reality,” says Duncan.
But the English humour did not always translate. “The F-word couldn’t have been less acceptable to Americans,” says Duncan. “We had to change the word to ‘bugger’.” England’s unpredictable weather also presented obstacles. “The one thing you need when you’re making a film is time and time was not on our side,” says Duncan.
“We shot as much as we could outdoors, which was cheaper than building sets or hiring interiors, so rain was a bit of a nightmare for us.” Many of the guests at the posh second wedding were real aristocrats – with future Home Secretary Amber Rudd drafted in to find them.
Grant and Liz Hurley in THAT dress (Comic Relief via Getty Images)When Matthew (John Hannah) delivered an emotional eulogy at Gareth’s funeral, the church was originally going to be set in the Lake District. In later edits the location was changed to a church next to a factory in London.
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Duncan also remembers the grief when Charlotte Coleman, who played Scarlett, died of an asthma attack at 33, in 2001, saying: “We all loved her.”
On a lighter note, he recalls having lunch with Hugh and Liz a week before the London premiere and asking what she was going to wear. “Liz said, ‘I have absolutely no idea at this point’,” he laughs. But he has no regrets about her stealing the show, adding: “With every piece about Liz came a mention of the film, so it was great publicity. The premiere was an extraordinary event.”
As for the film’s enduring success, he adds modestly: “To think there’s still interest in the film, all these years later, is surprising but lovely.”
Telly spin-offs
In 2019, comedian Mindy Kaling created a 10-part Hulu TV series with the same name and inspired by the movie – to mixed reviews.
In March 2019, 25 years after the movie’s release, the cast – including Hugh Grant, Andie MacDowell and Kristin Scott Thomas (Fiona) – were reunited for a special Comic Relief short called One Red Nose Day and a Wedding.
Dexter Koh (front, centre) (Collect)
Koh on Big Brother, 2013 (ExpressStar)Big Brother's little cameo
Big Brother 2013 star Dexter Koh had his first taste of fame playing a page boy in Four Weddings and a Funeral.
Just eight and studying at London’s Ravenscourt Theatre School at the time, Dexter, 39, says: “I was a page boy in two weddings. There was a lot of kerfuffle with Andie MacDowell’s wedding dress. A lot of the kids were going under it. That wasn’t staged with the wedding pictures at the end. We were just messing around!”
Dexter, whose acting credits also include No Reasons, The Demon Headmaster and Comedy Lab, says he bore no physical resemblance to anyone playing a parent. He laughs: “I’m half Singaporean and half-Greek so I didn’t actually match up to any of the parents on the film!
“Hugh was pretty friendly and it taught us a lot about how to be around lots of stars on set. It was a great early years experience that put me in good stead for other jobs.”
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