Can The Partridge Family usurp ABBA as the go to retro track for a rom com? AND MRS. might just do it. It begins with the perennial Partridge Family song, I Think I Love You, and keeps it as a redolent refrain.
Four Weddings and A Funeral set a certain benchmark in Brit comedy, and this tale of one funeral and a wedding, with the corpse wife puts a pre and post nup agreement through the wash cycle, soaping up the situation , scrubbing at the romance, tumble drying the trying obstacles put in the way.
The incredibly watchable Aisling Bea plays Gemma whose rather idyllic life is about to take a dramatic turn. Living in London, loved up and content, she faces the sudden loss of her American fiancé, Nathan, just before their wedding day.
Nathan’s dying forces Gemma, who has always been skeptical of modern marriage, to reassess the meaning of a lifelong commitment. With a push from Nathan’s free-spirited and unpredictable pregnant sister, Audrey, Gemma makes the bold decision to proceed with the wedding. However, to say “I do,” she must navigate public opinion, legal hurdles, and even her own family’s objections.
This unconventional romantic comedy is patchy, but its pathos and integrity rises above some of the bothersome lapses into the broad, leaping over the quaintly quirky and worrisome wan, largely due to Aisling Bea’s charm, timing and overall charisma. She is an absolute gem.
Written by London based expat Australian, Melissa Bubnic, and directed by ex pat Australian, Daniel Reisinger, AND MRS could be the best Australian film not made here this year. This is exactly the kind of movie that should be financed and made here.
The film uses Gemma’s quest to challenge societal norms and it rebels against the traditional British ‘stiff upper lip’ mentality, delivering a hefty message that there is no ‘right’ way to grieve, and that love can truly conquer all.
With a supporting cast that includes Peter Egan and Sinead Cusack as Gemma’s parents and Colin Hanks as the posthumous groom, Nathan, AND MRS. is a divine diversion that tickles the funny bone and teases the tear duct.
A charming little bon bon in the British Film Festival.
www.britishfilmfestival.com.au
7 Nov – 8 Dec, Palace Norton Street, Palace Moore Park, Chauvel Cinema, Palace Central
