CONFETTI

"It's your special day"

Wanting to move away from the usual bride of the year competition, Confetti Magazine owner Antoni (Carr) has the idea of creating a contest to find the most original wedding of the year instead. From the hundreds of entries he and his editor Vivienne (Montagu) choose three couples to compete for the prize of £500,000 dream house and a chance to appear on the front of the magazine. Now all they have to do is decide between the tennis, musical and naturist weddings.

If there is one thing that the British film industry can do extremely well is romantic comedy but can an improvised plot brought to the screen by some of the country's best comedic talent tickle your funny and touch your heart?

Director Debbie Isitt may have gathered together a collection of the UK's new wave of comic talent but unfortunately she forgets to bring the most important thing, laughter. You have to applaud them for going down the improvisation route, trying to be the British version of Christopher Guest's American improvisational troop but unfortunately they just don't have the same skill or bite that their US counterparts can muster.

Been given a theme for a scene and then asking the actors to go with it, gives them unparalleled creative input for a scene. Now this can create comedic gold or can just be not funny. For the most part 'Confetti' fails in producing any laugh out loud moments but does manage to raise a smile every now and again. The problem with the film is that the premise doesn't have the legs to provide laugher for its one hundred minute duration. The three weddings each have potential for comedy but as the film progresses, each of them run out of steam.

The tennis wedding revolves around Josef and Isabelle, who only have each other and need the win to kick start their lives. Played by 'Greenwing's' Stephen Mangan and Meredith MacNeill, the pair is overly competitive and desperate to win. The problem is that Stephen Mangan is really just playing his 'Greenwing' character Guy Secretan but Meredith MacNeill does grab her chance in the limelight.

The naturist wedding features 'Peep Show's' Robert Webb and 'Greenwing's' Olivia Colman and we get to see a little too much of them. While the gag of seeing their characters Michael and Joanna, completely naked, riding bicycles and gallivanting around. This is funny the first time you see it but the continued us of Michael undressing and wanting to be naked all the time becomes tiresome and far too repetitive.

The musical wedding is probably the best of the three matrimonial stories. This is mainly due to the performances of the excellent Martin Freeman and Jessica Stevenson. Two of this countries most gifted comedic performers are very comfortable improvising and, along with an excellent performance from Alison Steadman as the prospective mother-in-law, they have the most fun with their storyline mixing singing with family problems.

'Confetti' had all of the potential to be another improvisational comedy classic but instead we have a film with a simple premise that never really provides the laughs. Its mockumentary look also limits the production, especially during the finale as the weddings don't have the scope and grandeur they could have had, especially the musical. It will make you feel that you could be heading for a divorce.