Confetti

Confetti *1/2

As time goes on, and I am exposed to more and more films of certain genres, I have slowly come to the conclusion that I am not a huge fan of the mockumentary. There have been exceptions, but, for example, the films of Christopher Guest will never ever make the cut for a top ten list. And neither will "Confetti," a British film that seems to take a candle out of Guest's book(no pun intended) in the fact that it takes outlandish characters, lets the actors improvise everything they say, and resulting in a painfully unfunny product.

Jimmy Carr, a sometimes funny actor who appears more in the trailer than the actual film, plays Antoni, the owner and founder of Confetti Magazine. At the start, he declares that he is a bride's best friend, and he also isn't gay. Really didn't find much to laugh at from that first line. He has an idea for a new contest, where the magazine hires two wedding planners, and have them plan three weddings for the couple with the most original wedding idea. And the winner gets a house, which we never see, aside from an artist's vision of it. Couple Number One is Matt and Sam, a couple who want to do a musical wedding, where the entire thing is on a stage, and they sing their vows. Of course, they both can't sing, and when they do sing together, it's always off key. They seem to get some benefits, but they are the favorite to win. Couple Number Two is Isabelle and Josef, the big tennis couple, where they want to have a tennis themed wedding. Complete with giant tennis balls running along the sides as they give their vows. And then Couple Number Three, the naturalists, Joanna and Michael. They live in a little commune with other people like them, and they want to get married wearing nothing at all. This provides controversy at the magazine, where if that couple wins, there is no way that they can appear naked on the cover. And as the big day looms nearer and nearer, it becomes a mad race to win the house, and to really win each other.

There is a kind of message somewhere in "Confetti." It's not where and the way that you get married, but the people that you share it with. At least that's what I got out of it. It's really not very funny, and it had the power to be. I just think that these comedians that do improvised dialouge always think they are more talented than they really are. It does take guts, and it is a gift to be able to come up with dialouge off the top of you're head, but it often seems a little pretentious. It also tries to be a satire, but it doesn't take on anything daring enough to bother to satirize. Very much like last months "Surviving Eden," this one thinks that it's more daring than it really is. It also thinks that it's touching new ground, and it doesn't. The characters are quirky, and every now and than worth a laugh, but the writing and the situations were nothing special, and nothing memorable. And sometimes it even drifted into some sentimental parts, which didn't seem to balence with the flow. And the mockumentary style didn't seem to be the focus for about half the film. I was aware that they were being watched with a camera, but I really didn't feel that the actors did. It was inconsistent. And I am a big fan of British humor. By the time "Confetti" reaches it's credits, it's nothing but festive, but a long, unfunny, and predictable mess. For better British films, see "Keeping Mum," which is also in theatres, and a much better product.