"Confetti" Bare-ly Entertains

I'm not a movie critic (although I sometimes think I am when exiting a movie theatre), but I did get a chance to see the British comedy "Confetti" which is a mockumentary pretender to the sublime Christopher Guest creations such as "Best in Show" and "A Mighty Wind". "Confetti" starts with a promising idea revolving around three couples who are chosen by a fictional London wedding magazine called "Confetti" which stages a contest to find out who can throw the best and most unusual wedding ceremony.

One couple is naturist and plan on having their wedding in the nude. Situation-wise this should be brilliant, but the moments that could and should have been amusing only turn out to be awkward and quite unfunny. Part of the problem is that the cast worked without a script, that just about all the dialogue was improvised, and while the actors are capable and charming (and brave), they are not apparently skilled enough in improv to pull it all off. The first glimpses of the couple (played by Robert Webb and Olivia Colman) are startling because non-sexual nudity is rarely portrayed on the big screen, and the actors are convincing in their seemingly casual and matter-of-fact nakedness, such as when they are preparing dinner.

But sweetness turns to sour as the nudists argue, the groom-to-be predictably shocks the future mother-in-law, and the couple ends up in counseling. In fact, the arguing and bitterness theme is carried out with all three couples, especially with the "tennis-themed" couple who have no friends because they are rude and self-centered. The third couple is planning a Busby Berkeley-type extravaganza and are plagued with meddling family members and a seeming total lack of talent to pull it off. Family arguments can be funny, but these are not, in part because the improv is not totally convincing and the situations are just a bit too overdone. The success of the Christopher Guest films relies not only on the great skills of seasoned improvisational masters like Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara, but also on a respect for the subject matter at hand. In "A Mighty Wind" there is a great affection for folk music that drives the script and the actors; they are not making fun of the genre, but having fun with it. "Confetti" seems to strive to deride the wedding industry, perhaps deservedly so, but in the process nullifies any goodwill and heart mustered by the efforts of the ensemble.

It is ironic that the most stable and interesting couple in the film is the two gay wedding planners, who love and support one another throughout all challenges put before them, and they bring a charm and playfulness to their scenes. Unlike the over-the-top Martin Short character in "Father of the Bride", these planners seem like real people in spite of some stereotyping.

The nudist couple storyline is the most disappointing. He is a lifetime naturist, she is a go-along good sport, and the lifestyle is used as a wedge between the two as a plot device. The characters are not "fleshed-out" so to speak, we really never learn much about them and there are inconstincies in the details, such as when the magazine suddenly decides that the couple cannot be nude in the ceremony although they were specifically chosen because they wanted to be married in the buff. Naturism is on the rise in Great Britain and it's encouraging to see natural nudity portrayed in a mainstream film, but ultimately I think that naturists will be disappointed in the way this couple's particular story unfolds.

"Confetti" tries desperately to emulate "Best in Show" where Christopher Guest presents a wide array of eccentric but lovable dog owners who all gather in one place to see who has the top pooch. By the time the final judging of the dogs comes around, you are convinced that these are actual people, despite some of the obviously contrived comic inventions, such as Eugene Levy's two left feet. His feet are hilarious because his character gets into your heart, unlike a similar situation in "Confetti" when one of the brides has an issue with her nose that is just plain ugly and completely unbelievable. The characters in "Confetti" never break through to achieve the illusion of reality, even the naturists seem to be just naked actors struggling to invent their lines. "Confetti" ultimately fails to convince.

Tags: nudism, naturism, nudist, nudists, naturist, naturists, nudity, nudes, bare, au naturel, nude, naked, Confetti, movies, cinema