Entertainment

‘Four Weddings & A Funeral’ Is Getting A Sequel — Sort Of

by Maitri Suhas

If you’re a fan of British romantic comedies — and who isn't, really? — then get excited, because one of the absolute classics, Four Weddings And A Funeral, is getting a sequel — sort of. The cast of the 1994 hit is reuniting for a short film for Red Nose Day 2019, and there will, indeed, be a fifth wedding.

One Red Nose Day And A Wedding will star the original cast members, including Hugh Grant, Andie MacDowell, Kristin Scott Thomas and Rowan Atkinson and will be written by Richard Curtis, who wrote the original 1994 smash hit. Curtis is the man behind not only Four Weddings, but also Notting Hill, Love Actually, and Bridget Jones’ Diary. So if you love romantic comedies from across the pond (or just anything Hugh Grant), he’s your man to salute.

Curtis also is the co-founder of the charity Comic Relief, which airs the biennial Red Nose Day event. Curtis spoke to The Guardian about the Four Weddings and a Funeral reunion. "We're all definitely older — I suspect no wiser. It's been really enjoyable working out what's happened to all the characters," he said. "Now they get back together for the fifth wedding, where, as usual, not everything will go as planned." Those Brits really do know how to put on a farce.

The one-off sequel, which catches up with the original cast of characters 25 years later, will air on Red Nose Day on March 15, 2019, in the UK, and later in May in the US. One Red Nose Day And A Wedding is the second of Curtis' rom-com revisits for the charity event. For Red Nose Day 2017, he wrote Red Nose Day Actually, a shrewd move as the Love Actually nostalgia was thick in the air. That short film also starred an impressive number of actors from the original cast, and answered questions about just where everyone ended up. Including, finally, a happy ending for Laura Linney's character, which she deserved all along.

Four Weddings And A Funeral might not be as well-known in the US, but it's one of Britain's most beloved films. According to the Guardian, "the film was named the 23rd best British film of the 20th century in a 1999 poll commissioned by the British Film Institute," and it received Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay (for Curtis). It also earned Grant a Golden Globe Award. In fact, it was the film that propelled him to stardom, and he worked again with Curtis on another wonderful British romantic comedy, Notting Hill, before also starring in Love Actually.

If you haven't seen Four Weddings And A Funeral, add it to your rom-com list and be sure to catch up before the reunion. It's delightfully British and charming. Moreover, this won't be the last Four Weddings-inspired content audiences will receive in the coming year. Mindy Kaling, rom-com lover above all, adores it so much that she is even turning it into a series for Hulu. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the anthology was greenlit in May, and none other than the original writer and Red Nose Day founder himself, Richard Curtis, will be executive producing.

Red Nose Day 2019 is on March 15, 2019. Consider this the official save the date.