“CONFETTI” WEDDING PLANNER PARODY SHOWS LOTS OF SKIN

Director Debbie Isitt has given us a delightful – if uneven – look at the comically frantic world of wedding planning in her new film, Confetti. Written with dry British wit and filmed in semi-documentary style, Isitt obviously is trying to mimic “This Is Spinal Tap and A Mighty Wind, but her efforts ultimately fall a little short of these satirical gems. Still, the film has its moments, and is of special interest to naturists because it spends some of the film in one of the British nudist parks.

The plot revolves around the brainstorm of Confetti Magazine editor Antoni (Jimmy Carr) who holds an annual ‘wedding of the year’ competition. He decides he can boost sales for his publication even higher by tapping into the “reality TV craze” and holding a contest for “most original wedding.” The winning couple will receive the keys to a million dollar home, and they will have their event splashed across pages of the magazine. Three lucky couples are drawn as the finalists and the editor soon regrets his brainstorm.

One couple, Josef (Stephen Mangan) and Isabelle (the hilarious Meredith MacNeill) want a tennis wedding, where both the bride's gown and her veil utilize a racket and balls as not-so-subtle decorations. On a half-court, ball boys sprint out in a sort of aerobic processional for Isabelle, who is dressed in a mini-skirt with a gown top. She and Josef, who cannot stop quarreling for much of the film, exchange their vows in a freeze-frame volley while the priest officiates from atop the referee's tower.

The second couple, played by Martin Freeman (Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy) and Jessica Stevenson (Bridget Jones The Edge of Reason), want a Hollywood musical ceremony, paying homage to Busby Berkeley in a black-and-white choreographed number.

The third competing couple, Michael and Joanna (Robert Webb and Olivia Colman, both of whom hail from British television's appropriately titled Peep Show), are nudists - naturists, as they make distinctly clear many times - who refuse to wear anything other than their birthday suits, to the dismay of the competition's officials and the last thing that the frantic Confetti's editor wants. There is a great amount of nudity in this film, and the highlight for me, of course, was when the wedding planners visit the naturist camp teeming with people of all shapes and sizes. Yes, we have to endure the usual nudist jokes and snickers, but the message that there is nothing wrong with this lifestyle does come through.

All three weddings are planned by Archie (Vincent Franklin) and Gregory (Jason Watkins), gay partners in work and in life whose efforts really steal the movie. Even their clothes exist in tandem, always in matching monochromatic pastel pinks and lavender. They plan the events with gusto, more grandiose than Martha Stewart could dare dream, with even more flair and flounce than the greatest of all wedding coordinators, Martin Short's Franck Eggelhoffer from the Father of the Bride movies. More, more, more, bigger, bigger, bigger; but for less, less, less. That's the idea with the pair here that organizes all three ceremonies in the same venue and on a scant budget.

Potential disaster threatens every step to the three-way happy day. I don't want to spoil any surprises but let's just say that Confetti's big climax is satisfyingly “over the top” with giant tennis balls, inept choreography, and naked (and singing) wood nymphs.

Be sure to stay through the credits to listen to what happened after the big day, as the banter is as hilarious as the movie itself. Apparantly the winning couple is still waiting a year later for their dream house prize, meanwhile the Confetti editor has "come into some money" and opened his own recording studio. (Hmm, could there be a connection?) The quarreling tennis couple are now unhappily teaching tennis at a kids camp, and the naturists - and my only beef with the film - have decided to leave the nudist camp and only be naked in front of each other. Oh, and the wedding planners get married.

Confetti comes off more like a reality TV show than a satirical documentary, as many of the scenes seem improvised. Still if you want a good laugh, seek out this little gem.