Cheerful Weather For The Wedding (2012)

35% of critics liked it
(26 reviews)
29% of users liked it
(341 ratings)

On her wedding day, with just hours to go until the ceremony, a young woman's future is suddenly thrown into chaos by the appearance of a former lover. (c)Official Site

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Directed By: Donald Rice
Genres: Drama, Comedy

In Theaters: Dec 7, 2012 Limited
Studio: IFC Films

Critic Reviews

Anna Smith, Time Out
The film builds up to something that never comes.
Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times
Rice does a fine job of juggling so many characters and moving smoothly among flashbacks without losing sight of the main story.
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe
What it doesn't have is drama or wisdom or comedy or heat, something to temper the banalities.
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News
Not to say it isn't an enjoyable diversion. Just that it's also a superficial one.
Stephen Holden, New York Times
The glossy appearance and trappings may evoke standard Anglophile nostalgia, but below the veneer is a cynical portrait of bored, shallow Britons halfheartedly going through the motions of a celebration.
Ian Buckwalter, NPR
The dominance of the madcap side of the film's split personality lays an airy veneer over Dolly and Joseph's woes, making them seem inconsequential - as unsubstantial as an observation about wedding-day weather.
David 'Mad Dog' Bradley, Rip It Up
..this costume drama set in the lull between World Wars is drawn from Julia Strachey's 1932 novella (apparently much-loved by Virginia Woolf) and proves to be almost impossibly English.
Simon Weaving, Screenwize
With the critical narrative information delayed until the film's final moments, it's a waiting game for the audience, not unpleasurably spent watching the gorgeous costumes and eccentric behaviour of the family and friends of an anxious bride.
CJ Johnson, ABC Radio (Australia)
If you're seriously white-knuckling for a dose of English Period Countryside Romanticism while waiting for Downton's next season to roll, Cheerful Weather for the Wedding will be like methadone: it's not going to satisfy you, but it may relieve your itch.
S. Jhoanna Robledo, Common Sense Media
Period drama has simmering conflict, lacks resolution.
Simon Kinnear, Total Film
There's more to period drama than nice frocks and acerbic asides.
Christine N. Ziemba, Paste Magazine
A languid film that fizzles from the start.
Brent Simon, Shockya.com
A very mannered but deadly dull period piece drama of partially upended, stuffy social customs, and a ruinous vehicle for the incandescence of Felicity Jones.
William Bibbiani, CraveOnline
Something happened, you see, and someone or other felt something about it. Why that should matter, why we should care, is lost in a string of bons mots, sidelong glances and frocks.
Tomas Hachard, Slant Magazine
The Donald Rice film suffers most from an excessively blunt approach.
David Noh, Film Journal International
Strictly recommended for the besotted Anglophile set who revel in watching endless versions of the privileged set enjoying their privileges.
Brian Orndorf, Blu-ray.com
Entertains intermittently with its stiff-upper-lip community interplay, only truly taking command when it focuses on unspoken desires and stymied confessions.
Sam Adams, AV Club
Without a source as rich as Jane Austen to draw on, Cheerful Weather feels incomplete, caroming off previous stories without forging its own way.
Kirk Honeycutt, honeycuttshollywood.com
A welcome addition to the wedding comedy sub genre, light on its feet and brimming with vivid character portraits.

Read all 19 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Jason R

test
Bradley W

Slow and without heart.
Walter M

In 1932, Dolly(Felicity Jones) begins her wedding day by praying to the porcelain gods, followed by finding the exact wrong time to get reacquainted with her Tolstoy. Meanwhile, downstairs, her sister Kitty(Ellie Kendrick) and Evelyn(Zoe Tapper) find little to do except to comment on… More
In 1932, Dolly(Felicity Jones) begins her wedding day by praying to the porcelain gods, followed by finding the exact wrong time to get reacquainted with her Tolstoy. Meanwhile, downstairs, her sister Kitty(Ellie Kendrick) and Evelyn(Zoe Tapper) find little to do except to comment on the appearance of Dr. Joseph Patten(Luke Treadaway) who was last heard of in Greece and was not expected for the ceremony, least of all by Dolly's mother(Elizabeth McGovern). Then, Owen(James Norton), the groom, puts in an appearance to find out where the ring is. Aided by exquisitely serene performances from its leads, "Cheerful Weather for the Wedding" is a witty and bittersweet look at the intersection of family and marriage which shows how hard it is to get through a wedding entirely sober.(The old line being that it is 5 pm somewhere.) As such, the important details lie just below the surface, as bombshells, both literal and metaphorical, are dropped on this most important of days. With a respect and subtle critiquing of this time's traditions, the movie makes multiple uses of time, not only in how it moves too quickly and too slowly for some characters but by going back to happier times and better weather.
Christopher H

Despite it's shortcomings, the chemistry is so strong between Felicity Jones and Luke Treadaway, that even though they spend a majority of the film apart, the connection between them carries the film. Felicity is gorgeous as always, performing in such a lyrical beauty that… More
Despite it's shortcomings, the chemistry is so strong between Felicity Jones and Luke Treadaway, that even though they spend a majority of the film apart, the connection between them carries the film. Felicity is gorgeous as always, performing in such a lyrical beauty that radiates through her lack of dialogue. She is the star and even though most of her actions are mirrored off of the rest of her family, she still shines. Treadaway also mostly uses his expressions to portray his character and the highlight of the film is a moment where he kindly dances with Jones' younger sister, gazing at Felicity the entire time. No words are spoken, but the emotion is strong. Apart from these performances, "Cheerful Weather for the Wedding" is an average dramatic comedy, with a dry, British humor and a lack of ingenuity. Had the director pushed nuanced feel, the film could have been so much more impacting. Instead it relies too heavily on its bright cast and too list on its substance and direction.

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Cast

Felicity Jones
as Dolly Thatcham
Luke Treadaway
as Joseph
Elizabeth McGovern
as Dolly's Mother, Mrs. Thatcham
MacKenzie Crook
as David Dakin
Fenella Woolgar
as Nancy Dakin
Zoe Tapper
as Evelyn Graham
Julian Wadham
as Uncle Bob
Sophie Stanton
as Millman
Olly Alexander
as Tom
Ellie Kendrick
as Kitty Thatcham
Paola Dionisotti
as Mrs. Whitstable
James Norton
as Owen Bigham
Luke Ward-Wilkinson
as Robert
Barbara Flynn
as Aunt Bella
John Standing
as Horace Spigott
Eva Traynor
as Annie
Elizzabeth Webster
as Betty
Kenneth Collard
as Whitstable
Ben Greaves-Neal
as Jimmy Dakin
Joanna Hole
as Miss Spoon
Camilla Corbett
as Alice
Oliver Gilbert
as George
Emil Lager
as Aunt Bella's Chauffeur
Melanie Gray
as Pretty Woman
Edward Saxby
as Tony Bigham
Jonathan Saxby
as Tiger Bigham
Jim Conway
as Photographer
John MacDonald
as Piper

See more (28)

Cheerful Weather For The Wedding (2012)

Critic Reviews

Featured Audience Ratings

Jason R

Bradley W

Walter M

Christopher H

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