Peter's Friends (1992)

After his father's death the grieving Peter (Stephen Fry) invites a group of college friends who have been separated for 10 years to a New Year's Eve reunion at his English countryside estate. In scenes by turns funny and sad they talk over old times reassess their life choices and finally come together to help each other through an unexpected crisis. Kenneth Branagh's ensemble comedy is punctuated by a classic rock soundtrack that recalls the chums' university days. A witty heartwarming film PETER'S FRIENDS includes fine performances by Branagh Emma Thompson Hugh Laurie Imelda Staunton and Rita Rudner.System Requirements:Running Time; 101 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY/ROMANTIC COMEDY Rating: R UPC: 027616098641 Manufacturer No: M109864 Product Description

Wonderful film

I fell in love with this film when I saw it in the theatre. The DVD has made me fall in love all over again. While there are a couple of over-the-top performances, it makes for a great film that examines what happens to old school friends. There are a couple of scenes that jump out at me; when Hugh Laurie and Imelda Staunton are arguing on the bed; and when they all gather around the piano to sing.

Many of my favourite actors are in this film and they don't disappoint. While a couple of performances are over-the-top, most are very good.

The screenplay has some great moments and the choice of music is perfect. It brings me back to the time when I graduated from College; those songs were the soundtrack of my life.
June 28, 2008

At least a lot of talented people got work making this film. - Very contrived imitation of The Big Chill

Peter's Friends has a wonderful cast of actors I really like, but it is a poor imitation of the Big Chill (an OK movie), which is a glitzier imitation of my rougher-around-the-edges favorite, John Sayle's The Secaucus Seven. Did Stephen Frye and Rita Rudner write this? No matter. It was disappointingly glib and unoriginal. I was excited about seeing it and reluctantly watched the whole thing. Thankfully, all involved enjoy success and better work that washes this out of my system. It is always good when very talented people keep finding work. It fills a niche for people that need reunion films. May 4, 2008

So close to being a good film

This film is so close to being wonderful--the cast is incredible, the story is great, and the locations are super. But, things just don't hang together in tone or content to make it truly touching or truly funny. Hugh Laurie and Imelda Staunton deliver wonderful and touching performances and that in itself is worth the price of the DVD. But, the Kenneth Branagh - Rita Rudner characters are the backbone of the piece and that relationship never becomes understandable. Plus, the tone moves from slapstick to serious without any real connective pieces. Okay, I will probably watch it again and maybe even again--I mean just watching the Cambridge Footlights crew together is a pleasure (and Stephen Fry always makes me smile). This film is often compared to "The Big Chill" but it doesn't deliver the same impact. April 4, 2008

Painful to watch

Without including any spoilers to the film:

Just as the title to this review states, it was just simply painful to watch. The movie is about a group of friends who have lost touch over the years and are invited out to the English countryside by one mate from the group for a New Years celebration reunion. As things in life go, they find themselves having grown apart over the years, each 'friend' pursuing their seperate life and each friend having their own set of burdoning problems to deal with.

It's painful to watch because this movie is about a reunion, and we are met with awkward scene after awkward scene of each character battling their own demons that have plagued their after-we-all-lost-touch life. And it's even more difficult to watch when things would get heated and characters would yell things "they didn't mean to say" about other characters while in their presence.

What's even more painful about watching the movie is listening to it. The movie has one of the most annoying and predictable soundtracks making me wonder if the script was actually written around the songs themselves. Every fresh scene we are met with a cliche "reminiscent" song that sums up the previous scene and can pretty much sum up any sort of 80's teen movie.

However, despite my unusually harsh review, the acting in the movie is absolutely brilliant. Those who are a fan of Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, and the rest of that class's Cambridge Footlights cast will be pleased to see old favourites reuniting in this movie. Being strictly familiar with Hugh Laurie's comic career, I was immensely impressed with his big scene (each character in the movie has their own poignant scene where they deal openly with whatever their particular conflict is), that showscases his ability in dramatic roles. You sympathise with Emma Thompson's character and the way she is gets treated by her "friends" in a couple scenes. Tony Slattery, while his character is completely annoying at first, he ends up giving a great performance. And of course, Stephen Fry is simply great (and you really feel for him during those awkward scenes I mentioned earlier), but the conflict that his character is battling within this film is simply predictable; not to mention, once he does reveal his secret to the group, his speech on the topic becomes predictable, as if it was lifted from one of those after-school specials.

While I know this review will be met with rolling eyes, it is simply what I thought about the movie itself, not the actors (some of them which I'm a huge fan of).

It's just one of those movies I would have been better off Netflixing, as it doesn't even have any bonus material making it a worthwhile buy. March 29, 2008

Pretty good brit version of "Big Chill" without the suicide

Being a big fan of Mr. Laurie, I've been getting everything that he has been in...(have "A Bit of Fry and Laurie" sketch comedies so wanted to continue watching S Fry and him act together)as well as K Branaugh. Pretty good story line with good interplay of characters (clever way of showing time passing) but glad I saw it at home and not in theater. Feel good friend movie. March 27, 2008

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