Four Weddings And A Funeral- The big V-Day is almost upon us, so as a single person headed into the holiday, I’m putting myself through the torture of watching romcoms for you guys. This is my second time through this film, but first with audio description. I didn’t get to see this in its initial theatrical release. I was 11, and it just didn’t strike my fancy. I saw it later, but I really can’t remember how or when. But I do remember seeing it, visually, so somewhere before 8 years ago. Hugh Grant, Andie MacDowell, Kristin Scott Thomas, John Hannah, and Rowan Atkinson star in this Mike Newell (Harry Potter and the Goblet Of Fire) directed romance, which later was turned into a limited series at Hulu with Nathalie Emanuel in a gender flip. I’d say this really did kick off the beginning of Grant’s bankability as a romantic comedy lead, following the surprise success of An Englishman Who Went up A Hill But Came Down A Mountain, which was released just before this. In 1994, Andie MacDowell was kind of “the moment” in this genre, so it makes sense that she’d be the lone Yank in this Brit afffair. The audio description track is whimsical, and hit all of the most important scenes. It also is there to really help the character of David, who is deaf, and communicates with ASL. watching this without audio description would be weird, because Grant would be talking to someone, but you wouldn’t really get the feedback as to who it is. I also loved the initial kiss sequence, which had delicate narration, but also the hilarious faking of the orgasm/sex sequence, where our leads have a good laugh. The final moments, where Grant has to communicate with his brother, the deaf David, in a very pivotal moment, was also really well done. This has a surprisingly deep ensemble, and tracking the characters, s well as the little quirks and differences in the weddings made for a nice track. it is a UK bloke doing the narration, as it should be.

Fresh. Final Grade: B+, Audio Description: A-

Shall We Dance- Probably my third time on this forgotten Richard Gere dance film, which is an English language remake of an International film I assume was better. A massive supporting cast, led by Susan Sarandon, Jennifer Lopez, Stanley Tucci, Richard Jenkins, Lisa Ann Walter, Bobby Canavale, and Nick Cannon, really fleshes out a seemingly aimless romance. This movie isn’t as good as the relative enjoyment I get from it. the truth is that often we like films more, but as critics, it becomes easy to nitpick a film to death. So, where do you land? how valuable is it to feel good at the end of a film? I don’t undervalue the feeling of a comfort film, and would rather be open in my grading, that the film may not be as technically proficient but I love it anyway. here, Lopez is poorly written, giving her very little to do. She had already done some excellent film work in Selena and Out Of Sight, so why she’s so muted here is odd. gere basically just has to be sexy. tucci and Jenkins, ahead of both of their Oscar nominations, are stuck in character roles. Lisa Ann is basically playing a version of her character on Abbott Elementary, though on the rewatch, i found her to be incredibly charming, in a film I forgot she was in. the audio description is really nice, supporting the fact that it is dance centric, so the moves matter. How someone carries themselves matters. even the costumes, like the gowns Lisa Ann wears, which are sometimes garish, do matter. Then, it is also a movie about longing, more than even romance. Longing for a connection to something, or someone, depending on the character. Even though the film doesn’t dive headfirst into any ethnic description, it does a surprisingly random and beautiful job of capturing Lopez in a scene where she’s practicing by herself, talking about what she’s wearing, her open back, her toned muscles, and even her olive skin. It is surprisingly good, but deep into the film. But, if I’m being a mean film critic, she is underdeveloped, I don’t understand the choices for Sarandon’s character as she makes peace with, but then gets devastated by, the knowledge of the same thing. And, while Clarance Macklin makes Divine look cool as a name, it feels like Richard Jenkins was horribly miscast in that role somehow. Explain to me how someone like Jenkins is named divine. Like I said though, i don’t discount how a movie makes me feel, even if I can see the warts. i see the warts here, but I still really would like to dance.

fresh: Final Grade: B, Audio description- B+