Last night Marcia and I did something we haven’t done in a long time. We actually watched a whole movie, from beginning to end, that was broadcast on HBO. Thanks to Netflix, we haven’t done that in ages.
“Peter’s Friends” in the most basic terms is like the British version of “The Big Chill”. Though one of the friends doesn’t die, it one of their fathers. In this case, it is Stephen Fry’s character Peter. He was one of six friends that worked as a performance troupe at Oxford, and after graduation in 1982, they all headed the separate ways and didn’t see much of each other. Well, except for Mary (Imelda Staunton) and Roger (Hugh Laurie) who get married.
Peter gets everyone together at the HUGE house he inherited from his father to celebrate the New Year. Andrew (Kenneth Branagh) shows up with his famous US TV sitcom actress wife Carol (Rita Rudner). Sarah (Alphonsia Emmanuel) shows up with her “flavor of the month” boyfriend Brian (Tony Slattery), who happens to be in the process of leaving his wife. And then Maggie (Emma Thompson) shows up alone, with hopes of winning Peter’s heart.
There is much ado about something going on with all the couples. The trials and tribulations of life and family have left their scars on all of them. And we see them work through a lot of these as the movie goes. Of course there is one big whopper at the end.
I am not too sure if it is fair to say that it is a rip off of “The Big Chill” or not. I don’t remember a whole lot from the film. But for those that enjoy the British sense of humor and wit, this is an enjoyable film. But Kenneth Branagh fans beware. His character Andrew has quite the “potty mouth.”
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