It’s too easy for any British romantic comedy of sorts to be likened to the works of Richard Curtis. With Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, Bridget Jones’s Diary and About Time amongst his credits, we can see why he’s often something of a benchmark for the genre, but whatever formula he established, director Daniel Reisinger and screenwriter Melissa Bubnic have no interest in catering to it with And Mrs.
Sure, it’s a UK-based love story at its core, and it has a duo of charm personified leads in Irish comedian Aisling Bea and American-as-apple-pie Colin Hanks, but within moments of the film’s 111 minute running time Bubnic’s script takes an unexpected turn; it kills off our loveable Mr. Hanks. And what follows is an even more bizarre chain of events where Bea’s mourning Gemma wants to honour the relationship they had by going through with their impending nuptials. Yes, she intends to say “I do” to her deceased fiancé.
Whilst her friends and family protest such a notion – namely her mother (Sinead Cusack) and bestie, Ruth (Susan Wokoma) – Gemma finds her biggest cheerleader in her would-be sister-in-law, Audrey (Billie Lourd, once again absolutely dominating the screen with her effortless presence), who, despite being pregnant (we learn she’s serving as a surrogate), helps Gemma jump through the legal hoops intended to execute such a ceremony.
It’s because this could-be-farcical set-up is treated with such respect that And Mrs gets away with as much as it does. It never treats the idea that someone would marry another who has sadly passed as anything other than wholly beautiful. There’s a real poignancy to Bubnic’s script, and Reisinger quite tenderly balances the film’s emotional centre with any of the comedy needed to soften the melodramatic edges. Really, calling And Mrs a romantic comedy is almost doing it a disservice. That’s not to belittle the genre or the fact that this film is, indeed, both romantic and comedic, but there’s a real honesty to how it portrays grief, and audiences expecting lighter fare may best be on guard.
That being said, And Mrs not being a run-of-the-mill romantic comedy entirely works in its favour, and though at 111 minutes it may be a bit too long, and a late-in-the-narrative conflict between Gemma and Audrey doesn’t feel necessary as a plot conflict, its blend of a comedic sensibility with the organic handling of its affecting crux results in a sweet, unforeseeable effort that will make you cry as much as it will cackle.
THREE AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
And Mrs is screening as part of this year’s Russell Hobbs British Film Festival, running between 6th November and 8th December, 2024, across all major Australian cities; Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Ballarat, Perth, Byron Bay, Ballina and Sydney. Head to the official website for more details on cinema locations and session times.
