Peter's Friends Reviews

Peter's Friends

Very accurate take on the relationships that bind friends and lovers in their early 30s. I identified with it. But it was weepier than I expected so have the tissues ready. Poor performance from Brannagh (as always) and Slattery was weak, but the rest of the cast, Thompson, Laurie and Fry in particular, more than compensated for this.

Posh tosh

This film is quietly pleasing, if only for seeing many of Britain's great comedy actors looking much younger and fresher!

There are some moving scenes, but this was much more enjoyable when it first came out, which isn't as long ago as it feels upon reviewing this.

Lovely!

This shouldn't be good - it IS smug and posh and luvvy-ish, but it is also very evocative of the period and affecting. Slattery and Brannagh play their odious selves, as usual, but whats not to love about Stephen Fry? Essential quiet Saturday night with chocolate ice cream viewing.

A forerunner to This Life 2!

The costumes may now appear a little dated but the dialogue still stands up to some scrutiny. This did remind me a bit of This Life 2 when friends of yester year get together in the country in a great big old house and we see what happens. That's where the comparison ends though. This is witty, well scripted and thoughtful. Without getting on its soap box it speaks of issues that affect all our lives and those of our friends whilst wrapping up these issues in a cloak of wit and humour. You will laugh at this film. Enjoy it. You can tell that most of the actors were friends themselves when this film was made. It comes at you through the screen.

Snooze

Great actors and a great soundtrack but a fairly dull movie.

It's Not Quite That Bad

I've read the reviews accusing this film and the actors of being guilty of demonstrating nothing but the ability to be luvvies and make a boring self righteous film. It's no worse than some of the trashy blockbusters that our cinemas are full of. Perhaps the fact that these people are educated and choose not to pander to the demands of the cinema goers with a shorter attention span rankles a little? It's not the best film ever made and most of the actors have made better, Let's face it even the greats like Hopkins, De Niro and Pacino to name but a few have produced mediocre work. Peter's Friends is watchable and Ken Branagh is very funny as the not quite so reformed alcoholic and his quips. If we are lucky we all have friends even if we don't have family , who see us through the bad as well as the good times and that's the ultimate message of the film. As one reviewer also said what isn't there to like about Stephen Fry?

Cheese

Cheesy, stereotypical characters. So bad I couldnt even watch half.

PETER'S FRIENDS

IT HAD AN ODD FUNNY MOMENT, BUT GENERALLY IT LACKED ANY SPARK

[Highly rated reviewer]

The way Brit-flicks should be

If you enjoy the witty self-indulgence of the Cambridge Footlights crew, then this one is for you. Ok, some might argue that Stephen Fry is playing himself to an extent but his loveable Peter is a joy to follow as he invites his old college pals to his country mansion for a reunion, only to watch them self-destruct. This film pays tribute to how little we change as we get older and, not necessarily, wiser. Full of glittering performances from Emma Thompson's soppy but lovely Maggie, Hugh Laurie and Imelda Staunton's jingle-writing over-protective parents and Kenneth Brannagh and his weight-obsessed Hollywood wife.

There are a few tears and emotional moments amid the laughter and personality clashes and the action is all held together by the musing Peter himself who keeps his own struggles on the inside as his friends play out their dramas before him, supported by his venerable housekeeper (played by Phylidia Law, Thompson's mother in real life).

All in all, Peter's Friends is a feast of Britain's favourite actors all in one film that is NOT a Hollywood blockbuster. My verdict, therefore: fantastic!

Heartwarming

A cross between something like Abigail's Party and Four Weddings and a Funeral, this film is gentle but funny and a really genuine-feeling story.

Perhaps a little predictable (is that the point?) but with some of Britain's best actors, it is an unmissable classic. I can't mention too much about the story in fear of spoiling the film!