Peter's Friends
by Kenneth Branagh
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Emma Thompson, Hugh Laurie, Rita Rudner, Stephen Fry, Tony SlatteryDirector: Kenneth Branagh
Brand: Sony
Composer: Jacques Offenbach
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; Spanish (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 101 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-02-12
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Movie Reviews of Peter's Friends
Movie Review: Not a British Big Chill
Summary: 5 Stars
Yes, the premise is the same as the Big Chill, but the story, characters, and feel of the movies are completely different. They are not at all similar, and should not be compared and judged against one another. Peter and friends do not sit around thinking about how idealistic they once were, and now look at us--which was the theme of the Big Chill. I like and enjoy both movies.
So, Peter's Friends is about a group of old college friends who used to perform in a musical revue. They and some of their significant others gather at the stately home of Peter for a New Year's weekend. The host is Peter, a man who may be gay, or maybe he's bisexual, or is he asexual, or is he just not sure? Roger and Mary were both part of the college musical act. They have married and are successful jingle writers, but the death of one of their infant twins has put a strain on them and their marriage. Mary has turned into an over protective mother, obsessed with worry about the remaining twin. Maggie is a "plain Jane" who wants to avoid impending spinster-hood, so she sets her cap for Peter, who as I already stated, isn't sure if he's interested in sex with anybody. Sarah has had a long string of boyfriends because she only dates men who are married or involved with another woman. She brings along her latest married lover, an obnoxious jerk that the others all loathe at first sight. Andrew is a writer who has gone Hollywood, and isn't very satisfied by his successful career or his marriage to a fitness obsessed American actress.
There are some dramatic scemes, as well as some very funny scenes. I particularly like Rita Rudner's performance as the over the top glam actress who piles on layers of fake hair. One of the best lines is when she asks the uncooperative housekeeper "Have you never seen Upstairs, Downstairs?"
This is a movie you can watch over and over. I'd like to have most of these people as friends--except for Sarah and Brian. <smile>
Summary of Peter's Friends
PETER'S FRIENDS - DVD MovieWhat if you could go back to your glory days? Peter's Friends, sort of The Big Chill reconceived as an Agatha Christie country-estate drama, lets a group of university pals ponder that question while they must deal with their present-day demons. Kenneth Branagh's film, written by costar Rita Rudner and Martin Bergman, is buoyed by its vast and talented cast, whose chemistry keeps the action crackling, even when most of the action is the characters speaking. The friends are reunited at Peter's posh country home after the death of his father, for one last New Year's Eve. The bons mots fly, and the interaction of the actors is, as the Brits say, brilliant. Peter (played by the sublime Stephen Fry): "It's funny, with both my parents gone, I suddenly have this overwhelming urge to act maturely." Andrew (Branagh): "Oh, well, I don't think anybody really matures. Adults are just children who owe money." Yet buried among the one-liners and drawing-room manners are disappointment, heartbreak, and a heavy secret (which, many years after the film's original 1992 release, doesn't pack the same wallop). Emma Thompson shows nuance and delight as Maggie while Hugh Laurie shows his dramatic capabilities. Other winning performances are given by Imelda Staunton and Tony Slattery. The setting is an absolute stunner, and viewers will wish they could spend a holiday at the manor. And the soundtrack will transport them to a sweeter time in the early '80s, when "Everybody Wants to Rule the World." Cozy up for a delightfully unexpected evening with these Friends. --A.T. Hurley
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