Peter's Friends

in 1992, America had embraced Kenneth Branagh for his creative work. With the constant comparisons to Laurence Olivier, Branagh smartly tackled many diverse film styles so as not to be boxed into being "The Shakespeare guy". His third film is Peters Friends which would compare more with Woody Allen instead of William Shakespeare.

A group of 30 year old friends gather to celebrate their friendship from their theater years at University. The screenplay is by American actress/comedian Rita Rudner and her husband Martin Bergman. They are able to bring a unique perspective to the high British environments and phobias. To top it off, Rita also portrays the American in the film in a funny turn.

The cast each embodies their assigned personality admirably. Emma Thompson, Imelda Staunton, Hugh Laurie, Alphonsia Emmanuel, Kenneth Branagh, Rita Rudner, Tony Slattery all join Stephen Fry as the film's namesake Peter.

The story brings the characters together after a decade long separation. Their party captures that moment in time, and may age the film quite a bit. The issues and humor are heavily anchored into the era of the nineties. It may be that I am born and raised in the United States that I didn't follow a lot of the humor and cultural differences. But in the end, Peter's friends feels like a British THE BIG CHILL.