Movie Review: And Mrs

Romantic comedies have their basic formula so down pat at this point, that it’s relatively rare to find one that does something truly unique within the genre, so British film And Mrs makes for a pleasant surprise. Mind you it isn’t without its flaws, but it still proves to be a pleasantly sweet and touching take.

Gemma’s (Aisling Bea) wedding to Nathan (Colin Hanks) is fast approaching when one day after exercising with her friends Ruth (Susan Wokoma) and Mo (Omari Douglas), she comes home to find him unresponsive in bed. Emergency services are unable to revive him, leaving her in disbelief. When his sister Audrey (Billie Lourd) arrives she has to inform her of what happened, and after her shock the pair begin to bond in their grief.

The funeral doesn’t go particularly well, which inspires Gemma to decide to try and go through with the wedding anyway, as Nathan wanted it so badly, to which Audrey instantly agrees. No one else is quite so keen on the idea and attempts to talk her out of it, but she discovers that it is technically legal, with just a few hoops to jump through of course. So, she and Audrey attempt to get the required permissions, regardless of what her family or the public thinks.

It is an unusual premise, that is thankfully not as morbid as it might first sound, and it’s one that opens up some interesting questions while allowing for a genuinely moving examination of love and remembrance. It might have been improved if Melissa Bubnic’s script had opted not to have the third-act “falling out” that so many rom-coms do, since it feels out of place and forced in the context of the rest of the story, and a few more laughs would have been nice, though the comedy bits we do get are truly funny.

Hanks is well cast as the sweetly romantic fiancé, who we see even after his early death via flashbacks and Gemma’s imagination, as are the rest of the supporting cast, some of whom also get their own cute side plots. Bea and Lourd are the stars here though and they carry the movie well, forming a friendship that feels utterly real due to the actresses’ natural chemistry with each other. These two should be paired up on screen more often, as they play so well as a duo that I would happily watch them in almost anything.

If you’ve ever seen a romcom before you’ll pretty easily figure out every plot beat here, but given the novel twist on the formula it’s easy to overlook the predictability. More of an ode to friendship and a look at the ways we deal with grief than a traditional love story, it will have many viewers shedding more than a few tears of sadness and joy before it’s over, especially if they know the pain of losing a loved one too soon. ★★★½