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The Age of Commercialism

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

The violence in this film is supposed (I presume) to be funny, but its just distasteful. Psychological studies show that people ARE influenced by violence on screen. If its portrayed in a positive/justified way then the people watching will be more likely to take violence on board as a way of solving things.We're told in the film we shouldn't judge anyone too harshly. We should. We should judge a violent bully who just beats people up because they've said something he doesn't like. And not positively.This is a caricature of violence. Any number of people have died in street violence from a single punch where they've hit their head on the ground. Its not some comedy event, where after several punches, they just have to get their breath back and rub themselves a little bit. If this was a madcap movie in the "Airplane" genre or an actual cartoon the film might have got away with it. But its neither of those.There aren't any positive likable characters in this movie. That one is just the worst. There is no-one to root for or identify with in the film. Every workplace bully, wife batterer, or abuser will love this movie - as they'll just feel validated by it. Its a movie for them, no-one else.

Terrible film of no value to anyone other than the London Tourist Board. Most glaring implausibilities include: mid-level media types living in £7 million+ Belgravia houses (yeah, right); old gents with monocles (monocles?!?); empty Serpentine and Hyde Park on a sunny day; exclusively white Anglo-Saxon 'picturesque' locals; eternal sunny glow to everything; picnicking in white flannel suits; etc etc. All surrounded by a strange alternative universe that owes little resemblance to the London I live in, including bizarre geography that suggests you can be in Trafalgar Square one minute and Primrose Hill the next. Don't watch it for the story, which is shallow, silly, and extremely implausible. And whatever you do, don't watch it as a preface to visiting London; your expectations will be better matched by Disneyworld - which you may however find to be more gritty and naturalistic.

The only reason I enjoyed this film was the Swiss-born French actress Irene Jacob. She is both an exquisite and earthy beauty and a very fine actor. Her portrayal of the sex-and-love starved Fiona was the best aspect of this film. I also have a great bias because of her work with Kieslowski and her presence in films that would have been mediocre had it not been for her. She's a real charmer! I would venture to say that the variety of compositions by the Canadian composer Robert Farnon added a great and colorful sparkle to the brilliant photography of this film: it goes back to the days of the late Fifties and early Sixties art movies like David Lean's Summertime. The charm of this film is in that music and the beauty of Irene Jacob. The other actors are good but she is exceptionally fine.

Mike Binder (Mind of The Married Man) is such a clever writer, and his male perspective of relationships fascinates me. His writing is honest, funny, and ironic. I had to search for this movie on DVD, but the name was changed to FOURPLAY for release in the United States. I think that he really brought something different out in the performances of Mariel Hemingway and especially Colin Firth, as you get to see a different side of him in this film. I love England, and as such, it gives such great scenery and glimpses of different areas of the country and the way it is filmed, you almost feel as though you are walking right alongside them on the streets of London. This movie is very much like a play in that it centers around four main characters, only interspersed with a few other very funny characters. I love it, and if you enjoy any of the people associated with this film, I highly recommend it. It's an incredibly intelligent film, but very funny. I especially love the pub scenes with Colin Firth and Mike Binder....Good stuff!