Yahoo Movies And Mrs is unlike any British rom-com you've seen
Just when you think you've seen every London-set rom-com there's been, largely all inspired by the formula established by Richard Curtis, along comes And Mrs with an unexpected twist.
Directed by Daniel Reisinger and written by Melissa Bubnic, the rom-com sees Gemma (Aisling Bea) stunned by the sudden death of her fiancé Nathan (Colin Hanks) just days before their wedding.
But rather than cancel it, Gemma decides to go through with the wedding with the help of Nathan's pregnant sister Audrey (Billie Lourd), despite the protestations of her mother Lorraine (Sinead Cusack) and best friend Ruth (Susan Wokoma).
It's a setup that you'd think would result in an awkward rom-com about how weird it all is that Gemma wants to marry her dead partner. However, And Mrs is instead altogether more poignant and humane than you might expect.
Even to sell And Mrs as a rom-com is almost misrepresenting it. Yes, there are the classic staples of the genre – including a dramatic public proposal, a third-act betrayal that puts it all at risk and a last-minute dash to the altar – but it's all cut through with an honest portrayal of grief.
However ludicrous the situation gets in the movie, Reisinger never loses sight of the movie's heart. Gemma's method of coping with her grief might not be the most usual – although necrogamy, as it's sometimes known, is a legal real-life thing in France – yet it's wholly believable thanks to the script's sensitive handling of the subject.
It helps when you've got a lead star like Aisling Bea, who's already proved a master at balancing comedy with darker subject matter in This Way Up. She gives a superb tragicomic performance here, capable of wringing big laughs and also totally devastating you with raw emotion.
She also makes the fantastical element of And Mrs work as Gemma regularly imagines Nathan after his death. In lesser hands, it could be cheesy, but Bea and Hanks have an endearing chemistry and the gimmick works as a visual metaphor for Gemma not wanting to let Nathan go.
Grief is something we can all relate to, and it's something Reisinger recognises. Following the beautifully-judged finale, the credits see tributes paid to those lost by the cast and crew, including Bea's father who died by suicide when she was just three and Reisinger's mother who died shortly before filming.
It's not all doom and gloom though, as And Mrs also recognises the cathartic release of humour when dealing with death. Not every joke lands and some sequences stretch on for longer than necessary, but Bea builds a strong comic rapport with the excellent Billie Lourd to keep the energy up.
Among the talented cast, there are fun cameos from British TV regulars such as Paul Kaye as an extremely unsuitable funeral celebrant and Nish Kumar as an angry pub landlord (a gag about "cheating" is one of the movie's funniest).
It's a shame Susan Wokoma is a bit wasted in the 'straight (wo)man' role as the primary opponent to Gemma's plan, before she's also lumbered with a needless subplot with Nathan's best friend (Arthur Darvill).
For all its strengths in remixing the traditional rom-com as an exploration of grief, And Mrs is far from flawless. There's probably a really great 90-minute movie in its 110-minute runtime as it has one too many subplots and unnecessary conflicts, such as a late-stage awkwardness between Gemma and Audrey.
And Mrs shouldn't be dismissed for not being perfect though. It's an affecting British rom-com unlike any you've seen before, and one that gives you as many laughs as it will tears.
And Mrs is out now on digital platforms in the UK.
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