'Four Weddings and a Funeral' is getting the TV treatment by Mindy Kaling and Hulu...here's what to expect
Mindy Kaling is all set to make an adaptation of the 1994 Hugh Grant-starrer 'Four Weddings and a Funeral' and we couldn't be more excited! With the official announcement on Wednesday, Hulu is back in business with Kaling. She will be remaking the film but as a series. She's even written the remake along with Matt Warburton who has worked with her before on 'The Mindy Project'. The plot will follow a group of friends who navigate their way through life and its curveballs as their paths overlap through the series.
It does seem like 2018 is the year of Mindy Kaling - she's become a mum to Katherine Kaling, she's starring in the upcoming 'Oceans 8' remake, she gave a fantastic performance in 'Wrinkle in Time' and 'The Office' and now this.
Richard Curtis, who is the writer of the original release will be the executive producer along with Jonathan Prince, Howard Klein, Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner. The series is set to be a limited one and there's no confirmation as to if Kaling will be seen on screen.
Super exciting right? Hulu is just as excited about the remake, calling Mindy an embodiment of Hulu. Let's take a look at what to expect from the upcoming series, shall we? Stylish, funny and intelligent, the remake will be a great watch for sure as Kaling brings in her own flavor to the flick.
For starters, the film already has good reviews. It had an exceptionally talented cast and the film was directed very well and the script was well woven. From the beginning, it keeps you guessing, in fact, the movie doesn't even tell you where the five characters live or what they do as working adults! As the film unfolds you see each character shining in their own moment of truth and being quite funny while they are at it.
It's hard to pull off a great romantic comedy without getting too predictable, but this film did that at a much earlier time. Even as the five characters take you through their lovelorn lives it's fun to keep guessing who would marry whom next. It's a light film, for sure, but I have a feeling that considering how feisty Mindy is, she's going to incorporate some fire into the script.
For Mindy Kaling's 'Four Weddings' I'm almost certain that the script will be on point. It will also be a woke film. Though the original film also broke a lot of stereotypes, I expect this remake to delve deeper along the same lines. Perhaps Gareth's character, portrayed by Simon Callow originally, will shed light on what it is like to be a gay man today instead of just being a sidekick with little depth. Even their love story is expected to be more than just a blink and you'll miss it kind of narration.
Here's also hoping that Fiona, the tongue-in-cheek, says-what-she-means girl in the original plot will also be portrayed as more than a token character. Fiona, who was played by the very talented Kristin Scott Thomas, came across as quite annoying because of her sharp tongue. Also, can she get over Charles real quick? In the era of Hulu and Netflix, that's just called being opinionated - 'Four Weddings' should essentially get that point across.
In the original plot, Charles the main character played by Hugh Grant falls in love head over heels with Carrie after a one night stand. Carrie, played by Andie McDowell, in my opinion, isn't really written as the heartbreaker the character deserved to be.
The remake will definitely have the much-missed sass and the perhaps the femme fatale aspect of the heroine will finally shine through. She will hopefully speak more and let her presence be known - quite unlike her performance in the original flick. But maybe that was just McDowell's lack of expertise but the fierceness was definitely missing.
The way the concept of sex is portrayed in the 1994 flick should also hopefully turn around. Let's not call Charles, "a git that has only slept with about nine girls" shall we? In the same way, Carrie also shouldn't be slut-shamed for sleeping with more men than Charles. Kaling should also really update their chemistry, which really is too damn censored in the original script.
In fact, instead of meeting at weddings, Charles should be on Tinder and Facebook, so he can do the social media stalking and know when his goddess is single. Who waits to meet up at weddings and falls in love anyway? Swipe right, get frisky and boom! accidentally in love!
Coming to the casting, the remake will definitely have diversity. Kaling has been very outspoken about playing colored roles and quick to defend her characters when they were accused of being stereotypical. 'Four Weddings' will surely be the at its colored best.
There are rumors that she may flip the characters altogether into entirely different molds and it will be nothing like the original film and what we know - if that happens, it will really display Mindy's prowess as a writer, which hasn't been as evident in 'The Mindy Project'.
While 'Four Weddings' will probably have the designated weddings, Mindy's version is expected to be much more stylish - maybe even vegan, who knows. The cookie cutter, chocolate and roses style wedding from the original film really needs to go. Mindy will definitely add her own style and shenanigans to the weddings for sure. Expect fun, up to date, can-totally-imitate weddings for the series. Imagine an interracial, totally non-awkward wedding remake of one of the most loved romantic comedies of all time - so cool.