Four Weddings and a Funeral Review: Lights, Camera, Wedding (Season 1 Episode 6)

I have been hard on Four Weddings and a Funeral this season but even my cold, frustrated heart was won over by Four Weddings and a Funeral Season 1 Episode 6, “Lights, Camera, Wedding.” 

It is handily the best episode of the series so far, full of one liners, gags, and a genuinely charming romantic coupling. Finally, this feels like a Mindy Kaling show.

One of the benefits and drawbacks of this show is that relationships somehow move incredibly quickly — all except for Maya and Kash, the irony of which is not lost on me (aren’t we supposed to be totally swept up in their one-that-got-away-love?).

After enduring just a single episode of Maya and Duffy as a couple, we’re thankfully let out of our misery as they break up early on this episode.

To some extent, I understand why this storyline happened in the first place; best friends-turned-more, unrequited love, pining from afar: they’re all classic romantic comedy tropes.

My bigger issue is rooted in the fact that Four Weddings and a Funeral didn’t do anything new with this trope, and quite frankly, didn’t even do a great job of their “paint-by-numbers” approach to a man falling deeply in love with his longtime friend.

Maya and Duffy were never a credible couple to begin with, and it’s hard to see how even Duffy could delude himself so much to think the relationship had legs.

His misguided assumption on this episode that Maya’s secret handwritten love letter (because yes, in 2019, that’s a definitely not a thing people do) is sad to watch but his realization that Maya is actually in love with Kash is almost uncomfortably embarrassing.

I like Duffy, and hell, I’ve been a Duffy, but few things about this storyline worked.

The one bright spot to come from the failed experiment that was the Maya/Duffy coupling is Gemma and Duffy’s increased screen time and growing friendship. Gemma was deeply unlikeable on early episodes of the series, but she has gotten funnier and funnier since Quentin died (a sad coincidence, but true).

Gemma walked away with some of the best lines of the episode, many of which were said while in conversation with Duffy. When he confessed he was going to proclaim his love for Maya, saying that he had to “go big or go home,” she dryly advised that he “go home.” 

Later, when she catches him smoking, she accuses him of looking like Sandy from Grease. Their back-and-forth is a nice change of pace from some of the other relationships we see; Gemma seems to be the only person that will really tell Duffy how it is and sometimes appears to look out for him more than his more longstanding friends do. 

Given that her son is going to his school and they already have this established rapport, I am curious to see where this leads in future episodes. 

(As an aside though, while I enjoyed her chats with Duffy, the best — and most relatable — line she said all episode was that she and her husband didn’t much enjoy weddings, but they did enjoy making fun of the other guests. Wow, I feel seen.)

The main event of this episode though is Zara and Craig’s wedding; I still don’t think Craig is a fully realized or well written character and Zara is a walking caricature, but their storylines are admittedly fun.

Both Craig and Zara, but especially Zara, lean into their own vapidity; after all, who else would hire doubles to stand in to achieve the perfect wedding dance or forbid a friend from being a bridesmaid because they’re too pretty and don’t want a “Pippa” situation?

Their wedding, available for streaming and on the Love Chalet app, was sponsored by Hotels.com and it is especially entertaining to see the Hotels.com logo appear on Zara’s veil and the company get a shout-out in their vows.

Coming on the heels of what feels like the umpteenth Bachelor/Bachelorette cycle, it’s hard not to laugh a little bit at the monetization of what normally would be deeply personal, intimate milestones. 

Again, Four Weddings and a Funeral is aware that these shows are absurd but it also understands why we love them anyway. 

The great romantic surprise of this episode, however, did not actually come in a storyline focused on our core best friend group.

I have found Kash’s arranged marriage storyline rather intriguing throughout the series. There are rarely arranged marriage storylines on television. Truthfully, I cannot even think of one.

Kash’s family has been endearing but his chosen chaperone, longtime friend Bash, has been sneakily charming. While I’d noticed him in earlier episodes, he truly shines in this one.

While he’s terribly goofy, self assured, and smart (he calls out that it’s weird that Captain Von Trapp is in the navy but lives in a landlocked country, which blew my mind), he could have been an easy throw-away sidekick character.

He’s not broody like Kash, typically handsome like Craig, or overly sensitive like Duffy, but Four Weddings and a Funeral lets him be the romantic hero anyway. I like that. 

When Fatima confesses to Kash that she’s been looking forward to seeing him not because of Kash himself but because it means she gets to spend time with Bash, something clicks.

Bash remembers little things she tells him, he makes her laugh, they are comfortable enough with each other to dance like nerds. Sometimes, that quiet, simple love is the best love of all. My hunch is that those two might be our third wedding.

Overall, the show is finally starting to gel in some key respects. It’s hitting major comedic beats and forcing the characters to do some soul searching and growth, and I have really enjoyed where they’re taking Kash and Ainsley so far.

I suspect the next episode will focus on his starring role in a community theater presentation of Sound of Music (if that doesn’t say comedy, what does?) and that we’ll finally get some to see something develop between Ainsley and her interior decorating client, Bryce.

I do continue to worry about how the show handles the romance between Kash and Maya. It’s a slow burn that lacks any true sizzle.

Nevertheless, for the first time during the show’s run, I’m actually excited to tune in and find out what happens next.

What did you think of this episode of Four Weddings and a Funeral? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Four Weddings and a Funeral airs Wednesdays on Hulu.

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