Peter's Friends

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Peter's Friends

R

1992

1h 40m

Comedy

LGBTQ+

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

65%

Tomatometer

37 Reviews

77%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

After inheriting a large country estate from his late father, Peter (Stephen Fry) invites his friends from college: married couple Roger (Hugh Laurie) and Mary (Imelda Staunton), the lonely Maggie (Emma Thompson), fashionable Sarah (Alphonsia Emmanuel) and writer Andrew (Kenneth Branagh), who brings his American TV star wife, Carol (Rita Rudner). Sarah's new boyfriend, Brian (Tony Slattery), also attends. It has been 10 years since college, and they find their lives are very different.

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Neil Jillett

The Age (Australia)

There are some amusing scenes built around the splattering of smart gags, but this is a comedy that always finds bathos when it hunts for pathos, and seems powered by desperation rather than energy.

Apr 13, 2022

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Tom Ryan

The Age (Australia)

There are some funny lines In Peter's Friends, but the film amounts to little more than a collection of broadly drawn sketches In search of a structure.

Rated: 0/3

Apr 13, 2022

Full Review

David Ansen

Newsweek

The clever, facile Peter's Friends doesn't bear much scrutiny, and its attempts at pathos are more opportunistic than earned. Still, Branagh knows how to put on a lively show.

May 25, 2018

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Kat Halstead

Common Sense Media

There are funny moments, tender moments, and moments that don't quite gel. But the decades-long connection at the heart is tenderly played and anchors the surrounding chaos right through to the final scene.

Rated: 3/5

Mar 15, 2023

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Ed Whitfield

The Ooh Tray

What felt sincere and reassuring in 1992, seems indulgent and stilted today.

Mar 29, 2020

Full Review

Vanessa Letts

The Spectator

Anyone else who is going to require a bit of preparatory jollying up should probably avoid this production.

Jul 25, 2018

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No E

It's a disjointed series of sketches without structure. A very strong cast cannot redeem a quite dreadful and gratuitously vulgar script.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

08/19/25

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Ed L

Great cast, boring as (&*#$. What a shame. I couldn't stand more than ten minutes.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

01/07/25

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Blu B

A Classic Dramedy. It's amazing given the fact we have so many characters that most of them do not blend in and are super memorable. Let alone the fact they are the best things in this and are written very interestingly. The dialouge is good and cynical, the humor is solid, and everyone has solid chemistry. The cinemaography is really well done. The long takes when they are all together have exceptional camerawork and the setting is really memorable. The music is also really well done. The editing and pacing are solid as well. This does jump around a bit with multiple subplots and some wrap up quicker than others. However, it's just so interesting to watch these characters interact and the dramedy unfold between them as they reconnect after so long. It defintely helps the direction is super strong because if these characters didn't pop or weren't as well acted this would take a big step down. This isn't for everyone though that being said. The humor can be a bit mean spirited and cynical for some and it's heavily character driven rather than plot driven. But anyone who likes darker comedies, dramedies, the director, or any actors in this should give this a try.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/15/24

Full Review

PridePosterStudios

Well at least Peter’s friends were better than Fox’s.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

05/12/24

Full Review

Test T

Not bad, but I ended up thinking it wasn't my kind of movie. The trouble for me was that not much happened. The characters develop nicely, but to what end? It did keep my attention, but I don't know why.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

09/02/23

Full Review

Steve D

It changes tones freely and so effortlessly you hardly notice. Extremally well done.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

Full Review

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Kenneth Branagh

Director

Kenneth Branagh

Andrew Benson

Emma Thompson

Maggie Chester

Stephen Fry

Peter Morton

Alphonsia Emmanuel

Sarah Johnson

Hugh Laurie

Roger Charleston

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Synopsis

After inheriting a large country estate from his late father, Peter (Stephen Fry) invites his friends from college: married couple Roger (Hugh Laurie) and Mary (Imelda Staunton), the lonely Maggie (Emma Thompson), fashionable Sarah (Alphonsia Emmanuel) and writer Andrew (Kenneth Branagh), who brings his American TV star wife, Carol (Rita Rudner). Sarah's new boyfriend, Brian (Tony Slattery), also attends. It has been 10 years since college, and they find their lives are very different.

Director: Kenneth Branagh
Production Co: The Samuel Goldwyn Company, Renaissance Films, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Channel Four Films
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, LGBTQ+
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): May 1, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $4.1M
Runtime: 1h 40m
Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo

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