Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)

The hit that opened the period, and the template Richard Curtis would refine for the rest of the decade. Hugh Grant's stammering, apologetic charm turned him into a star, and the film dominated the 1995 BAFTAs, taking best film, best director for Mike Newell and best actor for Grant. The set pieces at the weddings are still very funny and the ensemble is a joy. What has dated is the world it treats as ordinary: a swish Britain of country churches and wedding tents in the well-off counties around London, which now looks like a fantasy of one very narrow slice of the country. Start here to see where the boom began.