Love Actually Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
Love actually is all around.
Coming soon actually.
The ultimate romantic comedy.
Very romantic. Very comedy.
All You Need Is Love
It's All About Love... Actually.
Set almost entirely in London, England during five frantic weeks before Christmas follows a web-like pattern of inter-related, loosely related and unrelated stories of a dozen or more various individuals with their love lives, or lack of them. The central character is the new bachelor prime minister David who cannot express his growing feelings for his new personal assistant Natalie. The prime minister's older sister Karen slowly grows aware of her husband Harry's flirtation with an office worker named Mia. Karen's friend Daniel is a recently widowed writer whose 11-year-old son asks for love advice about a girl he has a crush on. Meanwhile, Jamie is another writer who leaves his girlfriend after catching her cheating on him and travels to France to write a novel where he pursues a possible romance with his non-English speaking Portuguese maid Aurelia. Also, Harry's American secretary Sarah questions a romance she pursues with the office hunk Karl, but her personal family problems get in the way. Other secondary characters involve a photographer who pursues his best friend's new wife Juliet; a pair of movie stand-ins, named John and Judy, who grow closer after their simulated love scenes; a libidinous chum who wants to travel to Wisconsin, USA to score with women; and a burned-out former rock star named Billy Mack who is the main connection between all stories involved.
| Bill Nighy | Billy Mack |
| Gregor Fisher | Joe |
| Rory MacGregor | Engineer |
| Colin Firth | Jamie Bennett |
| Sienna Guillory | Jamie's Girlfriend |
| Liam Neeson | Daniel |
| Emma Thompson | Karen |
| Lulu Popplewell | Daisy, her daughter |
| Kris Marshall | Colin Frissell |
| Heike Makatsch | Mia |
| Martin Freeman | John |
| Joanna Page | Just Judy |
| Chiwetel Ejiofor | Peter |
| Andrew Lincoln | Mark |
| Keira Knightley | Juliet |
| Richard Curtis |
7.80 out of 10 (53732 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Could Be Better
posted on 30 Aug 2009This movie assembles a cast of amazing British actors who are a pleasure to watch on screen. Emma Thompson's performance is moving and Hugh Grant is delightful as the Prime Minister of Britain. However the film includes a couple of inappropriate and unnecessary story lines which take away from the movie. The first of these story lines includes two stand-ins for a movie who meet and fall in love while doing stand-in work for what looks like a porn film. Lets just say there is too much dialog about nipples. Secondly is a story concerning a child who has just lost his mother and finds himself in love with a girl at school. Not that young love is in itself a bad thing. However this movie takes it to the extreme and it just becomes ridiculous.
Entertaining and light, with good performances.
posted on 28 Aug 2009To dismiss the film as lightweight fluff is not correct. There are times when the film touches on poignancy. When the scenes at the airport are run we get a feeling that we all really are in the same boat and at the mercy of governments who are too corrupt, selfish and inept to protect us by just doing the right or the smart thing. Several times during the film different actors were able to project their characters feelings very well, which is surprising given the fact that the film does not do a real good job of fully developing any one situation. Had the film only had four character or plot lines, everyone would have benefited.The film is also filled with fine English actors including the always attractive and entertaining Hugh Grant, Colin Firth and Kiera Knightley. All in all a solid evenings entertainment.
A wonderful love story
posted on 28 Aug 2009This is one of my all time favorite movies, definitely in my Top 10. Richard Curtis has done a wonderful job of writing and directing a very large cast and yet you connect with each character. Their lives, hopes and dreams of finding or keeping the love that so eludes many of us.The cast is superb. I can't single out one out of them all because they are just all terrific. The way that Mr. Curtis has used music is great. The music selection plays a major role for each character and is perfect. From "Both Sides Now" by Joni Mitchell to Kelly Clarkson's "The Trouble With Love Is" is both moving and haunting and I don't think I'll ever associate these songs with anything else except this movie. They belong here rightfully. Thank you Mr. Curtis, for giving us this wonderful love story that gives me the hope and courage to go out and find my one true love.
Severely disappointed
posted on 26 Aug 2009I went to see this movie on a rainy day in an attempt to cheer myself up. Judging by the trailers and reviews, I was expecting a great, feel-good film. What I got was a different story.I got a mangled plot, abandoned storylines, unnecessary sex jokes and swearing, boring one-dimensional characters... And only two people managed to make me laugh- UK TV presenters Ant and Dec.
I cared nothing for any of the characters or storylines, save Hugh Grant, but he is wonderful at romantic comedy (pah! this film was not so much romcom as boringblurb) and I enjoy watching him. What of the porn-stars, who had plenty of time spent on them at the beginning, only to be abandoned for what must have been at least an hour? Kris Marshall, who is brilliant in the UK series "My Family", was given a plot and dialogue so ridiculous I had to shut my eyes and pretend it wasn't happening. Keira Knightley was wooden, as usual, but add that to a messy story and it was bordering on painful. Even the usually wonderful Alan Rickman was dull. This story seemed to be entirely about sex jokes, swearing and being unfaithful. After nearly 2 hours, I couldn't bear it any more and left the cinema.Love Actually would've been much better off with half the stories- in fact, no, it would've been better if this diabolical mess had never been made. Atrocious and outstandingly disappointing.2/10 (just for Hugh Grant's "Jump" sequence and Ant + Dec)
total rubbish
posted on 18 Aug 2009This movie is the poster child for interacial dating and marriages as it profoundly throws it in your face time and time again.which I do not have a problem with it.it seems as the director or producer did it on purpose just to get a broader audience.which just goes to show that movies are not real life,they are just fantasy.nobody can sit in a bar and get 3 beautiful girls to drool all over you without even saying a word.
Could have been so much better and is flawed in so many ways but it just about works as a sweet `date' movie but no more than that
posted on 18 Aug 2009It's a matter of weeks until Christmas in London and despite the claims by Billy Mack's song that `Christmas is all around' really it is love that seems to be everywhere. Some of it is flirting, some of it is infatuation, some of it is lust, some of it is loss, some of it is dedication, some of it is failing, some of it is adulterous, some of it is longing and some of it is unrequited. In a thinly connected collection of lives, we see men and women involved in all the various types of love as the festive season approaches.Despite the hype and critical fawning over this film, I didn't bother going to the cinema to see this film as love, actually, pretty much sucked at that moment in my life! Things hadn't really changed when I got round to seeing it on DVD but I didn't feel that I could allow myself to miss the `best British film ever' for any more time. The film starts with one of the most morally abhorrent openings I have seen in quite some time - I put it right up there with Doberman for having the opening that made me think about stopping the film a matter of seconds into the movie. Curtis is a successful writer, but using the memory of the murdered families of 9/11 and cashing in on their dying sentiments is tasteless in the extreme and I was shocked that he had done it. Despite this, I stuck with the film (hell - I'd paid for it!) and was glad to find that he didn't misfire this badly again. However the film is not as good as the hype would suggest it to be although it is amusing enough to watch once and to keep you involved.The film does well to just about keep control of so many different strands and special mention should probably go to the editors for keeping it together. However, this does not meant that the plot is any good - just that it hangs together well despite the difficulties it presented. It is not that good; the majority of the strands are underdeveloped and very superficial. The `love' and relationships here do not engage and never really seem real - only the marriage damaged by flirting struck me as being a good shot at reality for many people. The rest of the relationship are the ones you get in film - where it doesn't matter if they are based on physical attraction (like Jamie's cleaner), or on flirting or the thinnest of reasons because all that matters is that they are sweet and romantic for the duration of the film. In this regard it manages to be just about amusing enough without ever really being funny and enjoyable without ever really being charming. I doubt that, for me, it would hold up to repeat viewings though - the substance is just too lacking for that.What surprised me about the film most was just how very focused the characters were in terms of relationships. With so many different characters I was surprised that each and every relationship was a) straight and b) white. OK - Juliet's husband was black, but he was not the romantic focus of her strand. This is not a claim of racism or anything so stupid, I was just surprised that Curtis didn't at least try to write in an `alternative' relationship to what is admittedly the `norm'. This didn't spoil the film for me but I would have liked to see such an ensemble piece include a spread of relationships (without just making it a token thing).The cast is stellar and it is just as well as their `familiarity' helps to cover the fact that the script doesn't really help us to get to know any of the characters. Nighy has a good time in his role and his `love' would actually have been the sweetest and most touching one of the film had it not been handled as a joke. Firth is charming but his character is paper-thin - we see no emotion from him considering the situation at the start and his `love' is out of nothing. Grant is OK in the most comic of the relationships but his dance is the worst scene in the film and the `anti-American' bit just seems to come out of nowhere and go nowhere. Neeson is good, but again I never felt his loss as a real thing. Rickman and Thompson's thread is the strongest of the film and the only problem I had with them was that the film had a scene with Rickman talking about `Karl' and I couldn't stop laughing! The remainder are mixed - Linney's relationship is interesting but not expanded on, while Freeman's stuff could easily have been lost. Special mention from me for Sosanya - she has little to do here but she is a very good actress who still does stage work (and also happens to be gorgeous!). The star cameos are OK - they don't add a great deal but they don't detract either - all seem to be beautiful women so I can't complain for the inclusion of Richards, Cuthbert and Schiffer. However add Wes Butters, Jo Wiley, Atkinson (pointless), Ant & Dec (funny - `Ant or Dec'!), Thornton, Parkinson and so many others and you begin to wonder why the film had to cram in so many. To be honest with you I truly believe that this film could have been so much more touching, romantic and involving if it had lost half of these stories and just developed the remaining ones to be realer and more involving.Overall this isn't a very good film but it is so damn `busy' that it manages to make you miss the fact that it could have been so much better than it was. The sheer amount of stuff going on means that very few of the relationship get beyond the superficial level of unrealistic romance, plus the fact that too few of the relationship bare any relation to reality (especially as more and more gorgeous cameos are wheeled out). It may not be funny or charming but it does just enough so that it leaves you with a sweet feeling. I quite liked it but found it hard to overlook these weaknesses - why it was so highly regarded by critics is quite beyond me but if you're after a typically romantic comedy that gives you a warm feeling with no sense of reality then this will probably do you.
An annoying, cloying, self-indulgent, hackneyed MESS.
posted on 16 Aug 2009This movie truly is pretty damned awful. It's a shame, with all the talent in it, and high production values (it's often very pretty to look at, at least). Goodness knows, I'm just as susceptible as any romantic sap, to a good--even sappy or corny--romantic comedy. But this was mostly just annoying. It's like the film's makers had a big manual, filled with standard romantic comedy clichés and situations, along with a few new twists that are not improvements on the tried (and tired) and true. Then they stuffed the movie with 'way too many characters, and began assigning the various clichés to them, like assigning numbers in a crowded shop.The movie makers seemed intent on achieving heart-tugging moments, cutesy moments and other such moments, at prescribed intervals throughout the film.It all culminates in a ridiculous, over-the-top (and not in a good way) final sequence that puts all these characters (with possible exception of Laura Linney's--not sure. Was she not available for that particular shooting schedule?) in one place, supposedly tying up their various stories into "happy ending" cinematic Christmas packages. The main, big, unforgivable problem with LOVE, ACTUALLY is that none of these emotional moments is earned at all. They're just stuck on to the surface of the movie, like a big, pointless, ineffective mosaic. The various pieces of the mosaic may have merit (some excellent actors--not that they all are--doing all they can with what they're given), but the finished project is an annoying, cloying, self-indulgent, hackneyed MESS. Dreadful.
Perfect feel good movie.
posted on 16 Aug 2009If you are in the right mood for it than this movie can be the ultimate feel good movie for you.It's all about the feeling the movie has. The atmosphere and directing is great. The movie shows that love is all around us without ever getting over dramatized.However when you start evaluating and start thinking more and more about the movie and its story you will notice that it is flawed. Not all of the story's are as good as the others and some of them end quite abrupt and aren't satisfying enough.The acting is good, Hugh Grant actually is convincing as the British prime-minister and if only the real prime-minister would say the things to the American president (a wonderful role played by Billy Bob Thornton in the movie) that he says in this movie...how cool would that be? I would love to see that happen. Liam Neeson plays a very nice role and Alan Rickman is always a pleasure to watch, so also in this movie. Bill Nighy provides the most comical elements of the movie and he does that in a very good and fun way. The movie is full with many cameo's of both British and American actors. Maybe a bit too much but that hardly is a complaint.But what was with all that nudity and cursing? Now, I'm not against nudity and cursing in movies in any way but I felt that for this movie it was out of place and not needed at all. A movie like this should be very light to watch for the entire family, both young and adults.But what am I complaining about this movie? This movie is one of those movies where you shouldn't be thinking about to much while watching. Just let the feelings and emotions grab you. The movie of course is best to watch with your lover by the way.Further more, the movie has a nice soundtrack with both evergreens and new hits.Excellent very fun romantic movie with an high feel good value.8/10
Enough bad language to sink a battleship!!!
posted on 16 Aug 2009This is supposed to be "one of the best British films of the recent years"????!!!! Well, maybe only because just about every notable British star of today is in it. Yeah....and every single one of them has to say F*** at least once, even the Portugese maid (translated in the subtitles, naturally!) Is this much cussing really NECESSARY in a romantic comedy, and a Christmas one at that?! But then again, what else one might expect from a movie with Hugh Grant as the center of attention? It's one thing to put up with filthy mouths in a movie with a good story, like "Bridget Jones' Diary", and another to get a ear full of it in some corny, not funny and utterly overrated movie such as "Love Actually". My only regret is that this was the very first movie I ever saw with Colin Firth, and though at that time I had no idea who he was, his storyline in this movie was the most tolerable of them all. He is now one of my top favourite actors, and had this movie exhibited a little more class, he would have become my favourite actor much sooner.
It's really good…actually
posted on 14 Aug 2009British productions usually do not seem to stand out, except for those Harry Potter movies, which were all based on books, but this movie was an original idea, as it was written and directed by Richard Curtis, and was funny, sweet, and just made you feel good.The best part of this movie is that no such 'main star'- instead many fragments of equally important characters, have been stitched together, all bearing the same foundation of the alleged four letter word. However, this movie has THE best cast ensemble of 2003, and the fact that each and everyone just would capture people's hearts, makes this movie a deserving blockbuster. However, some of the best performances in this movie include Hugh Grant who was magnificent as the prime minister of UK, next comes Emma Thompson, whose emotionally filled character Karen, was so well portrayed, that she deserved something more than just a BAFTA nomination. The next comes Laura Linney- whose character Sarah, would appeal to any lustful working girl, and last but not least Martine MacCutcheon, whose shy/ beautiful character of Natalie, was just picture perfect. The cameos in this movie, would also make any person amazed. Elisha Cuthbert ,Dennis Richards and Claudia Schiffer's cameos were the most surprising.*contains spoilers*Though certain segments were cliché ,( would a person seriously go through the torture of becoming thorough with another language- Portuguese for that matter, to impress a girl?, or would any record label even bother to promote such an obnoxious record like 'Christmas is all around' ?- may be in UK!!)- it just all seemed to just seem appropriate- all thanks to director Richard Curtis.All in all I think this is a brilliant movie- and it Britain's best after a long time( Ignoring the Harry Potter's movies). It would be a great recommendation for anyone to watch over movie night, or take their partners to watch it with at the cinema.
Loved it "Actually"
posted on 12 Aug 2009****Spoilers ahead**** 5 years after this movie was released, I still LOVE it. Having read lots of the bad reviews, I had to comment. Seems there are many 'critics' on IMDb, some harsh wannabe Eberts out there, imho. 'LA' is a romantic comedy. I'm not sure what those who rated it so poorly, expected? Realism? A documentary? I'm puzzled. Yes, your typical rom-com is going to contain fluff, cheesy story lines & dialogue, but with a rom-com, you have to suspend your common sense & just believe! This is a movie to extract from. It's a myriad of messages about, love. And what this movie shows is, love is 'all around, actually'. I rated it 9/10, not a 10, because, yes, a few of story lines were....er...silly? An very far fetched (the subplot of the so called 'cute Brit who goes to America' in search of 'cool American babes' & actually sleeps with 4, just by being a 'cute Brit'? Not so, sorry, what were they thinking in the casting dept with that guy?? not cute!) Not to mention the stand ins for the porn movie..?? if that story line was really necessary? To omit it & focus some more on Colin Firth's character's subplot would have been a wiser choice. But again, it's not a perfect movie. If you look at the movie & analyze it, you will find that there IS truth to the movie. How? *The love of a brother from a sister (Laura Linney's Sarah is fantastic) you can FEEL her turmoil. Her need for romantic love overcome by her love & responsibility for her brother. And yes to those nay sayers....sometimes we do give up love for familial love. That happens. You're in a fantasy world if you think not. -The unrequited love of being in love with your best friend's partner. Tell me there aren't people out there who haven't fallen in love in that situation?? I'm sure that has broken up a marriage or two, considering the divorce rate... *The comfortable love faced with a mid life crisis that crosses the line into an almost office affair. Oh yeah, that's NEVER happened either. Never has a man fallen for his secretary. Nope never heard of that happening. *Then we have the Cinderella story. Prime Minister falls for 'fat, help'. I suppose love has never sprouted across social class either? Sure some of it's a bit cheesy, the happy ending where the PM & Natalie DO hook up, but, hey it is a rom-com. Hugh Grant is hilarious in his own "Risky Business" moment. I personally thought it was comical. *You also get healthy doses of heartbreak. Neeson's character broken hearted over the lose of his 'perfect girl/wife', Emma Thompson's character who's emotional pain is SO palpable. I know, I've been in that situation & ever so clearly, remember a very similar time of shaking my hands trying to hide that intensely crushing moment of revelation at the worst possible second. Oh yes, that's VERY real. And what is ALSO real about that sequence IS THIS..sometimes a marriage does survive a betrayal...and it doesn't fold nicely, as in ever so happily ever after.... *Falling in love across a language wall? Could happen. IN five weeks, doubtful. But,I think the message is, yes, we love, are sometimes betrayed, but we can & do, find love again in the most unusual places. (a family member of mine met his wife in Spain, during the war, married her & brought her home, & SHE DIDN'T SPEAK ANY English, NOR DID HE SPEAK ANY Spanish - they were married 30 something years & had 4 lovely children) -As for the 11 yr old, yes, while us adults KNOW that it's not 'real love' most of us have a 'first love' tucked away in our minds and hearts. And while I will admit 99.9% of us ARE not with our puppy loves, we did have one. *You also find a bit of blended love. Love between a stepfather and stepson. Under horrible circumstances (But when is that blended love not under difficult circumstances?) That story 's ending may be sugary, but it serves its purpose in the film. This movie, while not perfect, comes pretty close. Its underlying theme, the theme that if we look around us, we will see that love is all around. Between friends (just like that of Billy Mack & his manager) between step families, between co-workers, between brother sister, man & woman, new 'strangers' who meet, husbands & wives, etc. And it doesn't always have a scripted perfect ending. THAT is life.. Oh & on the 'fat' comments...I think the meaning is...fat is so often distorted, it is so often not true, & a real dilemma for those girls who think they are, when they're not..so don't knock yourself. Just because you're not as skinny as the overrated Keira Knightley, does NOT mean you're fat. I see no offense by the reference to that in the movie. Nor do I see the insult to America. The president, wonderfully portrayed by Billy Bob Thornton. It is what it is. Obviously a reference to ol Bill. Not unjust in poking fun at that one, considering it was an embarrassing happening that dominated the news for quite some time....If Britain wants to stand up to America for once, so what, big deal. Remember again folks, it's a R O M A N T I C comedy! Fabulous acting by Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, Alan Rickman, Laura Linney, (the young boy who portrays Sam, don't know his name), and Andrew Lincoln. Don't expect heavy character development, there isn't time allowed. But that's not the point. The point is, it's Christmas, pull yourself up by the bootstraps & take a look, all around. Love is, actually all around. Just open your eyes & you won't be disappointed!
The Best Feelgood Movie Of All Time
posted on 10 Aug 2009I just adored this film and can never see too much of it, it does make me laugh/smile all the time, of course it has my favourite actor in it which is Kris Marshall, and hey, Hugh Grant and Bill Nighy were Superb as all of the actors in it were...the young boy who played Sam is a star in the making for sure!.I wish Kris had been in more, but all his lines are so funny, love you Colin Frissel, bottle :) and at the airport he says ...... maybe better not say, you all know what I mean LOL.. Make more wonderful films like this please.... It is good to see a British movie like "Love Actually" do so well. There are very few movies made today that you would seriously watch over and over again. This is one of them... Hilary.
What's not to love???
posted on 08 Aug 2009Every single story line would have made a wonderful movie in and of itself. I thought the criss crossing of the various plots and characters would be confusing, but I felt it was very clever the way the stories were woven together. The movie flowed - very much like watching a dance. Every cast member has been a favorite of mine for years so that was an added bonus to see them all together in the same film. I am expecting many more wonderful movies from the cast and Richard Curtis. Well done! Bravo!
The worst movie I've seen in the last 5 years
posted on 02 Aug 2009This movie should have been called " Don't Bother Actually". It's really not a comedy in that it isn't actually funny, and it doesn't actually have any characters that I felt I wanted to care about. I'm not really sure what anyone could actually see in it. It is however completely inoffensive, apart from Martine Mcwhateverhernameis, as she can't really act to save her life. I must admit I did laugh once during the seemingly endless 2 hours, but it was a very very short laugh and I think it mostly came from my sheer desperation.Don't ever trust the opinion again of anyone who would rate this movie above a 3.
Love is everywhere (Even in the "Evil American Empire")
posted on 25 Jul 2009"Love Actually" is a fun, witty, and clever film that hits its target more than it misses, and as a comedy, that is enough to make it exceptional.The film starts with the extraordinary statement by Hugh Grant that cell phone calls from the 9/11 planes show how much love is in the world.Well, citing terrified calls from people being murdered as an example of the fullness of love, certainly shows the European perspective is a sunny one.Throughout the film though, it is the love-lorn Prime Minister (Hugh Grant) that repeatedly tests our suspension of disbelief, such as when he fixates on a lowly poddy-mouthed secretary, and conducts a personal door to door search for her on Christmas Eve.The film is generally upbeat, although we eventually discover that "love actually" peters out in middle age to be replaced by deception and dejection. This is quickly swept under the carpet though since all of the young people end up happy.The "stand up and cheer" moment in the film comes fairly early on, when the Prime Minister confronts the slimy-American President (is that superfluous?) in a press conference.The happy moment for all Europeans is not dimmed by the fact that the P.M. was incapable of any disagreement with the President until the latter moved in on his biscuit-and-tea Bimbo. Still, if you feel politically impotent I guess you take your licks where you can get them.American's can take heart from the fact that their women (particularly ones with comic-book accents) are apparently useful as sex-toys for starved British men, which certainly redefines the "special relationship".In summary, the film is funny, moves quickly, and lets you hate America if you're in the mood.
What Fun! Observing People Falling In Love
posted on 21 Jul 2009I have been avoiding this film, as it has been all over Central Fl's HBO 18 times a week and besides that, I was not in the mood for love, actually! However, after stumbling across Richard Curtis' (writer/screenwriter) 'The Girl In The Cafe' (limited release) I decided to give 'Love' a shot at 5:30 one morning and I am quite glad I did. (I will confess at the dénouement I was all tears.) Mr. Curtis' 'The Girl In The Cafe' is so simple (on one level) yet so complex on other levels and the main character, Bill Nighy, plays his role so understated you will not believe this could be the same actor in 'Love Actually.' Love is well enough constructed to keep together 8 'love' stories of different sorts and will pull you in, in a way you will never expect. The acting is good all the way around with some 'bright lights' shining but you will fall for them all, I promise. You do not have to be a romantic to enjoy this well crafted, surprising effort at an emotion we all suffer and welcome at the same time. You will find yourself hoping certain characters do pull it together as it changes their lives forever as love is meant to do. Where Richard Curtis draws upon his story lines in the detail he does, I cannot imagine. He observes people is the answer. Other Curtis films Americans may be familiar with are 'The Girl In the Cafe' (superb), 'Notting Hill', The Bridget Jones series, and this one,' Love, Actually.' If you have a heart and allow your emotions to surface, I promise you will enjoy this film.Whatever you do, do not take professional critics words to heart. They all seem to have serious interpersonal problems. You know if you will like a film from the exposure you are submitted to. I'll read critics but only AFTER I view a film. This film is a good case in point. Many did not like it at all and here we have a wonderful, well acted storyline.
I was surprised
posted on 19 Jul 2009I don't really like romantic comedy movies because in Turkey we have them a lot. So if i ever watch a foreign movie i avoid those types but this time i was so curious to watch it. Before i even know the movie i saw the soundtrack made my Sugababes. I was totally out of speech i really loved it a lot so decided to watch the movie. At first the airport scene seemed lame to me but then as it continued i started to like the movie. I felt really happy after i watched it unlike other romantic movies i watched. I felt like "love is -indeed- all around us". I have to admit i was so surprised and bought the DVD when it released. Great work...
Lighten Up! Being so Serious, One Will Lose Sight of the Fact That Love Actually IS All Around!
posted on 13 Jul 2009There was a time when movies were celebrated for their "escapism," their Capraesque ability to show simple truths...for those who weren't so jaded as to be beyond help. Example: in "It's a Wonderful Life," when George crashes into the tree, the man who comes out is concerned ONLY with his "historical" tree, not if George is o.k. after the wreck. The man is jaded in his world view or as a friend and I refer to certain people, he is "hopelessly lost to the world." Thus it seems with many of the reviewers of this movie.I was taught that movies require "a willing suspension of disbelief," and that absent our granting that, ANY movie can, and will, be blasted into acetate dust for being "unrealistic," "maudlin," "unbelievable," "insulting;" well, you get the picture.Is "Love Actually" one of the best pictures of its genre, the romantic comedy? No, it's not. Is it a fun movie to watch? Yes, it is. Let go of the "necessity" for character development (it is a comedy after all) and let your own imagination fill in the blanks. Have we all become so intellectually lazy that we cannot invest ourselves in a film to fill in the perceived "blanks"? I think many minimize the importance of the 9/11 reference. In a nutshell, it points out the critical centerpiece of our lives that LOVE holds when confronted with a crisis. As someone who lost friends in the Pentagon on 9/11, I think it's wonderful to read stories of those in the WTC who were able to make those "profession of love" calls to their loved ones before they met their end. My friends in the Pentagon were not fortunate enough to have that blessing and those they left behind have a void left because of that.Capra believed in the true essence of man and "universal truths" like those expressed in another, modern movie that makes a valid point about love, "Secondhand Lions." The "what every boy needs to know about being a man" speech, or at least the small piece we hear, perfectly mirror Capra's ideals and, to my mind, these ideals seem to be what Curtis was trying to convey in his movie.If adultness in the world has become such that we must tear apart and parse everything we see, read, watch, hear or feel, then we are a much poorer civilization. If we fail to note that Love Actually IS all around, then we are in far more peril of losing our core selves than we are from the peril posed by terrorists. In fact, the case could be made we are playing into the terrorists hands by abdicating our basic rights to them by letting them dominate our fears.The story lines, to me, point out the universality of love and its unpredictability. Rickman makes an error; gets caught up in the fantasy and, too late, realizes his error. However, the movie ends with the possibility of a relationship that moves into a more mature phase. Does it require reading into it to come up with that? Sure, but that's what once was the charm of movies. They weren't expected to lay everything out for the viewer; they engaged the viewer and expected them to become involved in the movie. Perhaps in this day and age, we are all too busy to do that. Perhaps in this day and age, we are all too prepared and ready to view criticism as being, necessarily, negative when the traditional definition of critique is to be seen as both positive and negative."Love Actually" is not the pinnacle of romantic comedies; however, it does have many redeeming qualities and has enough of that magic that elicits from us the "willing suspension of disbelief" that can, if we allow it, open our eyes to the possibilities. Seems to me the movie does accomplish that goal. It's light-hearted with twinges of pathos in it...if we take the time to notice.
Fantastic and funny!
posted on 09 Jul 2009I love this movie. It makes me feel good to watch, and I never get tired of it. I watch it over and over, (especially the part where Hugh Grant, as the Prime Minister, is dancing around, I watch that at least twice per viewing) and I highly recommend it for everyone of any age or gender. It's message is really important especially now, in these times where love is sometimes hard to give/find. "Love is all around", no matter where you are, or who you are, in it's many forms. And you know, it's great how this movie isn't "some sappy chick flick". Because it follows these different story lines, dealing with different conflicts and having different outcomes, some heartbreaking, some heartwarming, and you will laugh and cry, no matter who you are.
The all-time stinker
posted on 30 Aug 2009English critics have recently cited the new film, The Sex Life of the Potato Men, as the worst British film ever made. I haven't seen that film, but I doubt their judgement...because I've just seen LOVE, ACTUALLY, and I refuse to believe there was, or ever will be, a worse film than this one: vulgar, trashy, mawkish, toe-curlingly embarrassing dialogue, wooden cliche characters, no discernible plot, nauseating child actor, unfunny and puerile jokes, sycophancy to the US market for the bucks - what more can you ask for to proclaim it the all time stinker. Furious that I had paid $3 to watch the video on the strength of the famous actors - Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant, Bill Nighy, Rowan Atkinson, Martine McCutcheon, Alan Rickman, Martin Freeman, Colin Firth, Liam Neeson etc. etc. I stuck it out to the end to see if even one of them gave a moment of pleasure or even one genuine laugh. They can only be considered a pack of artistic whores to involve themselves in such an abomination, prostituting their talent, clearly only for the money. Let this be a warning that if you haven't seen it, don't touch it with a barge pole or you'll feel as ripped off as I was.