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 I've already seen this movie twice, even before it's actually been released. It is such an amazing feel good movie, with a terrific cast and a touching story line.Everyone I know who has seen it, has loved it. It's good for so many ages, and because there are so many different situations in the movie, almost everyone can relate to one of them. You'll come out of the movie knowing love is one of the most amazing emotions one can experience. So, again, an amazing movie. (!!!!!)
I have always favored British humor, and in this case I was not let down, since some of the situations are absolutely hilarious. There are almost no words to describe the unbelievable cast, which includes actors like Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Emma Thompson and Colin Firth, among many others. David (Hugh Grant) is the new British Prime Minister and upon his arrival at his new "home" is captivated by Natalie, his new personal assistant. Bill is a singer at the end of his career trying to make a come back with a Christmas hit by adapting the lyrics of an old hit to make it a Christmas song. Peter and Juliet got married recently, and Peter's best friend, Mark, is having trouble dealing with this new event because he holds a secret that can destroy everything. Colin, a young impetuous guy, is looking for love and decides that his best option is to go to America, where the girls are "easier". Daniel (Neeson) has recently lost his wife and is trying to surge into clarity again while taking care of Samuel, his beloved stepson. At the same time, Samuel has a crush on a girl at school and is very serious about it, seeking Daniel's help for his quest. Sarah is in love with one of her co-workers, but has a burden that makes her life very complicated. Finally, Jamie is an author, who found his wife cheating on him with his brother, and looked for refuge in France. Here he meets Aurelia, a Portuguese girl that works as his maid. This is the best romantic comedy I have seen in the last few years. The dialogues are funny and witty, the cast is first class and there is not one dull moment in the whole film. As a final note, just watching the scene in which Hugh Grant dances, makes this movie worth seeing!
Truthfully,at two hours and fifteen minutes, "Love, Actually" is too long for a romantic comedy. And it's slow in places. And it improves upon viewing during the Holiday season. But it's a charming film with a very appealing -and very large- cast. Sometimes it's a little too cute, but Bill Nighy's Billy Mack character is likely to amuse even resolutely cynical members of the audience. So there's something for everyone. And the love stories are more light-hearted than sappy. "Love, Actually" is fun, light entertainment. The DVD: Bonus features include an audio commentary, deleted scenes, a documentary on the film's music, a music video for "The Trouble with Love Is" by Kelly Clarkson, and a DVD-ROM (Windows only). The audio commentary features writer/director Richard Curtis and actors Hugh Grant, Bill Nighy, Thomas Sangster, and a couple of others whom I couldn't identify. Three of the actors are seeing the film for the first time, so their commentary is very conversational. Director Richard Curtis does mos t of the talking, however, and provides a lot of information. There are 37 minutes of deleted scenes, all of which are introduced by the director. Curtis' introductions and explanations are good, but, unfortunately, the scenes must be viewed one after the other. There is no way to choose what scenes to watch. In "The Music of Love Actually", director Richard Curtis talks about the five songs featured in the film and their influence on the script as he was writing it. Captioning is available in English. Subtitles and dubbing are available in French and Spanish.
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Humorously enough, the movie was exactly the kind of product described by the washed up rock star character who'd butchered his classic oldie (turning it into a holiday song) to try to get just a little more money out of the system: a golden turd. While the audience I was with got a lot of chuckles out of this story, the whole thing felt really cobbled together and insubstantial. It's a shame because there really were so many great actors in this movie - and yet none of them seemed to have any more than just cameo bits. It just felt like such a "product" - with nudity for pleasure and little kiddies dancing and singing for sentiment. On the other hand, there's not much terribly wrong with being pleasant and meaningless, despite the fact that you will doubtfully forget you ever saw this movie about five minutes after you walk out of the theater. Too bad - writer/director Richard Bean had such originality with "Four Weddings and a Funeral." Maybe he, like the rock star character he created, is hoping that a hit will help him hook a chippie so he can have a happy holiday. It'll make a good rental. (FYI: I read the other reviews before I went to a preview yesterday in Seattle and I'm convinced they were written by movie studio hacks.)
"Love,Actually" is a feel-good Christmastime collection of love stories from writer/director Richard Curtis that aim to say, in spite of strife and bad goings-on in the world, "love actually is all around". In London, beginning five weeks before Christmas, ten different but loosely connected love stories unfold. As the Holiday season builds toward its climax, so do the relationships. The newly elected Prime Minister (Hugh Grant) falls head over heels for a member of his staff (Martine McCutcheon) on his first day on the job. A novelist (Colin Firth) and his Portuguese maid (Lucia Moniz) find love in spite of -or perhaps because of- the language barrier. Newlyweds and long-married couples alike discover chinks in their relationships and new possibilities. Young and old discover loss and new love. And throughout the film, the wonderful Bill Nighy plays a curmudgeonly aging pop star who uses every opportunity his new hit single provides him to inject a little sardonic humor into the holiday cheer.
