Just rewatched “Love, Actually” last night and I still really like it. (still annoys me that the girl with the handicapped brother can’t get the hot guy) It introduced me to the wonderful Bill Nighy after all.
I understand other similar movies have been made [multi-stars, multi interconnected plotlines, rom-coms, set at holiday times]. Are any of these any good? If not, what made “Love, Actually” work when the others didn’t?
IMO none of the others come close to “Love, Actually.” Maybe because it was one of the first. Might be the director wasn’t going for repeating a formula. Might be the Portuguese. Who knows?
I quite like The Holiday - not quite as large-canvas, but nice.
We watched it too, and my husband remarked how much he wished there would be more like it/a sequel/that the people who made it would make another one.
You notice that the recent Valentine’s Day and New Year’s Eve are exactly what the OP is asking about, and the answer is that they were absolute shit.
Salaam-E-Ishq. Of course, it’s a Hindi movie, but fairly modern, and lots of fun.
I liked that one also. And I agree that Valentine’s Day and New Year’s Eve were pale imitations. I assume that the OP is aware of Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill, which, while they are not set around holidays, were written by Richard Curtis, who of course wrote and directed Love, Actually.
Noche De Reyes. It’s more com than rom, but I thought it was hysterical.
And I second The Holiday. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy, and my only regret is that the movie they have a trailer for isn’t real because it would be a lot of fun to MST3K.
200 Cigarettes is a New Year’s Eve movie set in 1981. I saw it so long ago that I can’t even remember if it was good or too cheesy, but I did enjoy the music, being a child of the 80s.
You might like Monsoon Wedding. Not a holiday film, but a very charming movie about an Indian family wedding and various romantic entanglements surrounding it.
As far as rom-coms set in Britain, the above-mentioned Four Weddings and a Funeral is a great one, as is Bridget Jones’ Diary.
No, they are not. Because “Love, Actually” is British and the others are not.*
*This is actually semi-serious commentary.