It seems like everyone loved this movie. I went to see it with my girlfriend and my family, including my 85 year old grandm,other. They all loved it, it made them crty, even my dad who is usually only into science fiction movies. It seemed like they had 50 hugh grant scripts standing by and they just tried to conjoin all of them into a crappy christmas movie. WHy are they all at the airport at the end of the movie, it just happens that all of the characters are coming into the airport at the same time, on the saame day? WTF. Also, the guy who cheated on his wife, they made it seem all hunky dory in the end, like it never happened, meanwhile you cut to two months down the line and they would be getting divorced, the kids would be screwed up for life and the family would disintegrate. Then my biggest problem with the movie would be Billy Bob Thornton as the U.S. President and that whole scene. WHat were they trying to say with that scene… I felt like there was a political message in their somewhere… a crappy one at that.
They didn’ tmake the cheating guy’s wife and family “hunky dory” i nthe end. Did you see how cold and distant she was from him? I got the distinct feeling it was one of those “We’re staying together for the kids” type deals. Or one of those “it will be too humiliating to divorce right now, so we’ll stick it out for a bit longer” things. But of all the couples at the airport, they were the least loving.
My problem with Love Actually is that it seems there’s a slight shade of homophobia going on. I wouldn’t say this if we weren’t “teased” with some sort of homosexual relationship, and then it’s pulled away and “hahaha, see? They’re really straight! Of course they are, guys only like girls, silly.” If they had never brought it up at all, it would be a bit suspect but no big deal, really. But to bring it up three times with three different characters only to have it laughed off…shrug…just seemed very odd to me.
Well, I enjoyed it. I thought the Laura Linney plotline was sad and poignant, and Hugh was pretty funny.
I thought it was ok. It could have down without a couple of the stories though. The whole porn movie stand-ins thing was funny for about 9 seconds, and could have been excised completely. Same with the horny kid coming to America.
Otherwise I found it to be OK though.
I loved it. It was stupid, stupid mindless romantic cotton candy. I don’t like movies like this, not most of the time. But when I watch one, I don’t watch for the plot. The plot always sucks. It still had cute guys, silly sappy messages about love, and a whole lot of actors who ooze charm out of every orifice. Who can ask for more? I didn’t go in expecting Fellini.
Way too many story lines. Not bad for what it is, but it was way too thin.
Way too many story lines.
But the OP brought up something interesting.
President Billy Bob was first Bill Clinton, making a pass at a staff person and married, then sort of turned into GWB and Hugh got to say the things to him that I’m sure many liberal Britons would like to say.
But I also found it funny that Hugh’s girl in the film was an english Monica Lewinski. A tough heavy, classless, big beret wearing. I couldn’t get what they were trying to say.
I liked it.
too thin? I see where you’re coming from, but he’s made the movie with the 2 main characters and 2 friends before. And they’re deeper, but that wasn’t what he was doing here. “Too thin” is a criticism for a different movie. This one was intentionally expansive but left it thin in parts. It’s a trade-off. And the quality of the acting made it worthwhile.
hunky dory? That’s not how they left it at all. They didn’t have a knock-down drag out fight, but it was smoldering.
Billy Bob Give it a rest. They weren’t trying to say anything. It was just a device to get Hugh Grant and “Natalie” apart. Maybe the writer was trying to get a point across that the british PM would get more respect if he stood up to Bush but I don’t think there was an American slam here. I think you guys can’t figure out what they were trying to say because they weren’t trying to say anything.
homophobic? That’s just stretching it. He made the audience think that the guy was homosexual lke they make you think “the butler did it” and then pulled the rug out from under you. It wasn’t “homophobic”; it was a means of building tension. The pop-star thing wasn’t homophobic either. It was just the realization of a man’s love for a long time friend. I never thought it was going in a homosexual direction. I suspect someone saw the movie with her “homophobia glasses” on.
I could have done without the kid going to America. That was just stupid. He met 4 girls that looked like they stepped out of a beer commercial and then just went home an had sex. Didn’t hold up to the rest of it.
The “cute-meet” with Natalie and the PM was hilarious. The pop star stole the show. Emma Thompson, Laura Linney, Alan Rickman, and Liam Neeson all brought real weight to what could have been throwaway roles for them. The Colin Firth story was a little too cutesy, but I still dug it. He’s good.
And, it had a nice message of love.
FWIW, my wife didn’t like it too much.
I agreee the pop-star stole the show, I wish the movie was just about him. But the movie was trying to show a message, it played really sappy, cheerful music at the end in the airport forcing thge audience to feel for the characters. And most people fell for it. Maybe Hunky-dory was the wrong word to use, however the movie just tried to sum everything up at the end with people hugging at an airport when it had a lot more story to go. And what was with the stand-in body-doubles. The movie was supposed to take place in the 12 days before chrstmas but the people in their scenes were wearing the same clothes all the time, do these people ever change clothes! And the guy who liked his best friends wife… he goes to her door at the end and she runs out and kisses him. That’s a screwed up situation right there. They were playing this dramatic music that is supposed to make people like the characters when he would ditch his best friend for his fiontze! And the girl was totally ok with it and runs out and kisses him, Uhhh… this movie just made me mad.
No, I just thought it was odd that it was supposed to be a movie celebrating all different kinds of love ranging from lust to crushes to true love to family love to friendly love, and three times (Liam Neeson asked the kid if he liked boys or girls…) they introduced the idea of homosexual love and three times they pulled back.
If they had never introduced the idea at all, or alternately, if they had had one homosexual story line, or even if the point of the movie wasn’t to celebrate all different kinds of love, I never would have given it a second thought. But the combination of those three things just made me think it was…odd. Why do that at all?
I enjoyed the movie very much, but the thing I noticed was that in most of the relationships, the women are throwing themselves at the men. Alan Rickman’s speech to Laura Linney about the sexy co-worker: why? Why is he getting involved? Is it because of his own flirtation with the blue-eyed woman?
And why would the writer fall deeply in love with his Portuguese cleaning woman, when he can barely communicate with her? And why would the PM fall head over heels for the saucy wench at work? Nothing in common, there.
Now, the guy who goes to Milwaukee and instantly hooks up with three sexy supermodels: that was the only part that made sense. 
Yeah, it was pure schmaltzy cheese, and I liked it. I’ll admit it. I usually hate romantic comedies, but this one did it for me.
With a cast like that, you can’t go too far wrong. Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson were wonderful, and I loved the way Liam Neeson interacted with his stepson. I thought it was really cool that he asked the kid whether he liked boys at all.
Best movie ever? No, but more diverting than most of the dreck at the cineplex.
We went over this recently in the Pit:
Love, actually? Why not call it shit, actually
Some good points in there.
I liked it. And don’t doubt the bit about British accents and American women–RickQ (my husband with the wonderful British accent) works on the phone doing IT support and women ask his colleagues all the time if he is cute and it he is married. When one woman was told that he was married, she asked, “But is he happily married?”!!!
What were the three homosexual false starts? The pop-star story definitely wasn’t one of them. I suppose Liam asking the kid barely counts. I can’t remember the other one.
I think I’m the only one that liked the kid going to America thread. It was the one story that didn’t need much depth. I thought it was silly, but I laughed.
The Colin Firth story was the weakest. I think liked the Liam story the best. Either that or the guy in love with his best mate’s wife.
Was the porn star stand-in that guy from The Office?
Before we find out that The Best Friend is in love with The Girl, it’s suggested that he’s actually in love with his (male) friend. No big deal, IMO.
I liked this movie. I went in there, I "aww"ed at the right parts, grooved to the Christmas music, and I was satisfied. I didn’t expect any more from it than that.
Very pleasant schmaltz. I liked it. And I like very few chick flicks.
And how can any male disagree with Kiera Knightley topless?
Thanks. It’s such not a big deal that I completely forgot about this part. I don’t see how any of this is remotely homophobia. The stepdad ready to accept that the kid might be attracted to boys would indicate the opposite.
Huh? I would think I would remember this. Where was this?
Just to add my $.02, I loved the movie entirely. I wept through the last half hour, laughed for the rest, loved the music and have become a Hugh Grant FanGirl.
Perfect, actually. 
:eek: WHAT? Was she really?
I was going to come in here and ask how big of a part she had and then I see this. Is it true? My sister saw this movie, and I asked her about Keira in particular; she (my sister) said that she (Keira) was only in the movie for about 15 minutes and didn’t mention anything about her (Keira, not my sister) being topless.
I didn’t see Keira mentioned in any of the reviews I read, so I figured I wouldn’t bother with this movie. I am getting the Pirates of the Caribbean DVD, but if that’s true, Gadfly, then I will be forced to see this movie.