# Love, actually? why not call it Shit, Actually **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 19, 2003, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-actually-why-not-call-it-shit-actually/214087 "2003-11-19T13:50:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2003, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-actually-why-not-call-it-shit-actually/214087/21 "2003-11-19T16:15:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by paulberserker \* > Thats the only sticking point I have with Empire, and indeed watching Film 2003 last night. They both faun over this shit like its their national duty to do so. WE KNOW its a British film. Good for our industry. But nobody seems to review these conniving emotional vacuums of ‘movies’ objectively. Did you _read_ the Empire review **paul**? > [@](#): > > … formulaic and dependable… > > …Hugh Grant in full-on bumbling mode… > > …this is a complex, densely-plotted affair, and in trying to tell the individual stories of so many people, you get the sense that Curtis has bitten off more than he can chew… > > …The final reel also disappoints, combining a bunch of seen-it-all-before set-pieces (the likes of which were done much better in Four Weddings) with an unpleasantly manipulative finale. ---
**Author:** ![paulberserker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@paulberserker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paulberserker)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2003, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-actually-why-not-call-it-shit-actually/214087/22 "2003-11-19T16:25:49Z")
No. Got the new one, but I think I skipped the review. I was more on about their undying support and general sycophantism for Grant/Curtis. my bad. They’ve been wrong in the past, although not that often. I bet Heat magazine will have a real subjective dissertation on it though. hmm, venting in a vacuum. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2003, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-actually-why-not-call-it-shit-actually/214087/23 "2003-11-19T16:37:49Z")
Promise me you don’t read Heat. Seriously – I’m squeezing back the trigger right now :). It’s OK to say it’s your missus’s copy. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2003, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-actually-why-not-call-it-shit-actually/214087/24 "2003-11-19T16:48:11Z")
When I lived in England, and I was dating my future (now ex-) wife, it was a happy time. Now, that I’m stuck back in the States, and single and not dating, sometimes I think back on those days wistfully. But then I remember. I don’t have to be dragged to go see _ **another effing British romantic comedy** _ starring _ **Hugh effing Grant** _ ever again! And it makes me feel so much happier. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2003, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-actually-why-not-call-it-shit-actually/214087/25 "2003-11-19T16:53:35Z")
But **CanvasShoes** , hating movies is fun! Cynicism is already prevalent in our society, so why not direct it at the entertainment industry? If we didn’t go to movies at all, we might be car bombing politicians or something. Plus, nobody can express spite and vitriol better than the British. Let them continue! ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2003, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-actually-why-not-call-it-shit-actually/214087/26 "2003-11-19T16:56:40Z")
_shrug_ I liked it. Alan Rickman, Liam Neeson, and Colin Firth…mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. I don’t even remember the details of the movie, I just remember those three and mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. ---
**Author:** ![paulberserker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@paulberserker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paulberserker)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2003, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-actually-why-not-call-it-shit-actually/214087/27 "2003-11-19T16:58:37Z")
Its neither mine nor my missusus. Heat deserves its own pitting in a seperate thread. I was merely being sarcastic about its reviews of films and ting. Got a Z-list ‘celeb’ in your film? 5 stars! fuckers. and I’m quite enthusiastic about good film. endless discussion picking stuff apart isn’t really what I’m after. Giving this type of film and Hugh Grant is though. Predictable. See jjimm? didnt need to ever watch it. zebra’s sorted out exactly what I had already guessed. A confused mediocre mess. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2003, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-actually-why-not-call-it-shit-actually/214087/28 "2003-11-19T18:07:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Knowed Out \* > \*\*But **CanvasShoes** , hating movies is fun! Cynicism is already prevalent in our society, so why not direct it at the entertainment industry? If we didn’t go to movies at all, we might be car bombing politicians or something. Plus, nobody can express spite and vitriol better than the British. Let them continue! \*\* I know, that was sorta harsh. It’s sort of a pet peeve of mine. I just, every once in a while get so annoyed at the “oh, I’m so hip, cool, and cynical that movies are just beneath me” attitude that seems to just absolutely rule in this day and age regarding any halfway popular movie. It’s almost as if, as soon as a movie has proven itself popular among enough people (based on sales, or word of mouth, etc), the critics come out of the woodwork. Makes me wonder, what DO you people want? I mean, what would it take for a poor movie to get a mere “it was okay” rather than a burial from you? (collective you). There are no greys here, it’s all black and white. Well, actually mostly black from what I see. As I said, the movies aren’t just so-so, or okay. They go to great lengths to complain about how they’re the worst scourge of hollywood since Elvis movies or something. Sorry, end hijack (sheepish smile). ---
**Author:** ![alexandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@alexandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alexandra)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2003, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-actually-why-not-call-it-shit-actually/214087/29 "2003-11-19T18:52:24Z")
Heat film reviews are terrible. Brit romcom with Hugh Grant? Five stars. Bit gritty, bit depressing but good? Four stars. Still like the rest of the magazine, though. ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2003, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-actually-why-not-call-it-shit-actually/214087/30 "2003-11-19T18:56:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Brutus \* > \*\*Why did they use MP5s and G3s in _Dog Soldiers_? Don’t get me wrong; It was a suprising good movie. But damnit all to Hell, Brit soldiers should have had their SA80’s! \*\* In an attempt to make one post even sadder than **Brutus** ’: Weren’t they supposed to be SAS? If so, the SAS just love their Heckler & Koch toys. I think they even use M16/M203 combos in the field rather than the frankly poor SA80. ---
**Author:** ![MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bb73d2/32.png) [@MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MC_Master_of_Ceremonies)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2003, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-actually-why-not-call-it-shit-actually/214087/31 "2003-11-20T00:24:58Z")
Love actually made me cry; cry when I realized I’d wasted £5 to see such godawful shite HAHAHAHA!\* \*I haven’t actually seen it and it’s not on general release in the UK 'til Friday ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2003, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-actually-why-not-call-it-shit-actually/214087/32 "2003-11-20T00:31:06Z")
Wait, Alan Rickman is in this? The only Hugh Grant movie that I’ll actually watch is _Sense and Sensibility_ and that has more to do with Rickman, Thompson, and Winslet. Hugh Grant spent the whole movie looking as if he left the hanger in his shirt. _kicks Hugh Grant in the shins_ YOU SUCK! ---
**Author:** ![macabresoul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e68b1a/32.png) [@macabresoul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/macabresoul)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2003, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-actually-why-not-call-it-shit-actually/214087/33 "2003-11-20T02:15:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by London\_Calling \* > \*\*I’m more interested in the sexless curio sometimes known as ‘that bird wot was in EastEnders’. Is Martine McCrutchLunch up to the job as Hugh tossled-haired Grants bit of rough, or do we always have half an eye on the door of Number Ten expecting a confused _ **RRRIIICCKKYYYYYYYYYYY** _ to wander in from the (yet still) ablaze car lot ?? \*\* What the hell is going on in this paragraph?! ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2003, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-actually-why-not-call-it-shit-actually/214087/34 "2003-11-20T02:30:06Z")
[Rotten Tomatoes](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/LoveActually-1127289/reviews.php) has it at 69%, which is fresh (though just barely). Are reviewers really that crazy? ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2003, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-actually-why-not-call-it-shit-actually/214087/35 "2003-11-20T02:46:03Z")
> [@](#): > > Rotten Tomatoes has it at 69%, which is fresh (though just barely). Are reviewers really that crazy? I don’t know about “crazy”. I don’t think that they have the “be all and end all” where taste in entertainment is concerned. But, I know that I usually tend (except where Disney is concerned) to follow the opposite of what they say, and end up avoiding the crappy movies and seeing the good ones. ---
**Author:** ![ArrMatey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrmatey/32/3522_2.png) [@ArrMatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArrMatey)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2003, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-actually-why-not-call-it-shit-actually/214087/36 "2003-11-20T02:56:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Guinastasia \* > \*\*_kicks Hugh Grant in the shins_ YOU SUCK! \*\* Okay. I’m in love with you now. And I need to get the diet pepsi off my monitor. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2003, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-actually-why-not-call-it-shit-actually/214087/37 "2003-11-20T03:26:13Z")
I don’t know–the last movie I saw Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman together in was _An Awfully Big Adventure_, which is by far the worst movie I’ve ever paid money to see. But hey, I’m always up for a good British romantic comedy, so long as the only alternative is spending the evening slamming my testicles in a car door. Dr. J ---
**Author:** ![CadburyAngel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c2a13f/32.png) [@CadburyAngel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CadburyAngel)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2003, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-actually-why-not-call-it-shit-actually/214087/38 "2003-11-20T03:29:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by macabresoul \* > \*\*What the hell is going on in this paragraph?! \*\* And people laugh at me when I say that the English speak a different language. I’ve gone through that paragraph a few times, and although I think I sort of grasp that it has something to do with some actress from Eastenders, the rest of it reads like the author’s been possessed. I’m going to see it, reviews aside, because I will see anything if it has Alan Rickman in it. I’m so weak. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2003, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-actually-why-not-call-it-shit-actually/214087/39 "2003-11-20T03:57:28Z")
About A Boy is actually a good movie, but that’s because it is based on a novel by Nick Hornby, the man who also wrote High Fidelity. Doesn’t feel anything like the other Hugh Grant movies, and that’s a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2003, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-actually-why-not-call-it-shit-actually/214087/40 "2003-11-20T08:34:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by macabresoul \* > \*\*What the hell is going on in this paragraph?! \*\* _I’m more interested in the sexless curio sometimes known as ‘that bird wot was in EastEnders’. Is Martine McCrutchLunch up to the job as Hugh tossled-haired Grants bit of rough, or do we always have half an eye on the door of Number Ten expecting a confused RRRIIICCKKYYYYYYYYYYY to wander in from the (yet still) ablaze car lot ??_ TRANS. “Is the actress Martine McCutcheon, who appears in this film, any good as Grant’s love interest, or is she just recycling her TV soap performances?” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-actually-why-not-call-it-shit-actually/214087.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-actually-why-not-call-it-shit-actually/214087.md?page=3)