Crap, actually! (Love Actually (DVD))

Member Name: esthersmile

Product:	Love Actually (DVD)
Date:	29/11/03 (86 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Funny at times, Big name actors, That guy from Teachers is in it

Disadvantages: ladles on the sugar with a humongous ladle, VERY long, Very little depth

Now, before I start, I would like to point out that while I wouldn't count romantic comedy as my /favourite/genre of film, one of my all time favourite films is 'When Harry Met Sally'. So I'm not some sort of cynical mean person who can't stand 'feelgood' films. Therefore I hope you don't dicount this review as being unfair for that reason.

Now, onto the review proper:

Details
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Title: Love Actually
Dir: Richard Curtis
Written by: Richard Curtis
Starring: Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Martine McCutcheon, Bill Nighy etc...

The Plot
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Love, Actually is a 'multiple storyline' film. This means that it follows the stories of lots of different characters, without necessarily intertwining them so that the film forms a coherent whole. There are eight different 'couples' all of whom are involved in some sort of experience to do with love. There is the Prime Minister falling in love with the tea lady, the father-son relationship, and the failing old marriage among others. The characters are all tenuously related, and the coincidental 'bumping into' each other forms many of the films links between its plot lines.

But is it any good?
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No.

It isn't.

It's really bad.

It's REALLY bad.

Sorry, just had to get that off my chest.

The 'multiple plotlines' gimmick of this film is its strength (in the marketing people's eyes) but it's also its weakness. Following lots of different characters makes the film varied, and keeps the audience's attention (for a while), but it means that you can't get to grips with any of the characters. While the running time (over 2 hours) is excessive for a film in this genre, Curtis manages not to go into any depth with any of the storylines, reducing all of the characters to thin stereotypes,
and all of the storylines to predictable cliche.

Hugh Grant does his usual turn as watchable English man, but in an utterly unconvincing Prime Minister role, Colin Firth is more serious, McCutcheon is (surprise!) a cockney, and Chris Marshall reprises his 'My Family' role as a likeable idiot. While the performances aren't dreadful, in fact there's nothing wrong with them, one gets the feeling that that's because the actors didn't have to do a great deal. Because the script gives no depth to any of the characters, there not being time for any background information, the actors simply have to turn up. They can't get into the roles and give them any real character because they simply don't get the opportunity.

Now, I know Richard Curtis isn't known for his originality, or his depth, but I did like Notting Hill etc. Now while Love Actually isn't the same sort of film, i would have expected some sort of the same level of comedy. But that's pretty weak too. We have to resort to Hugh Grant being the Prime Minister dancing around number ten and getting caught by one of the staff. Oh no. How embarassing. To watch.

All this aside though, I thought all of this in the first half hour. It really wouldn't have been so bad if the film had been a normal length. I really thought i was going to like it at first. Then the ending started. Sorry, endingS.

There are 8 storylines.

That means there are 8 endings.

At least seven of them are happy.

I'm sorry, maybe the producers and director thought that after being bored to tears by upper middle class English stereotypical arseholes people would be really entertained by seeing them all live happily ever after at tedious length. Maybe it's just me.

But maybe it isn't.

I've just heard they're releasing "Christmas is all around" (from the film) as a Christmas single in the UK. Someone
kill me now please.

Summary: