Tweet
With the highly testosterone driven tastes of this community, film reviews here often fall under obvious special-effects laden genres. Here then is a review for something a little different, actually.
I saw Love Actually the other day, and I must say that it was a highly enjoyable film. After seeing about a dozen blockbuster films this year like Kill Bill and the two Matrices (somehow, the word sounds less masculine in plural) with the LOTR finale on the horizon, I would say that this is the second best film I've seen all year behind volume 1 of Tarantino's opus.
Not forgetting the target audience of this review, I must at this point make a note that whatever prejudices you may have against the romantic comedy genre, Love Actually, with it's cloyingly sweet themes is intelligently funny, charming, filled with actractive people like Kiera Knightley, and is a "chick-flick" holliday date movie that will not cause the average male to grit his teeth and dig his fingernails into the theatre's arm rests to survive the 132 minute run time.
Written and directed by Richard Curtis, who also wrote Four Weddings and a Funeral as well as Mr Bean, Love Actually follows multiple characters and illustrates different forms of the emotion of love, as their lives intertwine in the weeks leading up to Christmas. A strong cast featuring well known and respected names in British film flesh out Curtis' characters in an excellent display of ensemble acting. Liam Neeson plays a step-father for a young boy with an amazingly mature grasp on being in love. With the death of his wife shortly before the film begins, the initial awkwardness dissolves and he becomes the guide in his step-son's quest for his first love. Hugh Grant, a Curtis staple, seems somehow fitting in the role of a young bachelor Prime Minister and successor to Tony Blair. With his trademarked combination of charm and nervousness, he faces the task of meeting with the American president (a cameo role played, in a remarkable piece of contrast, by Billy Bob Thornton) in a way that arouses British patriotism while slyly commenting on the Blair and Bush administrations as well as a strong hint towards Clinton.
Other storylines include the budding romance between two movie body-double stand-ins trying to get to know each other while simultaneously simulating various different sex acts. Their scenes are surreal yet charming. Just picture trying to talk about London traffic while grinding away doggy-style. Colin Firth is excellent in a well written storyline as his writer character falls in love with a Portugese maid, while neither one speaks the other's language. Their scenes are poignant and fueled with an unspoken bond, and what words they do say mix and match in ways in which neither of them is aware. It's like watching two people perfectly performing a tango while blindfolded.
A standout performance comes forth from Bill Nighy playing a washed up British rock star trying to revive his career with a Christmas album. Played like a tidier Keith Richards, the character is so washed up that he doesn't even care about promoting his crappy new record. Nevertheless, you just can't help but like his character and root for his success on the charts against teen pop bands.
Overall, the film does what all romantic comedies should do. It gives you a warm fuzzy feeling about the world and humanity while delivering plenty of laughs, but at the same time it isn't sugary sweet enough to insult your intelligence. Surprising cameos feature Thornton, Rowan Atkinson (Mr Bean) and beautiful starlets like Denise Richards, Shannon Elizabeth, and Elisha Cuthbert. And though I hadn't as yet mentioned much of it, the musical soundtrack plays a large role in furthering the various storylines, like, for example, the surprising wedding cover of All You Need Is Love as well as the holiday cover of Love is All Around by Nighy's character.
If you're tired of swordfighting, bullet doding or king-returning, and want something light and entertaining (or a good holiday film to see on a date), Love Actually is an excellent choice.
I saw Love Actually the other day, and I must say that it was a highly enjoyable film. After seeing about a dozen blockbuster films this year like Kill Bill and the two Matrices (somehow, the word sounds less masculine in plural) with the LOTR finale on the horizon, I would say that this is the second best film I've seen all year behind volume 1 of Tarantino's opus.
Not forgetting the target audience of this review, I must at this point make a note that whatever prejudices you may have against the romantic comedy genre, Love Actually, with it's cloyingly sweet themes is intelligently funny, charming, filled with actractive people like Kiera Knightley, and is a "chick-flick" holliday date movie that will not cause the average male to grit his teeth and dig his fingernails into the theatre's arm rests to survive the 132 minute run time.
Written and directed by Richard Curtis, who also wrote Four Weddings and a Funeral as well as Mr Bean, Love Actually follows multiple characters and illustrates different forms of the emotion of love, as their lives intertwine in the weeks leading up to Christmas. A strong cast featuring well known and respected names in British film flesh out Curtis' characters in an excellent display of ensemble acting. Liam Neeson plays a step-father for a young boy with an amazingly mature grasp on being in love. With the death of his wife shortly before the film begins, the initial awkwardness dissolves and he becomes the guide in his step-son's quest for his first love. Hugh Grant, a Curtis staple, seems somehow fitting in the role of a young bachelor Prime Minister and successor to Tony Blair. With his trademarked combination of charm and nervousness, he faces the task of meeting with the American president (a cameo role played, in a remarkable piece of contrast, by Billy Bob Thornton) in a way that arouses British patriotism while slyly commenting on the Blair and Bush administrations as well as a strong hint towards Clinton.
Other storylines include the budding romance between two movie body-double stand-ins trying to get to know each other while simultaneously simulating various different sex acts. Their scenes are surreal yet charming. Just picture trying to talk about London traffic while grinding away doggy-style. Colin Firth is excellent in a well written storyline as his writer character falls in love with a Portugese maid, while neither one speaks the other's language. Their scenes are poignant and fueled with an unspoken bond, and what words they do say mix and match in ways in which neither of them is aware. It's like watching two people perfectly performing a tango while blindfolded.
A standout performance comes forth from Bill Nighy playing a washed up British rock star trying to revive his career with a Christmas album. Played like a tidier Keith Richards, the character is so washed up that he doesn't even care about promoting his crappy new record. Nevertheless, you just can't help but like his character and root for his success on the charts against teen pop bands.
Overall, the film does what all romantic comedies should do. It gives you a warm fuzzy feeling about the world and humanity while delivering plenty of laughs, but at the same time it isn't sugary sweet enough to insult your intelligence. Surprising cameos feature Thornton, Rowan Atkinson (Mr Bean) and beautiful starlets like Denise Richards, Shannon Elizabeth, and Elisha Cuthbert. And though I hadn't as yet mentioned much of it, the musical soundtrack plays a large role in furthering the various storylines, like, for example, the surprising wedding cover of All You Need Is Love as well as the holiday cover of Love is All Around by Nighy's character.
If you're tired of swordfighting, bullet doding or king-returning, and want something light and entertaining (or a good holiday film to see on a date), Love Actually is an excellent choice.
Comment