Director Richard Curtis

If you loved Bridget Jones?s Diary and Notting Hill then you are bound to enjoy Love Actually. I thoroughly enjoyed it when I saw in at the movies and still feel it is one of the best films I have seen in a long while. The film has a cast of thousands and it is a little on the long side for a romantic comedy (135 minutes) but when there are 10 or so different stories to tell it is not at all surprising.

There is no real plot to Love Actually, just a series of stories revolving around love, actually, amongst a bunch of Londoners that are all generally linked to each other in some way, around Christmas time. We are introduced to Billy Mack first (Bill Nighy) and he basically steals the show with his wonderful one-liners. He is an ageing rocker and reformed heroin addict who is attempting a comeback with his tune ?Christmas is all around? and battling with boy band Blue to have the number one single in England for Christmas. His poor suffering manager Joe (Gregor Fisher) cringes every time he is interviewed because nobody is ever sure what profanities will come out of his mouth.

We are also introduced to the newly elected Prime Minister David (Hugh Grant) who is immediately smitten by ?plumpy? Natalie (Martine McCutcheon) his tea lady at 10 Downing Street. He doesn?t cope at all well when the President of the United States (Billy Bob Thornton) also has his eyes on her. This president is a cross between Bill Clinton and George W. Bush and his part in the movie may have the Americans fuming as he is basically a bullying womaniser. Thumbs up to director Richard Curtis for being so brave!

David?s sister Karen (Emma Thompson) has problems of her own as her husband Harry (Alan Rickman) finds himself being pursued at his work place by Mia (Heike Makatsch) and her amorous advances. Harry?s closest friend at work is wallflower Sarah (Laura Linney) who has a ?not so secret? crush on another co-worker Karl (Rodrigo Santoro) but is too scared to act on it. She also has problems of her own dealing with a sick brother who is institutionalized.

Karen?s friend Daniel (Liam Neeson) has just had to bury his wife Joanna and is trying to cope with bringing up his stepson Sam (Thomas Sangster) on his own. Sam is eleven and dealing with his own love crisis, having a secret crush on the coolest girl at his school whose name also happens to be Joanna (Olivia Olsen). Wait to you hear her sing, she is an absolute knock out.

We are also introduced to Peter (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Juliet (Keira Knightley) at their wedding. Wait to you see the surprise that Peter?s best friend Mark (Andrew Lincoln) has in store for them at the ceremony and when they return from their honeymoon. Mark also happens to be close friends with Mia and she uses his art gallery for the work?s Christmas Party.

One guest at the wedding is Jamie (Colin Firth) and he has just discovered his girlfriend has been having an affair. As a result, he rushes off to a French villa to write his book and meets his Portuguese housekeeper Aurelia (Lucia Moniz) who can?t speak a word of English. There is an instant attraction between the two even though neither of them can understand each other. Colin (Kris Marshall) is a waiter at the wedding?s reception and because he can?t get a ?shag? in Britain he decides to go to Wisconsin with a backpack full of condoms and not much else to pursue his sexual desires

Finally, there are John (Martin Freeman) and ?Just Judy? (Joanna Page) who are ?stand in? actors on a ?soft porn? film set and who are constantly recreating sex scenes while getting to know each other in the process and making idle chit-chat about the traffic and other mundane topics. I couldn?t really work out the relationship between this story and all the others though. I felt it was only in the movie so they could include some nudity to amuse the male audience!

That?s the film in a nutshell. Are you are confused yet? Most of the stories reach their climax at Heathrow Airport at the end of the film but not before there are numerous scenes in the film to make you laugh and in my case, cry lots and lots. I don?t want to go into any more detail about the characters and the stories than I have as it would ruin it for the viewer and one of the best elements of the film is trying to guess what might happen and being surprised with what does.

As well as the cast I have already mentioned there are also cameos by Rowan Atkinson, Claudia Schiffer, Michael Parkinson, Denise Richards, Shannon Elizabeth, January Jones and Elisha Cuthbert and a wonderful soundtrack that includes ?Jump? (Girls Underground) and ?The trouble with love? (Kelly Clarkson).

I will admit it again, I ?actually love? this film. It is one of those films to watch when you are feeling down and doubting that there is love in the world. The script is one of the funniest I have seen and heard in ages and like true British comedies is scattered with virtually every profanity known to man (and woman). Some of the storylines are a little unbelievable but that doesn?t matter because the actors pull them off beautifully.

Some reviewers on the Internet were a little harsh on this film but I just think they were jealous Americans as I haven?t seen a film as heartwarming as this in years. Because there are so many stories to concentrate on you are never bored or watching the clock. This is one of the few films I have seen with a star-studded cast that actually works.

Some of the scenes from this film may well become classics like seeing the Prime Minister of England shakin? his ?bon-bon? to ?Jump? and the film clip for ?Love is all around? which is a complete rip off from Robert Palmer?s ?Addicted to Love?. This film is worth watching for Bill Nighy?s performance alone and I still believe that any film starring High Grant is bound to be successful. This time he is teamed with his foe from ?Bridget Jones?s Diary?, Colin Firth, who is also one of the better actors going around and who is also quite easy on the eye.

Overall, the film does have some weak plots and some of the relationships between the characters are not always clear. Some of the storylines are a little too similar to other British comedies, like Notting Hill, and some of them don?t always end adequately and still leave you guessing. Given all its flaws, it is still a film not to be missed. Love Actually is much more than a ?chick flick? and will be equally enjoyed by both sexes due to the many guaranteed laughs.

Love actually ? you are actually going to love it.

THE EXTRAS

Other than Scene Selection (20 scenes) there are a number of extras available on this DVD. They are:

1) Music actually ? the full video clip for ?Christmas Is All Around? by Bill Nighy as well as Music Highlights. The video clip is a tad raunchy I must say. Music Highlights has director Richard Curtis discussing some of the songs used in this film and why they were chosen. There are five songs discussed in total including Olivia Olsen?s version of ?All I want for Christmas? which is amazing for someone so young.

2) Some trailers actually ? There is an ad for Oxfam (and I am not sure why) and a trailer for ?Thunderbirds? which I will be avoiding like the plague if the trailer is anything to go by.

3) Behind love actually ? The deleted scenes are discussed in detail by Richard Curtis. There are ten different scenes to watch and all of them are quite good but were merely deleted to stop the film being over three hours long and nobody wants that do they (except Lord of the Rings lovers). Many of the scenes deleted actually provided an insight into some of the scenes that remained. The Bad Bernie scene in particular was quite humorous and a little risqu? when you witness some of the artwork in Mark?s Art Gallery. There are over 37 minutes of scenes to enjoy here and they are well worth perusing.

There is audio commentary available with Richard Curtis, Bill Nighy, Hugh Grant and Thomas Sangster discussing the movie.

Finally there is a section called ?The storytellers?, a documentary about the writers and the story. Each of the film?s main storylines are discussed by the actors, the producer and director. This only runs for ten minutes but gives you a little insight into the director/ producers opinion of the various relationships.

CONCLUSION

Love actually is brilliant actually. The film revolves around ten different stories of love amongst a bunch of Londoners who are generally linked to each other in one way of another. The all-star cast includes Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman and Keira Knightley. If you are thinking ?chick flick? and want to give this film a miss than you will be doing yourself a disservice as not only is this film romantic in many ways it is also one of the funniest films I have seen in a long time. There is a sensational soundtrack and a very witty script and because there are so many storylines to concentrate on you will never get bored. I can?t recommend this movie enough! If you loved Notting Hill and Bridget Jones?s Diary as much as I did then love actually is a must see, actually!!!!!!