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LOVE ACTUALLY Send This Review to a Friend
The fare is light, but the result is a hodgepodge of occasionally funny moments or situations and silly, absurd, contrived, sometimes mushy portions that strain credulity and patience. "Love Actually," written and directed by Richard Curtis is laden with stars, some of whom come off well, and some of whom are trapped in ridiculous roles. The film attempts to show that love is everywhere, if only one is ready to find it and take appropriate action.
My favorite bit is when Hugh Grant, as a British Prime Minister, sabotages Billy Bob Thornton as a U.S. President in their joint news conference by vowing that Britain will take a stand based on self-interest and not be a lackey of America. I'm sure the little speech will produce cheers at theaters in England, given the widespread criticism current leader Tony Blair is getting as "Bush's poodle" for his support of the Iraq invasion.
Grant as the PM is also in love with Natalie (Martine McCutcheon), an aide at 10 Downing Street, and although Grant does this sort of thing well, the ultimate pursuit of her is among the silliest sequences. Bill Nighy has good, rowdy moments as a foul-mouth, cynical rock star, and Martin Freeman and Joanna Page are amusing as nude actors miming sex acts for a movie while timidly trying to really get to know one another. Liam Neeson is reduced to a role in which he must give advice to his young stepson on how to get up the nerve to let the girl of his dreams in school know he's wild about her.
Others locked into Curtis's outlandish musings on love include Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Colin Firth, Laura Linney, Heike Makatsh, Rowan Atkinson and Lucia Moniz. Audiences starved for frothy escapist fare may find a level of amusement in "Love Actually," but the discerning are likely to be disappointed even after laughing here and there. A Universal Pictures release.
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