"Here's an important message from your uncle Bill."

Rating: 6/10 (28 November 2005)

I've read several comments on this movie, and each and every time I have been shocked to find one thing missing from otherwise comprehensive reviews: the pure genius that is Bill Nighy.
As far as romantic comedies go, I'm a tepid supporter; I watch them at parties with the girls, and generally enjoy them, but I never think of them once they're over. This one was different, however, because of the lightning performance by Bill Nighy. His portrayal of Billy Mack, the has-been rock star and ex-heroin addict "struggling to make a comeback at any price" is, for lack of a better word, priceless. His character is deeply developed, beautifully intricate, and sorrowfully realistic, not to mention hilarious. I found myself coasting from scene to scene, waiting with baited breath for more appearances of the quirky rocker. His obvious loneliness and attempted cover-ups were touching, and his epiphany at the end was gorgeous.
This isn't the first time Bill Nighy has saved a movie. He did it before in Underworld, and he's done it again here.
Bill Nighy is undeniably one of the greatest actors I've ever seen. I've never known anyone else to be so completely unrecognizable from film to film, not because he actually looks different (in fact, he almost always looks exactly the same) but because he melds with his characters so perfectly, he makes each one breathe with its own life.
If you're not all in to the romantic comedy scene, but want to see an awesome performance by an amazing actor, do what I did: watch all the Billy Mack scenes, and skip the rest.
~Cucumbermoon
P.S. Incidentally, Billy Mack has one of the funniest lines I've heard in a long, long time: "Hi Kids. Here's an important message from your uncle Bill. Don't buy drugs." Pause. "Become a pop star and they give them to you for free!"