Enjoyable, Funny, Sensitive and...... not quite the finished article

Rating: Null/10 (16 November 2003)

I hardly know where to begin in reviewing this film. It is possibly one of my favourite romantic comedies, and i have seen a lot of them; it is one of the perils of having a movie loving girlfriend.
A movie that has so many main characters who are central to the narrative usually finds it difficult to immerse the audience within it. Black Hawk Down was a prize example. Ridley Scott produced a great visualisation of the attrocities of war, yet because he had over 30 characters to associate with, we lost interest in them. Love Actually managed to keep us interested in all the little tales that go on. Some of the scenes, or should i say sketches, touch on the borderline of decency, but sometimes decency can be sacrificed for cheap humour, if done cleverly. Key characters that i enjoyed watching were the aging rock star, who reminded me of people such as Ozzy Osbourne and Johny Rotten, and Hugh Grant's Prime Minister, who was such a likable character, that we can not help but want him to fall in love with Martine McCutcheon.
Keira Knightley is wasted in such a small two dimensional role, but it does add something for the young lad, as once again she looks stunning. Liam Neeson plays a funny father teaching his son about love and sex. The film does boast a very good cast, although a lot of them are left scrounging over small roles, or playing cameo roles, which fortunately do not detract from the tone of the film.
Possibly if the film had centred on less characters, and concentrated more on the endearing ones, then i would be telling everyone to go and see it. The way it is.... well its still worth a watch, and i have to admit i loved it