Love Actually...Stinks (except for Bill Nighy)

Rating: 3/10 (10 December 2003)

This movie, put together by the team who produced "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and "Bridget Jones' Diary", had the potential to be a winner. It fails because it tries to be too cute for its own good, too whimsical beyond belief, and too raunchy to be considered a holiday flick. The result is a contrived script that is destined to the rental bin under the category of "saccharine sweet".
Save for the wasted, picture stealing performance of Bill Nighy .
This film had all the earmarks of a stinker and I am annoyed at myself for not heeding the obvious warning signs:
Warning 1 - Any movie that touts all the stars head shots in the lobby poster (think Airport 1975, Poseidon Adventure, etc.) is a stinker.
Warning 2 - The ridiculous promos that show Sarah (Laura Linney) jumping up and down on a staircase, flapping her hands in delight because the man of her dreams agrees to come up to her apartment on their first date is a scene right out of Gilmore Girls. One should have known, with that kind of cuteness, the rest of the movie would not be much better.
Warning 3 - Anyone who thinks the sight of Hugh Grant as the Prime Minister of Britain, dancing and prancing all over 10 Downing Street to the beat of the Pointer Sisters is entertainment originality, never saw "Risky Business". And how about the inevitable appearance by a staffer who stands unnoticed in the background while Grant continues his dance, oblivious to her presence until he turns and is embarrassed? Done so many times on sitcoms too numerous to mention.
Speaking of Mr.Grant, does he have any other emotion besides "befuddlement"?
And what's with all the sex and nudity? Serving only to distract the viewer from the plot lines, gratuitously bare breasted women abound throughout the film. Was it really necessary to show so many long scenes of breasts, when a fleeting glimpse or a well placed bed sheet, would have been more intriguing and less distracting.
Bill Nighy's portrayal of an over the hill rock star who finds love was perhaps,the most original characterization in a movie this year. Too bad it's lost in this picture of unoriginality.