Love Everywhere

Rating: 10/10 (13 December 2019)

Driver Stu from "The Adventures of Pete and Pete" once said, "When love comes, you better pull over to the side of the road and open your doors, cause nothing in this life matters more." The strange and funny thing about love is how it can just happen when we least expect it to, when we feel very little to no control over our lives, when it seems at almost the most inconvenient time it just simply happens. Just like the seasons of nature it is an element vitally needed so not just can the world be nurtured to continue to grow and thrive but our own spirits.
This film is one of my favorite romance films but also an honorable mention in favorite Christmas movies. The film is sort of an anthology by its nature as the stories are focused on multiple individuals whom all somewhat are in the same place and sometimes connect and intersect with each other, but the theme is the same which is about love.
To me this is one of those romance films done right for one thing each of the stories like in any anthology are short which means there's no filler and sub plot nonsense which is what plagues a lot of bad rom coms and make them forget what movie they are.
Most importantly though they each keep their eye on the ball, each of the stories knows who they are and what they want to say and be which is part of why the stories and characters in them to this day are endearing and timeless. Ok, not everyone of them one or two I can leave out but like with all anthologies it's all a matter of your preference.
The cast consists of an all star cast which most of the time isn't always a good mix as it's been known when most films which consist of all-star casts don't always equal good movies. But fortunately, this film is one of those case where it does, personally I feel an all-star cast film can work where you use each of them right and well but also have a good story.
Though believe or not, this film didn't consist of an all star cast as only half of them were major leaguers and most others we're either unknowns or minor league players, this film was sort of a launch point for them. It makes watching the film even more interesting seeing a face or two getting their start, and anyone that has seen it before at the time thinking who knew.
I'll just say a few of the stories I really like as there are a lot of them.
Jamie and Aurelia: Colin Firth is just great as Jamie, I like how in the film he sort of looks like Richard Castle, ok not really but from his haircut and the way he's dressed, even a little of his character is a bit similar to that character.
Here he's a guy a bit on the introverted side, he's a little down on his luck as he has writers block or on a losing streak as he's had one bad book after another.
It's also funny how his a bit of a slob as his desk are always in disarray as we see papers are dis or unorganized but also a bit of a caffeine addict as he has a series of coffee mugs pileing up his desk, this sort of reflects his whole life and even love life is in total disarray.
But of course, his luck is just about to change when Aurelia comes into his life. She is played by a lovely actress, Lucia Moniz whom hasn't really done any other movies outside of her region afterward. Anyway, I really like the chemistry between the two is just beautiful as both are from two different worlds.
The relationship is somewhat ironic as his profession part of what it's about is communicating with everyone around you by putting your ideas out there. We see that Aurelia really is good for him from not just making his house more livable but helping him become more assertive, do what he must do.
One interesting moment is when he visits his family which I'll admit was something that came completely out of the blue. This scene works well in two ways, I really liked that look on his face which is exactly what we're all thinking, and it says, "Wait a minute what am I doing here." He realizes he's not where he should be that his place is with Aurelia. But also, it was sort of the broken fourth wall joke as that look is someone that suddenly walked into the wrong Christmas movie, like a scene that was just inserted at the last minute which was the point and joke. What he does at the last minutes are beautiful, I won't say anything else about this except it show both truly are on the same page.
Mark and Juliet: This is another which is a small one, which involves Juliet and Mark played well by one of my favorite actress Kira Knightly and Andrew Lincoln whom weren't stars at the time. This one is simply about unrequited love; we see in one scene where Mark inadvertently fudges up a wedding video for Juliet and her husband Peter played by Chiwetel Ejiofor before he was a star.
We see Mark is a guy that has always harbored feelings for Juliet but never said anything as he was too afraid to. Which is understandable for some people it's really doesn't come easy and it's not so much fear of being shot down but being misunderstood. Or even simply the fact in life you let certain things get in your way which is an easy thing for all of us to do because hey life happens and dilemmas don't solve themselves; but also, simply not believing in oneself enough. It can also be a painful dilemma and cross to harbor as it leaves people wondering what could have happened if they did make a move.
Though we know it might not have made much difference as Juliet doesn't feel the same way about him as she'll always see him as a friend which is also understandable too because that's also part of life as one doesn't always feel the same way or anything more about the other, it's just simply not in the cards.
But the final minutes of the story result in a timeless scene which has been parodied a lot over the years. But this scene was obviously an homage to "A Hard Day's Night" which of course is the cue card scene. It's just really sweet because he never says a word and he doesn't need to because in each of the cards he presents he is expressing his feelings for her but also shows how he's begun to become more assertive and find love of his own. This also goes with another quote from "The Adventures of Pete and Pete" which is "If love is true, really true it doesn't need an answer."
Prime Minister and Natalie: This one of course involves Hugh Grant whom at the time was somewhat the king of romance movies. Here he plays a prime minister of the UK, it's that simple story of the man that has everything except love. And there is his secretary Natalie played by Martine McCutcheon whom I think is cute and hot, it's too bad this actress didn't have a little more afterward as she's a capable one.
The interplay between both Prime Minister and Natalie is just sweet as we see both are struggling to maintain a professional relationship, but we see that cracks are forming. Both already know what they feel for one another but have not just been unassertive about those feelings but have never felt or made time for them, as we see both are too busy maintaining and living a lifestyle but not a life, hence the fact Prime Minister's real name isn't known because he has no life outside of office. This makes both sympathetic as we see it's can be a very lonely and two-dimensional existence, sure you have success but as they say what good is it without happiness, to me that can be a waste of life too.
I really like it when we see the Prime Minister finally being assertive or has been given the push to it when a high ranking political member sexually harasses Natalie and the Prime Minister in a speech defends her which shows he not just shows the strength of his integrity but also how strong his feelings for Natalie really are. When the payoff happens it's just sweet because it shows how the one you love is closer than you think but also putting your feelings out there for the other isn't as hard as it seems.
Love can happen everywhere to anyone, throughout the holidays.
Rating: 4 stars