Is Love Actually all around Us?

Rating: 7/10 (24 November 2003)

I heard a lot of good things about this movie and since I'm a sucker for holiday films I decided to check it out for myself. The story revolves around several love stories and the movie goes back and forth to show what's going on with each character. There is the Prime Minister(Hugh Grant) who slowly starts falling in love with his pretty maid Natalie(Martine McCutcheon). A married father and husband(Alan Rickman) who has a thing for his younger secretary Mia(Heike Hakatsch). A young man Mark(Andrew Lincoln) who has always liked his best friend's wife Juliet(Keira Knightley) but has always been afraid to tell her how he really feels about her. A young boy Sam(Thomas Sangster) tries to win the heart of his classmate Joanna(Olivia Olson) with the help of his father(Liam Neeson). A young rather unattractive man(Kris Marshall) is sick of snobby British gals and decides to go to America to find the right girl for him. A lonely woman named Sarah(Laura Linney) who has always had a thing for her sexy coworker Karl(Rodrigo Santoro). An old drugged out rocker(Bill Nigghy) who realizes that his fat manager is the only real friend he has ever had. A man(Colin Firth) working on a novel in his cabin in the middle of nowhere falls in love with his foreign caretaker Aurelia(Lúcia Moniz). And last but not least, a couple who fall in love while shooting a porno. At first I thought of this movie to be overrated and I didn't see what all the fuss was about but I have learned to appreciate it. It is rather long and sometimes it feels like everything is just thrown and mushed together with no directions and it makes you wonder if it will ever come to an end. However, it is touching in it's own way and it's interesting to see how each love story turns out. I did not leave the theater with my heart humming happily like the critics promised but it was still a enjoyable and entertaining movie. I would give Love Actually 7/10.