A good movie that was badly named and marketed

Rating: 7/10 (3 June 2004)

I only saw Love, Actually because it was shown on a commercial flight and I was bored. From the TV commercials I had seen for it when it was in theatres, I expected it to be a lightweight, goofy romance almost in a slapstick vein, all set at a sappy time of year (Christmas).
Well, it is set at a sappy time of year, and milks it. But the various storylines involved (following different couples at various stages of relationships) were far more realistic, thoughtful and serious than I had expected.
The movie should have been called "Four Stories," or something that made it less slapstick and more a view of different aspects of relationships. True, some of the relationships were slapstick, but that had a place among the more serious tales. And the way various characters were connected was interesting.
If you are a guy, this movie is better than you think it will be. I gave it a 7.