Hit-and-miss, but the last 30 minutes are PERFECT (***)

Rating: 6/10 (22 November 2003)

Richard Curtis, the guy who wrote the screenplays for several classic British comedies ("Four Weddings And A Funeral", "Notting Hill", "Bridget Jones's Diary") wrote and also directed "Love Actually", and with it, has set out to make the Ultimate Romantic Comedy. It even says so on the poster.
It's over 2 hours long, it's crammed with several different storylines, well over a dozen main characters (most of whom know each other in some way), and has numerous subplots, some of which add depth and others that take it away. Yes, it definitely wants to be the "Magnolia" of romantic comedies. And...it doesn't really succeed. But it's a valiant effort.
Although I do have to say that it certainly does LOOK like the Ultimate Romantic Comedy. The cinematography is absolutely gorgeous.
I'm not even going to try to summarize all those storylines, so I'll just say that it has an all-star cast including Hugh Grant, Laura Linney, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Colin Firth, Liam Neeson, Keira Knightley and many others.
Some of the storylines are very enjoyable, but others could have been cut completely and wouldn't have been missed. And it's that kind of constant teetering, between the interesting stories and the not-so-interesting stories that makes this ambitious film fall far, far short of being the "Ultimate Romantic Comedy". Not to mention the many dry spots and flat jokes.
That said, the last half hour or so of "Love Actually" is about as perfect as a movie of this kind can get. All the stories are drawn together and concluded in a way that is very moving and satisfying. And I fell for it, what can I say? Sometimes, you just gotta surrender to the warm-fuzzies.
It's nothing too special, and it certainly doesn't compare to some other recent British comedies, like "About A Boy" or "Bend It Like Beckham", but it's pretty enjoyable, has wonderful cinematography, a good soundtrack, and some nice Christmas spirit. So there ya go. It's more or less worth it.