Enjoyable holiday film

Rating: 8/10 (16 November 2007)

Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Laura Linney and Colin Firth all experience "Love Actually," a shortened form of a phrase, "love actually is all around," as stated by Hugh Grant in the opening narration. This 2003 film, well directed by Richard Curtis, isn't a typical romantic comedy. It concerns all kinds of love...and while love actually is all around, sometimes things don't work out as we hoped.
As you might guess from the formidable list of stars, the film is somewhat episodic. Liam Neeson plays a man who has just lost his wife and now has to deal with his withdrawn son; Laura Linney is an assistant in love with her boss, but personal problems get in the way; Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson are a long married couple, and now he finds himself being seduced by an office tramp; Hugh Grant is the new prime minister who falls for someone on his staff...etc. There are some adorable stories: Neeson and his son plotting to get a goddess to notice the boy at school...hilarious stories: Bill Nighy as a washed up singer who promotes one of his old songs that has been changed with Christmas lyrics; a young man who can't get a date is sure if he goes to America, his accent will bring in women by the droves; and some sadness - something for everyone. What hooks all the stories together is the theme of love.
There is a good deal of fantasy in the film - it's meant to be fun, light and sweet, and it succeeds. I didn't read the other reviews, but from some of the posters, I gather there were viewers who wanted something deeper. For me it's always best to take a film as intended and not wish for more. Surely Curtis had no expectation of heavy-duty story and character development when he utilized so many stories. The great soundtrack adds to the festivities. It's an ultimate feel-good movie, and it's the favorite film of many, including the person who sent it to me as a gift.