A great display of Richard Curtis feel good rom com heaven- although there is such a thing as too much of a good thing

Rating: 7/10 (30 March 2015)

Richard Curtis, one of Britain's most successful screenwriters, turns his hand to directing and virtually every successful British A list actor falls in love in Love Actually, a rom com of epic proportions. 10 stories unfold across the film in the weeks leading up to Christmas, with a one month later epilogue. Love Actually starts off superbly but then fails to sustain itself across its full 2 hour runtime. The cast charms throughout, with Liam Neeson giving a touching and likable performance far away from his recent action typecast role and Bill Nighy stealing the show as an aging rock star. The film is sweeter than a box of Lindt chocolate and often feels like an extended sugar rush. It's sentimental, but its' difficult not to be genuinely charmed by it. Richard Curtis, with his razor sharp humour and wonderfully British writing, gives us laughs galore, and for the first hour the film is more often than not hysterical. Although the movie devolves as it goes along, it remains funny throughout, and Curtis proves himself a good director as well.
The problem with Curtis is that his films are feel good, but they don't offer enough conflict and can just feel like syrupy fantasies. Without actors like Hugh Grant, these romances might not work at all. The stories in LA don't have enough conflict and at times I found myself wondering where it was headed, as the film's only real message, love is all around, is one we've all heard hundreds of times before. It's quite sweet and there is one effective sad scene in the second half of the movie, but overall the emotional grip slackens as it all just gets a bit too much in terms of the sentimentality. Since it's all fantasy, it doesn't always feel that romantic. With good direction, an irresistible sense of charm, strong acting and Richard Curtis' sharp humour complete with his typical fine use of profanity, LA is an entertaining and likable rom com with admirable ambition, but on the storytelling side there are definite shortcomings. The Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Bill Nighy, Colin Firth and Kris Marshall story lines should perhaps have made up the film with the other story lines (Which either don't go anywhere or are just a bit weaker) dropped.
7/10