This is a great film to watch with a box of Kleenex

Rating: 8/10 (21 December 2008)

This film is an odd one in my household. Although my wife is a rather famous romance writer, for once I actually liked a romantic film more than her. I think the reason for our divergent views is that in most romance novels, all the nice people get the love of their lives by the end of the film. However, in LOVE ACTUALLY, some do but others do not. So, if you need to have a romance where everything works out perfectly, this is NOT the film for you. However, if you are like me and don't mind a bit of ambiguity about the characters, then you are sure to love this film.
This story is a complicated film where there are many different stories occurring at the same time just before Christmas. What ties this all together is that the various stories all relate to each other somehow. In other words, this film is about people and their friends also have separate stories that diverge. I rarely have seen this type of film work so well.
I could spend a lot of time talking about all the plots but I won't bother. Part of this is because there isn't enough space here to adequately do it and part of it is because there are tons and tons of very thorough reviews already on IMDb for this film, so I don't want to plow familiar ground. Read these longer reviews if you are interested in a play-by-play analysis.
Instead, understand that some of the romances work out perfectly, others are uncertain and others are heart-breakers--just like in real life. In fact, that's the beauty of this film. While you really can't believe all the plots (some are very, very far-fetched and silly), all the people talk like real people. And the romances are just so adorable and sweet you can't watch this film and keep a dry eye. Plus, in the cases where the romance fails, I liked them as well because they all had wonderful object lessons for us all.
Amazingly acted, directed and written--this is one case where a popular film actually deserves all the hoopla. In the UK it's sold like a bazillion DVDs and I can see why.
By the way, there were only two things about the film I did not particularly like. First, the Prime Minister's love interest (Natalie) was a lovely woman but repeatedly throughout the film they made fat jokes about her. This made no sense, as she was gorgeous and the comments tended to reinforce the stereotype that a beautiful woman must be stick-thin--like Keira Knightley. Even if she was overweight, which she wasn't, this is gross to say and the film made it seem cute or funny to do so (not just with her but with a Portuguese lady as well). She was curvy and even if these gross comments were true, women are supposed to have curves and not be anorexic!! Second, the scene where the little boy runs through security really, really annoyed me. In reality, the kid would have either been shot or arrested and the airport would have been shut down--yet the movie shows no consequences for this insanely stupid and selfish behavior. Neither problem ruined the film but they did detract from my enjoyment of an otherwise brilliant movie.