Fairy tale romance is just so-so

Rating: 5/10 (28 January 2017)

"Notting Hill" is sort of a fairy tale romance. Of course, the initial appeal would be the two stars, Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant. Grant plays William Thacker who owns a travel bookshop and lives nearby in the Notting Hill district of London. Roberts plays Anna Scott, the world's most famous actress for this story. They happen to meet when Anna just happens into his bookshop one day. The screen idol is trying to get away, to duck out of her life for a while. This eventually blossoms into a romance, and that leads to a fairy tale ending.
Grant is the main star of this movie, and the main reason to see it. He wrestles with the unlikelihood of his encounter. He's attracted to Scott, and the thought of anything serious is too unbelievable. But, it's happening and he's there, and he needs to pursue it. That sums up the good and interesting parts of this movie. Roberts doesn't have many lines in this film. At times, Anna just seems to be a pretty face or fixture. Some of the film surrounds the actress and her entourage – a secretary, manager, publicist and reporters and photographers. Her life seems tightly regulated and scheduled. I think the audience is meant to sympathize with the heroine who can't have any time of her own, away from the spotlight, news cameras, and public.
It's hard to empathize, though, when Anna makes $15 million just for one movie. She tells Bernie (played by Hugh Bonneville) that's what she is paid. So, make three or four films in a year, and that's $45 to $60 million a year. It's hard to sympathize with that. Of course, money isn't everything – and really not that much, when it comes down to happiness in life. But, what this film shows, probably not intentionally, is that those who make a fortune in the limelight (obviously, not all super wealthy folks), aren't very happy. Or, they have a hard time finding happiness. That's because the money, the limelight, the notoriety get in the way. Imparting that message, however subliminally, may be a quality of this film that most won't see or realize. It may get lost in the dream romance.
The best parts of the film are when William takes Anna to a family dinner with his two sisters, brother-in-law and family friend. The family add the most zest and some good comedy to the film. Gina McKee is Bella, William's older sister. Richard McCabe is Tony, her devoted husband, gourmet cook and witty humorist. Emma Chambers is the youngest sister, Honey. Family friend, Bernie, rounds out the group. Toward the end, this group comes together to help William get to the depot on time.
This group had been trying to find a match for William. So, they repeatedly had dinners at Bella and Tony's with a date they would line up for William. Naturally, none worked out, and most were far out. One of the strangest was a funny but somber match. Tony had just fixed a gourmet meal that they are about to eat and she announces that she is a fruitarian. She says, "We believe fruits and vegetable have feelings, so we think cooking is cruel. We only eat things that have already fallen from the tree or bush that are, in fact, dead already." William, "Oh, all right. So, these carrots?" Date, "Have been murdered, yes."
Rhys Ifans who plays Spike, an out-of-work roommate of William, adds very little to this film. His character seems to be intended for the humor, but there's not much. Mostly he's a coarse slob who sponges off William. He lounges around the flat most of the day in his skivvies.
The film was shot in the Notting Hill district. I'm not familiar with London, but this seems like a nice residential area not far from the heart of London, to the Northwest. Of course, residential areas in such places are mixed with, or adjacent to, stretches of commerce and government. It's not far from Kensington Palace (museum) and Hyde Park. The little that the film has on the streets is a nice peek at life in London neighborhoods. It's hard to imagine though, that a bloke could make a go of it in a neighborhood bookshop that just handled travel books.
This film will probably be enjoyed most by the lovelorn and those who like to fantasize about romance or the perfect match. But for the most part, it's just so-so. Hugh Grant's part is good, and his family members and scenes are the most fun. Julia Roberts is mostly a pretty face. The trivia section of the IMDb Web site says that she wanted terribly to play this part, it was such a wonderful love story. Well, she forgot to bring her pep pills to put some life into her character. Another interesting bit of trivia is that Roberts made $15 million for this film. So, she accounted for 36% of the $42 million budget.
Incidentally, a number of Hollywood stars have been paid $20 to $35 million or more for single films. Sandra Bullock, Keanu Reeves, Johnny Depp, Bruce Williams, Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie, Sara Jessica Parker, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks and a host of others get many millions for a single film. Some also take smaller salaries but get percentages of the profits. In some instances, that has made them more than $100 million – for a single film.