Grant and Roberts Sparkle!

Rating: Null/10 (4 May 2001)

I'm not a fan of either Hugh Grant or Julia Roberts. So why did I watch this film in the first place? I guess I'm always looking for the best in everyone. What a surprise. I was not disappointed.
Hugh Grant's jittery, bumbling charm has never been more endearing. The vulnerability Grant infuses into his character is definitely his best quality, and it's perfectly understandable that he might decline the opportunity to date a megastar actress out of trepidation.
Julia Roberts' legions of fans will not be let down by her character. It's dead-on Julia. But those who are not among her fans will be slowly but surely won over by the honesty and directness of the character. I don't care what your testosterone quotient is, there won't be a dry eye in the house when she almost whispers, nervous smile masking the hurt, that she's "just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her."
The story is by the writer of Four Weddings and a Funeral and Bridget Jones' Diary, so it's a sure bet from the start. But Grant and Roberts take what might have been a slightly weak treatment and make it sparkle.

I get so sick of everyone who pooh-pooh's a happy ending because it's somehow so unbelievable that things ever work out right. Instead we demand tear jerker disappointment at every turn and end up with Kevin Costner drowning like a sacrificial lamb at the end of Message in a Bottle to satisfy our lust for tragedy. I love it when things work out well in my life, and sometimes I like to see films about things working out. If a bookstore owner in London can actually end up with the top actress in Hollywood, then maybe I'll get that promotion, or that beautiful new associate might actually talk to me. Is that so bad?