Is this supposed to be funny?

Rating: 5/10 (6 August 2002)

In the brain-dead world of the U.S. sitcom, there's a common plot device called "embarrassing the protagonist," in which some idiot writer apparently finds mountains of hilarity in rendering the protagonist speechless; as with a kick to the groin, getting covered in gallons of some food product, or stammering out a rambling monologue when the guy/girl should really just shut up, etc. Somebody, somewhere, must find these things funny. If you see such a person, please smack them, and if you are such a person, what on earth is wrong with you?
There are about three genuinely funny moments in "Notting Hill," and the rest of the film features various Brits making asses of themselves. I wasn't laughing, I was cringing. This is entertainment?
Not a single character in the film is particularly nice-- note how Thacker tries to impress the girl by calling his roommate a "pea-brained idiot." (Well, maybe he is, but guys don't usually impress girls by insulting people, do they?). Anna Scott is remarkably shallow and is given about 3 lines of character development in the whole film, all of which occur during the birthday party scene. Why is Thacker interested in her, other than because she's famous? Why is Anna interested in Thacker, other than he looks like Hugh Grant? These questions are ones we loud Americans are apparently not allowed to ask, we're just supposed to point and laugh and actually believe this couple actually has a shot at a real life. The characters barely talk after they meet; character development is replaced with pop songs. Note to director: it's NOT THE SAME THING!!
Shallow characters, shallow writing, and it seems to be shallow directing, too, as the actors really do their best with the material given, which is really just Generic Sitcom Plot #7 stretched to feature-length, with better cinematography. 5/10.