Better than the cynics may expect...

Rating: 7/10 (25 June 2001)

Now lets not get carried away with Notting Hill, I thought (or 1 Wedding and a Film Star, as it should be known) - it is not going to be the greatest or "loveliest" film that has ever been made. Hugh Grant in reality is a fairly boring and very type cast actor and so, unfortunately, is the plot.
So, the real test for this film,for me, was always going to be if it could rise above these obvious shortcomings, and in general it does seemed to do so. The script, which has to be the main star, is brilliant. Better than 4 Weddings and a Funeral, Richard Curtis inserts many more "Blackadder" moments, which will have many in stitches. Julia Roberts is as engaging as ever and revels in the apparent auto-biographical nature of her part.
The support cast is universally brilliant, although stand outs include: Rhys Ifans who is hilarious as Spike, Hugh Grant's flat mate; Tim (Darling) McInnerny and Gina McKee both excel making a touching couple, and Dylan Moran is unforgettable in his tiny part as the shop lifter.
I was a sceptical viewer, but I was pleasantly surprised, it is better than 4 Weddings, so worth seeing for all those, like me, who initially refused to just see a rehash of the same film.