Sci-fi romantic comedy

Rating: 4/10 (18 February 2003)

This is the kind of romantic comedy that seems set in a parallel universe where usual rules of romance don't apply.
Here are the rules of 'Notting Hill' universe:

a beautiful, stinking rich, famous, self realized actress can't find a decent date;

she falls in love for the first "normal" guy who looks at her mouth-open and says nothing smart;

"normal" people are all losers whose life has a meaning only if they meet a movie star; this is shown in the dinner between Robert and Grant's friends. Their chatting is covered by music, implicating that thay can't say nothing interesting.

star and "normal" people belong to two separate castes, and their love raises more problems than Romeo and Juliet's.

Apart from this absurd (and a bit insulting) premise, Roberts and Grant have no chemistry; they seem to be more in need of confidential friendship than love, and we see no solid reason for they should love each other.
The script is pretty lame, characters are not well developed, and there's only one really good joke (about Mel Gibson). The supporting characters are nothing special, Rhys Ifans'character is there as a target for jokes, but has nothing to do with the story.
Gets one point more for good visuals, the season-changing scene is fascinating.
4/10