make no mistakes, this is a good movie

Rating: Null/10 (24 March 2003)

***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** BUT there are some things that makes this "romantic comedy"unrealistic and at times almost laughable.
Hugh Grant plays a character called William Thacker, who's an average lower-middle class british bloke who lives in Notting Hill in a house with a blue door that he and his wife bought, before she left him for a guy that looked exactly like Harrison Ford.
One day, movie star Anna Scott(Julia Roberts) walks into his travel-book shop, expecting to buy a [boring] book about Turkey but instead finds true love(awwww...), or so they want us to believe.
[Beyond here there be spoilers]

After a few dates Anna invites William to her hotel room for a little rumble in the hay which Will reluctantly agrees to. But when he arrives at her hotel room he is quickly snubbed for her asshole movie star (ex) boyfriend from america who just recently showed up at her hotel room.
unrealistically(after a few dates) William is heartbroken.
Now, it is quite clear that William was head over heals the secound she walked into his store and when he invites her into his apartment, so she can change clothes, he cleans his kitchen before letting her in and continuously rambles on. It always seemed like he was more starstruck than in love.
And Roberts' character rejects him on more than one occasion for childish reasons, but he takes her back time and time again. I guess he wants to cling to his only chance of fame. And she disgustingly takes advantage of him by coming back to him only when she's in trouble and has no where else to go. Not to mention her little sob story at Will's sister's birthday party, poor little, rich girl!
I can't believe the writer saw it fit for her character to try to "out do" Will's former love and his bestfriend's wife's crippleness and inability to have children by her whining about that she wont be famous forever, saying that "one day, not long from now, my looks will fade and they will discover I can't act. And I will become some sad, middle aged woman who looks a bit like someone who was famous for a while.". How on earth could that possibly be worse or even anywhere near not being able to walk and have children? As the group pities her in silence I can't help but begin to hate Roberts' spoiled character.
[END OF SPOILERS]
Don't get me wrong, this IS a good movie. All the small jokes(mostly by Grant) are excellent, but all through the movie I kept feeling that Grant's sweet, smart, funny character deserved better than Roberts' character.
And the seasons changing as Grant walks through Notting Hill is VERY, nicely done.
I have never found Roberts' acting appealing but Grant is an excellent actor and apart from most of what Julia Roberts spewed out, it is actually a good and memorable script.
7/10