Very funny comedy about serious subjects

Rating: 8/10 (11 September 1999)

"Notting Hill" is one of the 10 year's best in my opinion. It is a very intelligent romantic comedy about some matters of life.
Julia Roberts (great and wonderful) plays Anna Scott, the most famous film star in the world, who is in England to promote her new film. Hugh Grant is William Thacker, an ordinary man, who owns a book shop in Notting Hill, London, and is not very lucky with love. One day Anna comes into William's shop and... Well, it seems to be one more romantic comedy, and just that. But it is not. As in "As Good as it Gets" the director uses humor to discuss some serious subjects. Here each character has his/her own problem and his/her own joy.
1-Anna Scott: she's the most famous woman in the world and seems to be happy. But as she says "this thing of fame is not real". She needs something more...
2-William Thacker: he doesn't have much money and is not lucky with women, although he's handsome and a nice person. He also needs something more.
3-Will's friend and his wife (on the wheelchair): they seem to be happy and, even with some problems, they try to live their life like everybody else.
4-Will's sister and his roommate: he is silly and unusual; she is quite strange and also unusual. Also need something else.
Well, we can see that even a comedy can be a complex film. In short, "Notting Hill" is a film about the celebrity life, but we have to pay attention at the supporting roles.
Julia Roberts shows that she can be a great actress if she wants to. She also proved this in "Stepmom". Hugh Grant doesn't surprise me; we've already known he is a good actor. The writers and the producers are the same of "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and here, once more, they show the value of their work.
It is impossible not to love "Notting Hill"!