My Wife made me watch it.

Rating: 5/10 (12 March 2001)

"Notting Hill" is the ultimate "Chick Flick." This could have been a really good movie, but it wasn't.
What this film lacked was a plot, a script, and good acting. The basic premise that a movie star can fall in love with an average guy is a real stretch. I could not believe that superstar Anna Scott would fall in love with an un-rich, un-famous man, not even a handsome Englishman with that British accent and manners that Americans love. Even if you could buy that premise, it still didn't work. As Don Adams used to say on "Get Smart" -- "Missed it by thaaaat much!" They almost had a story line -- "the poor little rich girl," i.e. that Anna Scott is famous, but fame possesses her. They almost made the point that everything in Anna's life is controlled almost down to the minute. She has no freedom, thanks to the demands of movie making, and no private life, thanks to the tabloids. She can't even eat a decent meal, thanks to Hollywood's obsession with thin.
I'm not a particular fan of Julia Roberts, but I have seen "Steel Magnolias," an excellent movie in which she proved that she can act. And people tell me "Erin Brockovich" is a good movie. However, both she and Hugh Grant slept through "Notting Hill." It was really a "star vehicle" for Julia Roberts. The movie was way too long, with endless close-ups of her. It was as "heroine-worshipping" as a Barbara Streisand star vehicle.
The "characters" in this movie add a welcome comic relief to a dull story, especially Spike, Will's Welsh roommate. Along with Will's family, Spike is a scream. I hope we see Rhys Ifans in more films.
My wife rented this movie, and at least she liked it. One out of two ain't bad.