Even the Little Folk Have A Chance

Rating: 10/10 (9 March 2003)

I watched this movie at first to see Julia Roberts and then I realized that Hugh Grant was an actor who had talent too. Casting them together was a stroke of genius and giving them a tightly written script that bites the hand that feeds it gives the awesome film "Notting Hill" (spoilers contained herein). Here are the reasons: (1) Julia Roberts gives her best post-"My Best Friend's Wedding" performance and (2) Hugh Grant gives his best pre-"About A Boy" performance. (3) Rhys Ifans was hilarious as the Hugh Grant's roommate. (4) The best scenes had Hugh Grant pretending to be a reporter from a well-known British magazine. (5) The script was unbelieveably well-written. (6) The "walking down the street" scene was great statement about how as time moves on, everything changes either for the better or worse. (7) Several lines are definitely quoteworthy. (8) The jabs that Hollywood sustained came in the form of creative dialogue. (9) The onscreen romance between Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant was great in it's own right. (10) I like the idea of a common man falling in love with a movie starlet and she fell in love with him too. Ten reasons give a score of 10!
Combining two great talents with a few nice whacks at the hand that feeds them works nicely for me. It is too bad that the combination of two or even three great performers usually sometimes leaves a bad stench behind but that is sometimes the way the cards fall. Overall, "Notting Hill" is noteworthy, quoteworthy and definitely a good dramedy. Here ends my rant!