The holidays are here! Thanksgiving has passed, Hanukkah over, and now it’s Christmas season. This means an onslaught of awful Christmas movies (yes!) but sometimes there’s a gem in there. Last year I discovered Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale and Becoming Santa. So it’s not all bad and that’s why this week I watched a modern hit that I haven’t seen.
I admit, I have not watched Love Actually until this past weekend. Now I’m in the club.
Fellow Dig writer Jilly described Love Actually as “ovary-crack” and she’s spot-on. This charming rom-com follows all sorts of different British folks in their complicated little love lives in the weeks leading up to Christmas. He loves her, she loves him, a few roadblocks to love. But despite what could be cliche, I enjoyed this movie. I didn’t love it the way others do, but it was enjoyable and better than a lot of holiday-related shit I’ve seen. I can’t get over the insane holiday pageant with lobsters and sea creatures surrounding a nativity.
And no one can resist the charms of Hugh Grant. It is known.
In terms of the many stories told in the movie, Emma Thompson and Alan Rickman are the standouts as a longtime married couple and he might have a wandering eye. Thompson kills it in a really heartbreaking moment of betrayal. And Liam Neeson’s story about a widower helping his ten year old step son chase a girl, is sweet yet made me sad because of what was to come in Neeson’s actual future. Stealing it all is Bill Nighy as a has-been musician who tweaks his biggest hit to swap in the word “Christmas” to get rich quick. It’s great comedic relief and the song is creepily addictive.
The large cast is full of a who’s who of Brits, oh and Laura Linney. It’s like a precursor to getting cast in the Harry Potter series. And when the film came out in 2003, many of the lesser-knowns are now taking the limelight (that dude from The Walking Dead! Chiwetel Ejiofor from 12 Years a Slave!) But I have to say if I’m looking for a Christmas comfort film, I can definitely see Love Actually fitting the bill. Drop this half-heartwarming, half-downer of a holiday movie in your Netflix queue for an entertaining little night and the warm smile of Hugh Grant.