Love Actually

A cringe 10 for the price of one bulk holiday sale of the most well-worn rom-com tropes.

Love Actually provides enough happy endings to make the audience forget that romance and Christmas miracles don't always work out.

The tagline for Love Actually is "The Ultimate Romantic Comedy." Perhaps. But not in the sense the producers intended.

Sit back, and gawp at Ideal Britain. Revel in the tipsy plot. And enjoy a film full of adult whimsy and adolescent whingeing.

That could have been a fascinating theme, but Mr. Curtis's film has no attitude about it other than blind approval.

Love Actually is alternately beguiling and bloated, witty and warmed over, smart and pandering. The majority is likely to swoon.

Love Actually is aided by its charming cast of A-list British stars and the storylines that are executed well, though the flaws are still present.


Love Actually is for the hopeless romantics and idealists of this world, but those just looking for a warm and comfortably predictable experience should enjoy the movie too.

The ensemble nature of Love Actually has always drawn audiences into the festivities. Of course, that also means some narratives work and others do not.

Set to the backdrop of Christmas, Love Actually finds believability in the unbelievable, crafting an environment where anything can happen and the greatest risks should be taken.