“Love Actually” (2003) is an early 2000s classic. It has too many main characters, but I’ll say that it does include big names like Keira Knightley, Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman, and more. It follows eight different storylines, including a guy who’s in love with his best friend’s newlywed wife, a man whose affair is exposed after he buys his mistress a necklace, the two adult film stars that fall in love, and more. They all come together in a nice way at the end in a way that ties all eight storylines together.
Contrary to the previous two movies, this movie does not really have any special meaning to me. When I was around 14 or 15 years old, I had this raging obsession with Tom Holland. He posted a video on Instagram that (I think) promoted some sort of charity during Christmas time. The video mirrored the scene in “Love Actually” in which the man who loves his best friend’s wife confesses his love to her after years of seemingly hating her. I remember watching Tom Holland’s version of it and just thinking, “Hmm, I should watch ‘Love Actually.'” I think the movie was out on Netflix at the time, so I just watched it.
Even though there’s not this sort of sentimental feeling I get when I watch it, I do think it’s the perfect Christmas movie. Even though I just watched it in bed, I remember that it was snowing, we had just put our Christmas tree up, and winter break was just a weekend away. This movie hasn’t been made into an annual Christmas tradition, but it’s so reminiscent of that time because of its uniqueness. I’m sure there are other movies that have these different storylines that then get brought together into one story, but I can’t name any of them. I think it’s because you watch those kinds of movies and expect them to tie into each other. When I watched “Love Actually,” I enjoyed each story as if it was its own. It felt like I was watching 8 different movies, and I didn’t need them to come together because they were all equally as good.
*This upcoming paragraph contains a spoiler*
That being said, this movie does go in quite a few questionable directions. For example, one of the storylines follows the Prime Minister of England and his new workplace crush, Natalie. After she gets harassed by the President of the U.S. (which is a weird thing to bring in as it is), and the Prime Minister demotes the girl because he’s jealous. This is coming from the same Prime Minister that at the end of the movie picks up her up, kisses her in front of everyone, and tells her how heavy she is. I’m not joking when I say that each scene following this storyline spent at least some time body shaming Natalie, even though she weighs like 125 pounds.
*No more spoilers*
“Love Actually” is by no means perfect. Is it still good-feel Christmas rom-com? In some ways, yes. I think it has a lot of subjects that should not have been brought up. I could defend the movie and say, “It was made in 2003; they got away with a lot more stuff back then,” but I don’t think most of the now-problematic subjects they touched on contributed to the overall theme of the movie. I think most people would have been happier watching the Prime Minister and his employee’s relationship play out if her weight was not mentioned every five seconds. If you haven’t watch the movie, I say go for it, and just be prepared to cringe at some of the main points of the movie.
October 3, 2022 at 12:06 am
I personally like “Love, Actually”. I’m not a big fan of rom-coms, but I do like early 2000’s movies. Maybe that is probably the reason why I like the movie. I do however, love your take on the movie.
October 3, 2022 at 4:57 am
I personally don’t watch many rom-coms, and the ones I do watch I only really enjoy for their absurdity. That said, I think the convoluted and contrived storylines you find in them can be ridiculously addictive and fun to watch. Even if some of the details leave a sour taste in your mouth, some movies will remind you what you appreciate in a movie and what you wish you didn’t just hear.