An unlikely film in our top 10 best Christmas movies is “Love Actually” directed by Robert Curtis. One of the best written romantic comedies in decades happens to have a Christmas theme. Eight storylines collide in this touching, funny, and highly entertaining look at love, lust, loss, and relationships. Starring Hugh Grant as the British Prime Minister, Keira Knightley as a new bride, Liam Neeson as a newly widowed father and Bill Nighy as an aging rock star, Love Actually has a lot of heart and a lot of engaging characters to get into.
This was a most intriguing film. We loved the film and the way that all the stories were intertwined. It snap-shots the important events leading to the resolution of the couples involved, nothing more. If you want a classic romantic film, this might not be the film for you. It’s not trying to be the meaning of life, it’s not trying to look at the big picture. Love Actually is not a love story, it is a story about love.
This romantic comedy brings us close to a series of love stories of several people from the Prime Minister to a rock star, an actor stand-in, a housemaid, and others. It takes place in England and France during the Christmas season. Hugh Grant plays the unmarried Prime Minister of the UK, who falls in love with Martine McCutcheon. All of the love stories show the serious and foolish sides of love. The movie has the dry sense of British humor in places, but there are some hilarious parts. It might be a little hard to follow, because it jumps around showing a small scene of one love story then another.
This movie does come off as a bit shallow, and it contains characters who are one dimensional caricatures of themselves. But guess what – this movie is clearly in the romantic, holiday fantasy genre just like “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “A Christmas Story” are.