HEY MAN EVERYONE S_TS WHERE THEY EAT IN THIS MOVIE!
December 21, 2020 10:43 AM Subscribe
"[S]ome movies fall off of your radar just because, and that’s what happened for me and “Love Actually.” However, "Love British Style" is now regarded as a Christmas perennial within the online yuppie subdomain, and the content beast must be fed. Hence, I had no choice but to break my accidental embargo and watch it for the first time, end to end. It will not shock you to learn that I enjoyed “Love Actually.” I am, after all, the exact kind of person I routinely mock. But, as in the movie itself, I have a few romantic misunderstandings that must be addressed. Allow me to stammer them out with my trademark plucky charm."
"I'm the Last White Person Alive to See Love, Actually and I Have Questions." An exploration by Drew Magary
On the strength of "holiday rom-com", but before we watched it, my ex and I queued up Love Actually for our 14-year-old babysitter as we breezed out the door for date night.
That was a fun call from Brittney's mom!
Also there's definitely a Berestain/stein Bears thing happening in my head where I recall a comma between love and actually
I want the comma
posted by Caxton1476 at 10:57 AM on December 21, 2020 [10 favorites]
That was a fun call from Brittney's mom!
Also there's definitely a Berestain/stein Bears thing happening in my head where I recall a comma between love and actually
I want the comma
posted by Caxton1476 at 10:57 AM on December 21, 2020 [10 favorites]
TIL that the adorbs kid who played Liam Neeson's son in Love, Actually turned 30 this year. O_o
UPDATE omg, there's no comma? wtf
posted by Glinn at 10:59 AM on December 21, 2020 [7 favorites]
UPDATE omg, there's no comma? wtf
posted by Glinn at 10:59 AM on December 21, 2020 [7 favorites]
I've.....I've never seen this film. (Not a rom-com person as such.)
How is it a Christmas movie, though? Is it like how Die Hard is one?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:01 AM on December 21, 2020 [6 favorites]
How is it a Christmas movie, though? Is it like how Die Hard is one?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:01 AM on December 21, 2020 [6 favorites]
9. Is Hugh Grant the best part of “Love Actually?” He is.
Hugh Grant should never be the best part of anything he's in unless it's a mugshot compilation and even then the boy's got heavy competition. That alone should tell you of the deep and insoluble flaws this movie has.
posted by phunniemee at 11:04 AM on December 21, 2020 [6 favorites]
Hugh Grant should never be the best part of anything he's in unless it's a mugshot compilation and even then the boy's got heavy competition. That alone should tell you of the deep and insoluble flaws this movie has.
posted by phunniemee at 11:04 AM on December 21, 2020 [6 favorites]
I'm the last white person alive to see 'Love Actually'
I've still only seen the version without the Martin Freeman storyline. I only found out he was in it after I'd seen it. Months after.
EC: Its a Christmas movie as its set at Xmas, they have storylines about buying presents for wife/mistress, Nativity play, etc.
posted by biffa at 11:05 AM on December 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
I've still only seen the version without the Martin Freeman storyline. I only found out he was in it after I'd seen it. Months after.
EC: Its a Christmas movie as its set at Xmas, they have storylines about buying presents for wife/mistress, Nativity play, etc.
posted by biffa at 11:05 AM on December 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
It's a rom com with Christmas parties and sentimental holiday declarations of love, so no I'd say it's a legit Christmas movie--though of course not like Elf or Christmas Story.
I couldn't get past all the problematic stuff. Like there's creepy stalker behavior and I'm not sure that's even the worst part. I did like the Martin Freeman / Joanna Page plot, and Emma Thompson.
No comedy should ever be longer than 90 minutes.
True.
I like good romantic comedies, and this one was written and directed by Richard Curtis, who built his career on the screenplay for “Four Weddings And A Funeral,” which represents the peak of the genre.
False.
I don't hate that movie, and modern rom coms really started drying up after they hit it big. But the peak of the genre are the '30s comedies of remarriage.
posted by mark k at 11:08 AM on December 21, 2020 [10 favorites]
I couldn't get past all the problematic stuff. Like there's creepy stalker behavior and I'm not sure that's even the worst part. I did like the Martin Freeman / Joanna Page plot, and Emma Thompson.
No comedy should ever be longer than 90 minutes.
True.
I like good romantic comedies, and this one was written and directed by Richard Curtis, who built his career on the screenplay for “Four Weddings And A Funeral,” which represents the peak of the genre.
False.
I don't hate that movie, and modern rom coms really started drying up after they hit it big. But the peak of the genre are the '30s comedies of remarriage.
posted by mark k at 11:08 AM on December 21, 2020 [10 favorites]
Hugh Grant should never be the best part of anything he's in unless it's a mugshot compilation and even then the boy's got heavy competition.
You should watch Paddington 2. So should everyone else of course.
posted by biffa at 11:08 AM on December 21, 2020 [18 favorites]
You should watch Paddington 2. So should everyone else of course.
posted by biffa at 11:08 AM on December 21, 2020 [18 favorites]
I'm the last white person alive to see 'Love Actually'
He's at best second to last; I've never seen it.
posted by octothorpe at 11:11 AM on December 21, 2020 [4 favorites]
He's at best second to last; I've never seen it.
posted by octothorpe at 11:11 AM on December 21, 2020 [4 favorites]
the adorbs kid who played Liam Neeson's son in Love, Actually turned 30 this year.
His eyes do look black though.
I'd probably feel warmer towards this movie if I wasn't supposed to leave it feeling warm and fuzzy. The happy endings are extremely problematic, and the unhappy endings happen to actors that I love. I still love it for Emma Thompson's performance after receiving the Joni Mitchell CD. It's such a perfect moment.
posted by gladly at 11:14 AM on December 21, 2020 [9 favorites]
His eyes do look black though.
I'd probably feel warmer towards this movie if I wasn't supposed to leave it feeling warm and fuzzy. The happy endings are extremely problematic, and the unhappy endings happen to actors that I love. I still love it for Emma Thompson's performance after receiving the Joni Mitchell CD. It's such a perfect moment.
posted by gladly at 11:14 AM on December 21, 2020 [9 favorites]
The Martin Freeman / Joanna Page storyline is 1.) The only non-problematic happy ending in the movie, 2.) Still a workplace hook-up, but at least they wait until after they're done working together, which is doubly important given the nature of said work, and 3.) barely exists.
posted by Navelgazer at 11:20 AM on December 21, 2020 [8 favorites]
posted by Navelgazer at 11:20 AM on December 21, 2020 [8 favorites]
I haven't seen it myself, not out of some overarching principle but just because I am not quite sad enough yet that Alan Rickman will never make another movie and still too resentful that he chose to do this rather than holding out for a Galaxy Quest sequel. Plus, I've never been that into rom-coms and I gotta whole lotta other stuff to watch--I guess that there's this show called The Trafalmadorian that holds one's interest, apparently?--but I wouldn't rule it out.
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:20 AM on December 21, 2020
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:20 AM on December 21, 2020
Is Hugh Grant the best part of “Love Actually?” He is.
I haven't watched the movie in a while, and haven't rtfa yet. But I was thinking the other day, one thing that would get me to watch it again is Hugh Grant.
(I'm enough of a prude that the porn actors' storyline embarrasses me. I'm trying to remember if I'd first seen it in a broadcast TV version that left the storyline in, but somehow cut the nudity? At any rate, Caxton1476, I bet that was some kind of call from the 14 y.o. babysitters mom. :))
I feel like It suffers from too many storylines.
posted by NorthernLite at 11:25 AM on December 21, 2020 [2 favorites]
I haven't watched the movie in a while, and haven't rtfa yet. But I was thinking the other day, one thing that would get me to watch it again is Hugh Grant.
(I'm enough of a prude that the porn actors' storyline embarrasses me. I'm trying to remember if I'd first seen it in a broadcast TV version that left the storyline in, but somehow cut the nudity? At any rate, Caxton1476, I bet that was some kind of call from the 14 y.o. babysitters mom. :))
I feel like It suffers from too many storylines.
posted by NorthernLite at 11:25 AM on December 21, 2020 [2 favorites]
I am not too fond of the cringe comedy of the Apatow ilk. I go back to the screwball comedies of the 30's and 40's to get my fix. I got YouTube premium recently and it recommended My Man Godfrey. After rewatching that, I have gone on a bender of sorts.
The comedies from the last 10-15 years don't seem to hold up; meaning I don't want to rewatch them. Unlike things like The Lady Eve, and other Sturges movies that don't seem to fade. The last real screwball comedy I remember watching from recent vintage was Flirting With Disaster.
Which is my way of leading to the opinion, that Love Actually being this discussed ad nauseum is a indictment of the genre in recent times. I mean it's okay. Plus like Drew says ; too many workplace hookups for my liking. I would rather rewatch Sliding Doors or Notting Hill or About a Boy, before I rewatch Love Actually.
posted by indianbadger1 at 11:26 AM on December 21, 2020 [4 favorites]
The comedies from the last 10-15 years don't seem to hold up; meaning I don't want to rewatch them. Unlike things like The Lady Eve, and other Sturges movies that don't seem to fade. The last real screwball comedy I remember watching from recent vintage was Flirting With Disaster.
Which is my way of leading to the opinion, that Love Actually being this discussed ad nauseum is a indictment of the genre in recent times. I mean it's okay. Plus like Drew says ; too many workplace hookups for my liking. I would rather rewatch Sliding Doors or Notting Hill or About a Boy, before I rewatch Love Actually.
posted by indianbadger1 at 11:26 AM on December 21, 2020 [4 favorites]
I have seen this movie on TV at some point and I do not understand why people love it. It is filled with shitty and problematic people. The article is entirely correct that Bad President would be a kick ass movie, and I would watch the hell out of that.
Those of you who are hating on Hugh Grant should really watch About a Boy, partly because Grant does some actual acting in the film and partly because it’s one of the few films in which Grant plays an asshole and has an asshole haircut to go with it.
posted by Bella Donna at 11:27 AM on December 21, 2020 [11 favorites]
Those of you who are hating on Hugh Grant should really watch About a Boy, partly because Grant does some actual acting in the film and partly because it’s one of the few films in which Grant plays an asshole and has an asshole haircut to go with it.
posted by Bella Donna at 11:27 AM on December 21, 2020 [11 favorites]
Excuse me, I believe I should have written that love actually is filled with shitty and problematic men primarily.
posted by Bella Donna at 11:27 AM on December 21, 2020 [11 favorites]
posted by Bella Donna at 11:27 AM on December 21, 2020 [11 favorites]
Had to stop reading the review when they described it as a comedy, I just wasn't part of that timeline's version of reality.
posted by GoblinHoney at 11:28 AM on December 21, 2020
posted by GoblinHoney at 11:28 AM on December 21, 2020
For me, Lindy West's take take is the definitive piece of Love Actually criticism (previously). It's mostly negative, so skip that link if you enjoy the movie and don't want to read someone snarking on your fun.
posted by jomato at 11:31 AM on December 21, 2020 [28 favorites]
posted by jomato at 11:31 AM on December 21, 2020 [28 favorites]
Indianbadger1, Then there's 30s/40s Xmas-themed rom coms, like two starring my beloved Barbara Stanwyck, "Christmas in Connecticut" & Remember the Night."
"RtN's a bit sappy, and they both have problematic moments. (Certainly "RtN.")
But if you want to see range, watch Stanny and Fred McMurray in the latter film and then "Double Indemnity."
posted by NorthernLite at 11:36 AM on December 21, 2020 [6 favorites]
"RtN's a bit sappy, and they both have problematic moments. (Certainly "RtN.")
But if you want to see range, watch Stanny and Fred McMurray in the latter film and then "Double Indemnity."
posted by NorthernLite at 11:36 AM on December 21, 2020 [6 favorites]
The best part of Love Actually is Emma Thompson, who doesn't get blamed for her husband's philandering, and on discovering it, quickly plans to skewer the fuck out of him at a time when he can't do anything but be skewered. She's very hurt but she remains self-possessed and assertive. Afterwards, she's clearly gone on with her life.
posted by fatbird at 11:37 AM on December 21, 2020 [35 favorites]
posted by fatbird at 11:37 AM on December 21, 2020 [35 favorites]
It's a curate's egg of the movie. Has some nice parts and some bad and frustrating ones. But boy is it full of people who have no clue about setting boundaries, whether it is between them and their boss, their friend's wife, or their mentally ill brother. You want to send half of them to therapy. Especially Laura Linney's character.
posted by tavella at 11:40 AM on December 21, 2020 [9 favorites]
posted by tavella at 11:40 AM on December 21, 2020 [9 favorites]
I'd probably feel warmer towards this movie if I wasn't supposed to leave it feeling warm and fuzzy.
See, I've always thought that Love Actually was actually a very dark comedy masquerading as a holiday rom-com.
posted by Kadin2048 at 11:41 AM on December 21, 2020 [7 favorites]
See, I've always thought that Love Actually was actually a very dark comedy masquerading as a holiday rom-com.
posted by Kadin2048 at 11:41 AM on December 21, 2020 [7 favorites]
I'm enough of a prude that the porn actors' storyline embarrasses me.
From what I can tell, they're not even porn actors. Now, mind you, every single thing in this movie exists on the logic of a horny twelve-year-old who can't be bothered to research anything, but IIRC, Freeman and Page are stand-ins there for the purposes of lighting the sex scene in whatever movie this is. They're not even supposed to be the stars' body doubles. They are literally there to help get the lighting right and not take up the stars' time and salaries. Which means that having them naked throughout is pretty nonsensical, as is having them always pretending to be fucking, but most importantly, this one scene in this imaginary movie is apparently taking 6-8 weeks to light properly.
posted by Navelgazer at 11:42 AM on December 21, 2020 [20 favorites]
From what I can tell, they're not even porn actors. Now, mind you, every single thing in this movie exists on the logic of a horny twelve-year-old who can't be bothered to research anything, but IIRC, Freeman and Page are stand-ins there for the purposes of lighting the sex scene in whatever movie this is. They're not even supposed to be the stars' body doubles. They are literally there to help get the lighting right and not take up the stars' time and salaries. Which means that having them naked throughout is pretty nonsensical, as is having them always pretending to be fucking, but most importantly, this one scene in this imaginary movie is apparently taking 6-8 weeks to light properly.
posted by Navelgazer at 11:42 AM on December 21, 2020 [20 favorites]
full of people who have no clue about setting boundaries
Again, Emma Thompson shines. One of the first scenes is the fresh widower phoning her for another episode of crying on her shoulder, and she puts him off until later in a warm but clear way.
I wonder if she was written this way, or if Thompson showed up, looked at the script and said "oh no... oh this just won't do."
stand-ins there for the purposes of lighting the sex scene
This always struck me as hilariously implausible. As if pornographic films take the time to do blocking or check the lighting.
posted by fatbird at 11:45 AM on December 21, 2020 [8 favorites]
Again, Emma Thompson shines. One of the first scenes is the fresh widower phoning her for another episode of crying on her shoulder, and she puts him off until later in a warm but clear way.
I wonder if she was written this way, or if Thompson showed up, looked at the script and said "oh no... oh this just won't do."
stand-ins there for the purposes of lighting the sex scene
This always struck me as hilariously implausible. As if pornographic films take the time to do blocking or check the lighting.
posted by fatbird at 11:45 AM on December 21, 2020 [8 favorites]
One of the first scenes is the fresh widower
Oh god, I forgot this features Liam Neeson as a widower with a young kid, several years before he'd become a widower with young kids irl.
posted by NorthernLite at 11:48 AM on December 21, 2020 [2 favorites]
Oh god, I forgot this features Liam Neeson as a widower with a young kid, several years before he'd become a widower with young kids irl.
posted by NorthernLite at 11:48 AM on December 21, 2020 [2 favorites]
9. Is Hugh Grant the best part of “Love Actually?” He is.
No, he isn't - Colin Firth, Bill Nye, Emma Thompson, and several others are better actors - including the kid.
posted by jb at 11:50 AM on December 21, 2020
No, he isn't - Colin Firth, Bill Nye, Emma Thompson, and several others are better actors - including the kid.
posted by jb at 11:50 AM on December 21, 2020
I, a white people, has never seen this movie (nor do I intend to do so, despite the allure of Alan Rickman)
posted by supermedusa at 11:56 AM on December 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by supermedusa at 11:56 AM on December 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
Eh, the Lindy West take mostly just annoys me. It's not that I don't think the movie is a mess, but she's not very accurate. I mean, the Linney storyline -- it's not that "women with mentally ill brothers are such boner killers", it's made very clear she has a deeply unhealthy relationship with her brother where she cannot set practical and emotional boundaries, and that anything and anyone else in her life is always going to come second. It's entirely reasonable for a prospective partner to not want to become part of that.
posted by tavella at 12:06 PM on December 21, 2020 [16 favorites]
posted by tavella at 12:06 PM on December 21, 2020 [16 favorites]
The best part of Love Actually is when it's over and you leave and you never ever watch it again. This is a movie that starts with a voiceover of how the people who called their loved ones from the planes headed toward the World Trade Center or the Pentagon or that field in Pennsylvania on 9/11, knowing they were moments from death, told them that they loved them. That is LEGITIMATELY the first thing you hear in this movie.
Seriously, Hugh Grant's voice-over: "When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love actually is all around."
This is where the movie's title comes from. These are the first words of this movie. It is so out of tone with the rest of the film, it is so off-putting, that I have no idea why anyone would re-watch this, other than because Emma Thompson is such a fantastic actor, and you can watch all of her scenes in about 20-25 minutes.
(The "resolution" of the storyline with Kiera Knightley and Andrew Lincoln is GROSS.)
(The way rom-coms portray straight people's romantic relationships is seriously fucked up and makes everything in this shitty world even worse.)
(I hate this movie.)
posted by tzikeh at 12:09 PM on December 21, 2020 [23 favorites]
Seriously, Hugh Grant's voice-over: "When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love actually is all around."
This is where the movie's title comes from. These are the first words of this movie. It is so out of tone with the rest of the film, it is so off-putting, that I have no idea why anyone would re-watch this, other than because Emma Thompson is such a fantastic actor, and you can watch all of her scenes in about 20-25 minutes.
(The "resolution" of the storyline with Kiera Knightley and Andrew Lincoln is GROSS.)
(The way rom-coms portray straight people's romantic relationships is seriously fucked up and makes everything in this shitty world even worse.)
(I hate this movie.)
posted by tzikeh at 12:09 PM on December 21, 2020 [23 favorites]
I thought that I'd never seen it, but then I realized that I did see some of it on TV a few years ago. It's like a monster that almost realizes that it's a self-parody, but not quite.
posted by ovvl at 12:09 PM on December 21, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by ovvl at 12:09 PM on December 21, 2020 [2 favorites]
So as not to abuse the edit window: Magary refers to characters calling Martine McCutcheon's character "fat" as "blood libel." The term "blood libel" is severely antisemitic. It's never funny, ever. Magary can fuck right off.
posted by tzikeh at 12:17 PM on December 21, 2020 [6 favorites]
posted by tzikeh at 12:17 PM on December 21, 2020 [6 favorites]
I loved "Love Actually" the first time I saw it, but with each subsequent viewing, more and more of the sequences annoyed me and now I can't stand (most of) it.
I still think that the two best bits are Hugh Grant as the PM and Bill Nighy as the aging rocker, which have the only resolutions that don't make me want to punch people (although the way we get to those resolutions is a different matter).
Everything else is just a waste of really good actors.
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 12:17 PM on December 21, 2020 [2 favorites]
I still think that the two best bits are Hugh Grant as the PM and Bill Nighy as the aging rocker, which have the only resolutions that don't make me want to punch people (although the way we get to those resolutions is a different matter).
Everything else is just a waste of really good actors.
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 12:17 PM on December 21, 2020 [2 favorites]
I’ve never said anything positive about Love Actually,
~flashback to young betweenthebars & friend getting their tickets refunded even though they’d stayed for most of it~
but in the spirit of the season, I’ll try: Love Actually is less rapey than some of Richard Curtis’s other comedies.
posted by betweenthebars at 12:19 PM on December 21, 2020 [5 favorites]
~flashback to young betweenthebars & friend getting their tickets refunded even though they’d stayed for most of it~
but in the spirit of the season, I’ll try: Love Actually is less rapey than some of Richard Curtis’s other comedies.
posted by betweenthebars at 12:19 PM on December 21, 2020 [5 favorites]
Those of you who are hating on Hugh Grant should really watch About a Boy, partly because Grant does some actual acting in the film and partly because it’s one of the few films in which Grant plays an asshole and has an asshole haircut to go with it.
I used to wonder whether Grant's character would be able to fund his lifestyle entirely from the royalties from one Christmas song his father wrote but then I found out Mariah Carey has made $60M from "All I Want For Christmas" which is the climactic song in the song Christmas pageant.
The older I get the less I love Love Actually. I'm now at the stage of liking only the Liam Neeson, Bill Nighy, and Emma Thompson stories.
posted by Constance Mirabella at 12:24 PM on December 21, 2020 [3 favorites]
I used to wonder whether Grant's character would be able to fund his lifestyle entirely from the royalties from one Christmas song his father wrote but then I found out Mariah Carey has made $60M from "All I Want For Christmas" which is the climactic song in the song Christmas pageant.
The older I get the less I love Love Actually. I'm now at the stage of liking only the Liam Neeson, Bill Nighy, and Emma Thompson stories.
posted by Constance Mirabella at 12:24 PM on December 21, 2020 [3 favorites]
I disliked Love Actually the first time I saw it because of its many, many problematic story lines/messages. But my sisters loved it and watched it every year, so eventually I just took the stick out of my ass and decided, just this once, just for this movie, I won't worry about the annoying stuff. So now I actually look forward to seeing it on Christmas. In fact we're watching it this year.
posted by WalkerWestridge at 12:37 PM on December 21, 2020 [9 favorites]
posted by WalkerWestridge at 12:37 PM on December 21, 2020 [9 favorites]
After the last "I watched Love Actually" article that went viral my wife and I sat down for what we believed would be an enjoyable hate-watch. We got about eight minutes in before she said "You know what? I can't do this."
posted by The Card Cheat at 12:40 PM on December 21, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by The Card Cheat at 12:40 PM on December 21, 2020 [5 favorites]
Netflix's Home For Xmas is a good watch if you like the idea of Love Actually, but not actually Love Actually.
Non prudish attitudes towards sex, knitwear, gorgeous Norwegian scenery, pop music, sweary wordplay - it has everything.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 12:49 PM on December 21, 2020 [12 favorites]
Non prudish attitudes towards sex, knitwear, gorgeous Norwegian scenery, pop music, sweary wordplay - it has everything.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 12:49 PM on December 21, 2020 [12 favorites]
I was surprised to learn that Liam Neeson's son in this, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, also plays a major character in The Queen's Gambit.
posted by calamari kid at 1:01 PM on December 21, 2020
posted by calamari kid at 1:01 PM on December 21, 2020
The Freeman/Page story is the only one I remember. That's the workplace comedy we need, like Boogie Nights but less depressing.
Rich white people angsting in expensive clothes in huge houses with Christmas decorations...eh.
posted by emjaybee at 1:05 PM on December 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
Rich white people angsting in expensive clothes in huge houses with Christmas decorations...eh.
posted by emjaybee at 1:05 PM on December 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
so you liken your romantic endeavors to fouling your food supply? no thank you.
posted by 20 year lurk at 1:06 PM on December 21, 2020
posted by 20 year lurk at 1:06 PM on December 21, 2020
I have been subject to this movie annually as a kind of unavoidable Christmas tradition for at least the last decade. I’m hoping this year can be the year we break the curse!
In previous years, I used the same strategy I used to use to get through long Christmas church services, which is to count off the moments of unintentional hilarity or joy, like beads on a chain. Emma Thompson nonwithstanding, this includes:
-excellent use of dramatic Nokia ringtones
- trying to figure out what kind of magazine (it’s a magazine, right?) they work for
- the dramatic Dido - scored mock - turtleneck zip up moment with creepy stalker man
- the number of times people claim some novel purpose or meaning of Christmas which are all complete nonsense
- cockblocktopus (Jezebel term, not mine)
- pretty sure Liam Nisson’s kid is actually playing the drums, props to him (also, if you’re curious, this actor has a major supporting role in the Queen’s Gambit, and looks like someone just scaled him up in photoshop and added facial hair)
I am very sad how much of this film I can recall from memory. As with my knowledge of Episcopalian liturgy, I have only my parents to blame.
posted by q*ben at 1:08 PM on December 21, 2020 [10 favorites]
In previous years, I used the same strategy I used to use to get through long Christmas church services, which is to count off the moments of unintentional hilarity or joy, like beads on a chain. Emma Thompson nonwithstanding, this includes:
-excellent use of dramatic Nokia ringtones
- trying to figure out what kind of magazine (it’s a magazine, right?) they work for
- the dramatic Dido - scored mock - turtleneck zip up moment with creepy stalker man
- the number of times people claim some novel purpose or meaning of Christmas which are all complete nonsense
- cockblocktopus (Jezebel term, not mine)
- pretty sure Liam Nisson’s kid is actually playing the drums, props to him (also, if you’re curious, this actor has a major supporting role in the Queen’s Gambit, and looks like someone just scaled him up in photoshop and added facial hair)
I am very sad how much of this film I can recall from memory. As with my knowledge of Episcopalian liturgy, I have only my parents to blame.
posted by q*ben at 1:08 PM on December 21, 2020 [10 favorites]
I thought this Drawfee episode was great (and I've never played a Dark Souls game): Artists Draw Love Actually Characters as Dark Souls Bosses.
posted by jomato at 1:18 PM on December 21, 2020 [7 favorites]
posted by jomato at 1:18 PM on December 21, 2020 [7 favorites]
gladly said
¨I still love it for Emma Thompson's performance after receiving the Joni Mitchell CD. It's such a perfect moment.¨ I know. Still makes me cry, and I have seen this movie many times
I did notice last year, after a few years of NOT watching it, that the music is pretty emotionally manipulative.
AND, Liam Neeson´s son, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, is also Jojen Reed in GOT
posted by olykate at 1:19 PM on December 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
¨I still love it for Emma Thompson's performance after receiving the Joni Mitchell CD. It's such a perfect moment.¨ I know. Still makes me cry, and I have seen this movie many times
I did notice last year, after a few years of NOT watching it, that the music is pretty emotionally manipulative.
AND, Liam Neeson´s son, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, is also Jojen Reed in GOT
posted by olykate at 1:19 PM on December 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
Thomas Brodie-Sangster looked about nine years old until he was about 28 years old. I still have difficulty believing he's 30 (he was 13 when he filmed Love Actually).
This is him last year (age 29). Who let that toddler grow a mustache?
posted by tzikeh at 1:27 PM on December 21, 2020 [7 favorites]
This is him last year (age 29). Who let that toddler grow a mustache?
posted by tzikeh at 1:27 PM on December 21, 2020 [7 favorites]
How is it a Christmas movie, though? Is it like how Die Hard is one?
Yes. Love Actually also came out on July 15th.
posted by sideshow at 1:28 PM on December 21, 2020 [2 favorites]
Yes. Love Actually also came out on July 15th.
posted by sideshow at 1:28 PM on December 21, 2020 [2 favorites]
Thomas Brodie-Sangster is also Hugh Grant's cousin. TBS's grandmother is Grant's aunt.
I always find it funny how the tv broadcast basically edits out the Freeman/Page storyline except for one little scene where they are about to walk into someone's house together. If you hadn't seen the movie before, you'd think this was just a very random scene of two people about to walk into someone's house. I'm surprised that one scene hasn't been edited out of the TV broadcast to accommodate one more commercial.
posted by Constance Mirabella at 1:31 PM on December 21, 2020 [4 favorites]
I always find it funny how the tv broadcast basically edits out the Freeman/Page storyline except for one little scene where they are about to walk into someone's house together. If you hadn't seen the movie before, you'd think this was just a very random scene of two people about to walk into someone's house. I'm surprised that one scene hasn't been edited out of the TV broadcast to accommodate one more commercial.
posted by Constance Mirabella at 1:31 PM on December 21, 2020 [4 favorites]
How is it a Christmas movie, though? Is it like how Die Hard is one?
Without getting into the Die Hard argument (Die Hard is absolutely a Christmas movie, this is settled law by now) Love Actually is set all in and around Christmas, the time jumps are all defined by a countdown to Christmas, plot points revolve around office Christmas parties and gift-buying hijinx, wassailing and Christmas pageants, with the end goal for just about every character being about finding who they'll be with on Christmas, climactically set to Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You."
You can consider it a bad movie (it absolutely is) but it's without a doubt a bad Christmas movie.
posted by Navelgazer at 1:37 PM on December 21, 2020 [9 favorites]
Without getting into the Die Hard argument (Die Hard is absolutely a Christmas movie, this is settled law by now) Love Actually is set all in and around Christmas, the time jumps are all defined by a countdown to Christmas, plot points revolve around office Christmas parties and gift-buying hijinx, wassailing and Christmas pageants, with the end goal for just about every character being about finding who they'll be with on Christmas, climactically set to Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You."
You can consider it a bad movie (it absolutely is) but it's without a doubt a bad Christmas movie.
posted by Navelgazer at 1:37 PM on December 21, 2020 [9 favorites]
I am enjoying all this banter but this thread wins a place in my heart forever because it led me the wiki on curate's egg
anyway my favorite christmas movie is sometimes gremlins depending on the year, and this might be one of those years
posted by Caxton1476 at 1:42 PM on December 21, 2020 [8 favorites]
anyway my favorite christmas movie is sometimes gremlins depending on the year, and this might be one of those years
posted by Caxton1476 at 1:42 PM on December 21, 2020 [8 favorites]
- pretty sure Liam Nisson’s kid is actually playing the drums, props to him (also, if you’re curious, this actor has a major supporting role in the Queen’s Gambit, and looks like someone just scaled him up in photoshop and added facial hair)
and combined him with David Spade
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 1:47 PM on December 21, 2020 [2 favorites]
and combined him with David Spade
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 1:47 PM on December 21, 2020 [2 favorites]
I recall a comma between love and actually
I want the comma
Ellipsis and comma. Love... Actually,
Also, N+1 white person who hasn't seen it here.
posted by mrgoat at 1:54 PM on December 21, 2020 [2 favorites]
I want the comma
Ellipsis and comma. Love... Actually,
Also, N+1 white person who hasn't seen it here.
posted by mrgoat at 1:54 PM on December 21, 2020 [2 favorites]
stand-ins there for the purposes of lighting the sex scene
This always struck me as hilariously implausible. As if pornographic films take the time to do blocking or check the lighting.
I always assumed they were stand-ins doing lighting checks for famous actors in an A-list movie that happened to have some sex scenes.
posted by hepta at 2:19 PM on December 21, 2020 [7 favorites]
This always struck me as hilariously implausible. As if pornographic films take the time to do blocking or check the lighting.
I always assumed they were stand-ins doing lighting checks for famous actors in an A-list movie that happened to have some sex scenes.
posted by hepta at 2:19 PM on December 21, 2020 [7 favorites]
TIL that the adorbs kid who played Liam Neeson's son in Love, Actually turned 30 this year. O_o
Yes, and he was also in Game of Thrones, playing one of those annoying teens who bumbles around with Bran.
posted by ultraviolet catastrophe at 2:28 PM on December 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
Yes, and he was also in Game of Thrones, playing one of those annoying teens who bumbles around with Bran.
posted by ultraviolet catastrophe at 2:28 PM on December 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
Yes, exactly. The joke was the poses were getting progressively and ridiculously explicit for what was supposed to be an A-list movie. I think it's the only joke I liked.
The Martin Freeman / Joanna Page storyline is 1.) The only non-problematic happy ending in the movie, 2.) Still a workplace hook-up, but at least they wait until after they're done working together, which is doubly important given the nature of said work, and 3.) barely exists.
Yeah, for me it's like a sweet little 10-minute short, stripped of all unnecessary bits. Of course it's then cut up and stuck in a bloated mess of a film, but that's how it goes.
I sincerely like it, but I do admit to also being happy I can say something nice about the movie, given the number of people I know IRL who used to really love it.
posted by mark k at 2:29 PM on December 21, 2020 [3 favorites]
The Martin Freeman / Joanna Page storyline is 1.) The only non-problematic happy ending in the movie, 2.) Still a workplace hook-up, but at least they wait until after they're done working together, which is doubly important given the nature of said work, and 3.) barely exists.
Yeah, for me it's like a sweet little 10-minute short, stripped of all unnecessary bits. Of course it's then cut up and stuck in a bloated mess of a film, but that's how it goes.
I sincerely like it, but I do admit to also being happy I can say something nice about the movie, given the number of people I know IRL who used to really love it.
posted by mark k at 2:29 PM on December 21, 2020 [3 favorites]
The best scene in this movie is when the bodyguard joins in on Good King Wenceslas. And the airport scenes are great. Also Emma Thompson saying “Nobody likes a sissy” and Martine McCutcheon saying “Where the fuck is my fucking coat.” The rest of the movie is upsetting and gross but I continue to watch it every year because TRADITION!
posted by HotToddy at 2:30 PM on December 21, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by HotToddy at 2:30 PM on December 21, 2020 [5 favorites]
So ... I live in Portugal. And while we all love Lucia Moniz, and most of us love Colin Firth, the theater I was in when I saw "Love Actually" almost collapsed under the weight of the collective groans at each and every turn of the Anglo-Portuguese love story, especially when Aurélia's family was involved.
posted by chavenet at 2:54 PM on December 21, 2020 [22 favorites]
posted by chavenet at 2:54 PM on December 21, 2020 [22 favorites]
My wife likes to watch this every Christmas eve, while I mostly make fun of it. I keep meaning to write an essay how I think that this film is really a massive sledgehammer of unreliable narrators, mostly all of the stories told by the men.
For instance, Colin Firth: he doesn't speak Portuguese, so we can assume that all of the lines that Aurelia is saying are his fantasy.
Also, Alan Rickman: is his secretary really into him? Or is it just him fantasizing and being a creepy boss? There's a scene where she is at home in her lingerie trying on the necklace he buys her. Does that happen, or is that just his fantasy?
Anyhow, It makes the movie a lot more fun to watch, and it makes a lot more sense read that way.
posted by vernondalhart at 3:22 PM on December 21, 2020 [15 favorites]
For instance, Colin Firth: he doesn't speak Portuguese, so we can assume that all of the lines that Aurelia is saying are his fantasy.
Also, Alan Rickman: is his secretary really into him? Or is it just him fantasizing and being a creepy boss? There's a scene where she is at home in her lingerie trying on the necklace he buys her. Does that happen, or is that just his fantasy?
Anyhow, It makes the movie a lot more fun to watch, and it makes a lot more sense read that way.
posted by vernondalhart at 3:22 PM on December 21, 2020 [15 favorites]
Love Actually better titled:
Love is Actually better if you don’t date your staff, boss, in-laws, best friend’s wife, housekeeper ...
I enjoy movies that feature interweaving character plots. This mirrors a sappy sentiment I feel: we’re all characters in a complex production, directed by an unstable creative.
Many of us probably enjoy Holiday movies for the feeling of connectedness they bring. The plots are often mediocre but it’s nice to see families and friends reunite, sparks of romance between long time friends (or strangers), a feel good soundtrack that brings good cheer. If the movie is older it may also bring back memories to times when we were younger and laden with fewer responsibilities.
I remember being 18 and seeing Love Actually with friends from my college dorm. It’s an experience that won’t ever happen again. All of us sitting on stiff couches, watching a movie on a tiny non-flat screen TV. Most of us are dispersed throughout the country now, busy adulting, and surviving a pandemic by spending endless hours at home. To me Love is Actually when most of us are vaccinated and we can all see each other again.
posted by mundo at 3:26 PM on December 21, 2020 [7 favorites]
Love is Actually better if you don’t date your staff, boss, in-laws, best friend’s wife, housekeeper ...
I enjoy movies that feature interweaving character plots. This mirrors a sappy sentiment I feel: we’re all characters in a complex production, directed by an unstable creative.
Many of us probably enjoy Holiday movies for the feeling of connectedness they bring. The plots are often mediocre but it’s nice to see families and friends reunite, sparks of romance between long time friends (or strangers), a feel good soundtrack that brings good cheer. If the movie is older it may also bring back memories to times when we were younger and laden with fewer responsibilities.
I remember being 18 and seeing Love Actually with friends from my college dorm. It’s an experience that won’t ever happen again. All of us sitting on stiff couches, watching a movie on a tiny non-flat screen TV. Most of us are dispersed throughout the country now, busy adulting, and surviving a pandemic by spending endless hours at home. To me Love is Actually when most of us are vaccinated and we can all see each other again.
posted by mundo at 3:26 PM on December 21, 2020 [7 favorites]
As a Wisconsinite, I'm always frustrated that the movie went the lazy route and renamed Mitchell International airport to Milwaukee International in order to signify that annoying guy's arrival to Wisconsin. Yes, I get that it's not as well known as O'Hare, JFK, or Heathrow, but still, they could have easily demonstrated the location in some other way.
And then he goes to a bar filled with neon signs for Bud Lite. This is a crime.
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 3:40 PM on December 21, 2020 [13 favorites]
And then he goes to a bar filled with neon signs for Bud Lite. This is a crime.
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 3:40 PM on December 21, 2020 [13 favorites]
When I’m forced to watch the Milwaukee scenes of this movie I survive it by imagining who might actually laugh* at the “jokes” in that storyline.
*in a non- surprised and horrified way
posted by q*ben at 4:54 PM on December 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
*in a non- surprised and horrified way
posted by q*ben at 4:54 PM on December 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
I’d only seen this once before The Holiday came out (apparently much later) and somehow they linked in my mind. Except the latter is much much better.
posted by meinvt at 4:55 PM on December 21, 2020
posted by meinvt at 4:55 PM on December 21, 2020
I love this movie - it is one of my favorite holiday films. That being said, I know it's so unrealistic and problematic, but THAT being said, in my opinion it's WAY better than those dreadful Hallmark/Lifetime holiday movies.
posted by sundrop at 5:04 PM on December 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by sundrop at 5:04 PM on December 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
I would call this whole movie a write-off but it introduced me to Joni Mitchell’s re-interpretation of “Both Sides Now” which is an absolute stunner of a recording.
People have rightly pointed out all the flaws of that movie but, man.
That. Song. I can forgive a lot for giving me that.
posted by Big Al 8000 at 5:19 PM on December 21, 2020 [3 favorites]
People have rightly pointed out all the flaws of that movie but, man.
That. Song. I can forgive a lot for giving me that.
posted by Big Al 8000 at 5:19 PM on December 21, 2020 [3 favorites]
I saw this movie with my dad and was sooo uncomfortable during the sex scene stand-ins parts! In retrospect they were the least problematic of the entire movie.
posted by JennyJupiter at 5:46 PM on December 21, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by JennyJupiter at 5:46 PM on December 21, 2020 [3 favorites]
HotToddy: The best scene in this movie is.... Emma Thompson saying “Nobody likes a sissy”
...wow. Really? That's an okay word for you?
posted by tzikeh at 5:47 PM on December 21, 2020 [3 favorites]
...wow. Really? That's an okay word for you?
posted by tzikeh at 5:47 PM on December 21, 2020 [3 favorites]
Ages ago I posted on Facebook requesting recommendations for romantic comedies. One of my friends/"friends" recommended this one, which I just got around to watching about two weeks ago, thus marking one of the few times I've regretted deleting my Facebook account. I'd love to know whose recommendations I need to ignore.
posted by johnofjack at 5:56 PM on December 21, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by johnofjack at 5:56 PM on December 21, 2020 [2 favorites]
I put this in my Netflix queue the last time we talked about it, and it's slowly coming to the top. Someday I will have seen it. However, a girlfriend and I watched "4 weddings and a funeral" together because neither of us had seen it. When it ended, there was a silence. Then I said "Um.... did you think those protagonists were sympathetic?" Her: "I thought it was just me". Me:"No, they were selfish and cruel. Was that on purpose?" Her: "It had to have been. But why does everyone talk about it like it's a rom-com?" Anyway, that makes me a little leery about this one.
posted by acrasis at 6:06 PM on December 21, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by acrasis at 6:06 PM on December 21, 2020 [2 favorites]
I watched it once about 15 years ago and thought it was mildly OK. I remember thinking the porn actor storyline was one of the better storylines, but that's the kind of sentence you type just before you find out it's the most problematic part of the movie.
posted by rhizome at 6:58 PM on December 21, 2020
posted by rhizome at 6:58 PM on December 21, 2020
I have been subject to this movie annually as a kind of unavoidable Christmas tradition for at least the last decade. I’m hoping this year can be the year we break the curse!
If I ever somehow have kids, I think I'll skip this as our Christmas-not-Christmas movie tradition in favor of Night of the Comet or whatnot (well, once they can graduate from A Charlie Brown Christmas to "zombies").
body doubles.
Suddenly I'm wondering what Carrie/Sisters/Dressed to Kill-era Brian De Palma (or Ken Russell for that matter) could do with the Rom-Com genre. Though perhaps I shouldn't.
posted by gtrwolf at 6:59 PM on December 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
If I ever somehow have kids, I think I'll skip this as our Christmas-not-Christmas movie tradition in favor of Night of the Comet or whatnot (well, once they can graduate from A Charlie Brown Christmas to "zombies").
body doubles.
Suddenly I'm wondering what Carrie/Sisters/Dressed to Kill-era Brian De Palma (or Ken Russell for that matter) could do with the Rom-Com genre. Though perhaps I shouldn't.
posted by gtrwolf at 6:59 PM on December 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
Those of you who are hating on Hugh Grant should really watch About a Boy, partly because Grant does some actual acting in the film and partly because it’s one of the few films in which Grant plays an asshole and has an asshole haircut to go with it
Absolutely. I haven't seen many HG movies and don't have much of an opinion on him besides, but in that one I was like "yes, he's the perfect person for that part." The TV series was worse than the movie based on that point alone.
posted by rhizome at 7:03 PM on December 21, 2020 [2 favorites]
Absolutely. I haven't seen many HG movies and don't have much of an opinion on him besides, but in that one I was like "yes, he's the perfect person for that part." The TV series was worse than the movie based on that point alone.
posted by rhizome at 7:03 PM on December 21, 2020 [2 favorites]
I hate Love Actually for all the reasons listed above and more. Or perhaps I'm just not a romantic. Last year, my dad and I watched John Wick 1-3 together the days leading up to Christmas, which was great. If I could go home for Christmas this year, I think we'd do it again.
posted by pangolin party at 7:06 PM on December 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by pangolin party at 7:06 PM on December 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
Netflix's Home For Xmas is a good watch if you like the idea of Love Actually, but not actually Love Actually.
Interestingly the first episode of Home for Xmas discusses “Love Actually” (incidentally with a reindeer in the scene). I decided not to hold the main character’s opinion against her so early in the series and continued on...
posted by Tandem Affinity at 7:49 PM on December 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
Interestingly the first episode of Home for Xmas discusses “Love Actually” (incidentally with a reindeer in the scene). I decided not to hold the main character’s opinion against her so early in the series and continued on...
posted by Tandem Affinity at 7:49 PM on December 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
I would like to third being introduced to "curate's egg" because I just called it a "mixed bag" movie before this. I like parts of it (Bill Nighy, drummer kid), other parts are sad (Laura Linney, Emma Thompson) or just bad (Colin gets every supermodel in Wisconsin? Colin Firth and his maid go for each other despite not speaking the other's language and she seems to actively despise him actually?) or very mixed bag (Hugh + Martine is cute, canning her because of Billy Bob and constantly calling her fat is not). The "porn stars" don't do much for me.
I will defend Sign Guy to some degree because I don't think he was coming on to her or intended to--it was his weird private way of acknowledging he got caught, he admits he cares because she figured it out, but he's not going to pressure her or do anything about it. Not saying it's not weird, but I don't think it's as bad as others do. (And now that I've said that, I've now reminded everyone of that plot and several of y'all will disagree and rant about it...)
It does have some great lines, though:
"There was more than one lobster at the birth of baby Jesus?" "Duuuuuuuuuh."
"Ruthlessly trained killers are just a phone call away."
"Let's get the shit kicked out of us by love!"
"Don't buy drugs. Become a pop star and they give them to you for free!"
I think in the mixed bag category I'd say I'm 55% pro and 45% con on this. Might rewatch it on my own but wouldn't necessarily recommend it to others to watch, or at least not without caveats.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:37 PM on December 21, 2020 [5 favorites]
I will defend Sign Guy to some degree because I don't think he was coming on to her or intended to--it was his weird private way of acknowledging he got caught, he admits he cares because she figured it out, but he's not going to pressure her or do anything about it. Not saying it's not weird, but I don't think it's as bad as others do. (And now that I've said that, I've now reminded everyone of that plot and several of y'all will disagree and rant about it...)
It does have some great lines, though:
"There was more than one lobster at the birth of baby Jesus?" "Duuuuuuuuuh."
"Ruthlessly trained killers are just a phone call away."
"Let's get the shit kicked out of us by love!"
"Don't buy drugs. Become a pop star and they give them to you for free!"
I think in the mixed bag category I'd say I'm 55% pro and 45% con on this. Might rewatch it on my own but wouldn't necessarily recommend it to others to watch, or at least not without caveats.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:37 PM on December 21, 2020 [5 favorites]
This always struck me as hilariously implausible. As if pornographic films take the time to do blocking or check the lighting.
I just rewatched Boogie Nights a few days ago. Burt Reynolds’ character would like a word with you.
I saw Love Actually when it first came out and thought it indifferent at best, and I am on record as finding Four Weddings and a Funeral somewhat charming, despite the leads. I think Richard Curtis is really good at writing secondary characters who are more interesting than the primary characters. I suppose LA is an exercise in stuffing a movie with about eleventeen secondary characters in the hopes that one or another will stick, and if you don’t care for this bit, something else will be along in a moment. It puts me in mind of side two of Abbey Road, or maybe Richard Osman’s House of Games.
It is not a movie that has aged well, and a lot of the relationships that were dubious seventeen years ago are downright uncomfortable now. Bill Nighy, I think, still acquits himself well, and Rowan Atkinson atkinsons it up adequately. The chauffeur/bodyguard booming out an impressive baritone unbidden on “Good King Wenceslas” is genuinely funny, but that’s a long way to drive for a short day at the beach.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 11:00 PM on December 21, 2020 [2 favorites]
I just rewatched Boogie Nights a few days ago. Burt Reynolds’ character would like a word with you.
I saw Love Actually when it first came out and thought it indifferent at best, and I am on record as finding Four Weddings and a Funeral somewhat charming, despite the leads. I think Richard Curtis is really good at writing secondary characters who are more interesting than the primary characters. I suppose LA is an exercise in stuffing a movie with about eleventeen secondary characters in the hopes that one or another will stick, and if you don’t care for this bit, something else will be along in a moment. It puts me in mind of side two of Abbey Road, or maybe Richard Osman’s House of Games.
It is not a movie that has aged well, and a lot of the relationships that were dubious seventeen years ago are downright uncomfortable now. Bill Nighy, I think, still acquits himself well, and Rowan Atkinson atkinsons it up adequately. The chauffeur/bodyguard booming out an impressive baritone unbidden on “Good King Wenceslas” is genuinely funny, but that’s a long way to drive for a short day at the beach.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 11:00 PM on December 21, 2020 [2 favorites]
¨I still love it for Emma Thompson's performance after receiving the Joni Mitchell CD. It's such a perfect moment.¨ I know. Still makes me cry, and I have seen this movie many times
It’s a great scene, but upon recent rewatch I clocked something I’d never noticed before: when Emma Thompson ducks into the next room to have her quick cry, I’d always assumed “Both Sides Now” was a needle drop on the soundtrack meant for our benefit, and not diegetic music that the character was hearing. But no—there’s a nice insert shot of the open CD case resting near the stereo to indicate that Emma is, in fact, listening to the song.
Which means that mere seconds after learning that her entire marriage is a sham she gets up, politely excuses herself from the festivities, pops quickly into an adjoining room, prises the CD case from its cellophane wrapping, removes and inserts the disk, jams down the play button, and then—and only then—does she proceed to have her dignified emotional meltdown.
It’s these deranged little details that keep me coming back to this film again and again.
posted by Atom Eyes at 12:16 AM on December 22, 2020 [5 favorites]
It’s a great scene, but upon recent rewatch I clocked something I’d never noticed before: when Emma Thompson ducks into the next room to have her quick cry, I’d always assumed “Both Sides Now” was a needle drop on the soundtrack meant for our benefit, and not diegetic music that the character was hearing. But no—there’s a nice insert shot of the open CD case resting near the stereo to indicate that Emma is, in fact, listening to the song.
Which means that mere seconds after learning that her entire marriage is a sham she gets up, politely excuses herself from the festivities, pops quickly into an adjoining room, prises the CD case from its cellophane wrapping, removes and inserts the disk, jams down the play button, and then—and only then—does she proceed to have her dignified emotional meltdown.
It’s these deranged little details that keep me coming back to this film again and again.
posted by Atom Eyes at 12:16 AM on December 22, 2020 [5 favorites]
I have a lot of affection for love actually, because the porn star lighting scene was filmed in the flat above mine when I was a student in London. This meant that they gave all of us money to use my friends room as a break room, AND we got to keep the leftovers!
No contact whatsoever with the anyone famous, but those cartoons of juice probably helped stave off scurvy for that term...
posted by fizban at 12:20 AM on December 22, 2020 [19 favorites]
No contact whatsoever with the anyone famous, but those cartoons of juice probably helped stave off scurvy for that term...
posted by fizban at 12:20 AM on December 22, 2020 [19 favorites]
I keep thinking I haven't seen it, and then when I read the comments in this, and the previous thread, I realize I have. So I suppose it's fair to say it hasn't left a deep impression.
My family does watch it for Christmas, while I'm cooking. (That could seem like a bit of a passive-aggressive martyr thing, but I am not a fan of rom-coms and I love cooking).
posted by mumimor at 1:05 AM on December 22, 2020 [2 favorites]
My family does watch it for Christmas, while I'm cooking. (That could seem like a bit of a passive-aggressive martyr thing, but I am not a fan of rom-coms and I love cooking).
posted by mumimor at 1:05 AM on December 22, 2020 [2 favorites]
Some trivia - the posh seaside resort of Brighton is not as posh as its neighbour, Hove. When Hovians are asked if they live in Brighton they reply "Hove, actually". That became a marketing slogan for Hove Council and is - I think - where the title "Love, actually" (with the comma) comes from.
posted by Major Tom at 1:49 AM on December 22, 2020 [11 favorites]
posted by Major Tom at 1:49 AM on December 22, 2020 [11 favorites]
This movie is just, so gross.
posted by Belle O'Cosity at 2:13 AM on December 22, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Belle O'Cosity at 2:13 AM on December 22, 2020 [1 favorite]
From Hugh Grant's relationship with Billy Bob Thornton, to the Colin Frizell plot, there's probably another essay to be written on how the shadow of Britain's relationship with America during the run up to the Iraq war hangs over this film.
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 4:54 AM on December 22, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 4:54 AM on December 22, 2020 [1 favorite]
And then he goes to a bar filled with neon signs for Bud Lite. This is a crime.
WIth a White Sox sign in the background?! As an also Wisconsinite I'm so angry
posted by taquito sunrise at 5:02 AM on December 22, 2020 [6 favorites]
WIth a White Sox sign in the background?! As an also Wisconsinite I'm so angry
posted by taquito sunrise at 5:02 AM on December 22, 2020 [6 favorites]
I was surprised to learn that Liam Neeson's son in this, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, also plays a major character in The Queen's Gambit.
And the object of his crush, Olivia Olson, who sings the big finale song is Marceline the Vampire Queen from Adventure Time.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 5:46 AM on December 22, 2020 [7 favorites]
And the object of his crush, Olivia Olson, who sings the big finale song is Marceline the Vampire Queen from Adventure Time.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 5:46 AM on December 22, 2020 [7 favorites]
I'll admit to being the only person on Metafilter who loves this movie and watches it willingly every year (it's on my agenda for viewing today!) and have done so since it came out. I dragged my then-boyfriend now-husband (hi robocop is bleeding) to see it in the theater when it came out. And, uh, we met and started dating while we were co-workers. Anyway, I have a lot of good memories and emotions tangled up in this movie, and while I intellectually acknowledge that it has lots of problems, it still doesn't feel like the holiday season to me until I've watched it and had a good little cry to God Only Knows playing at the ending airport scene.
posted by banjo_and_the_pork at 6:46 AM on December 22, 2020 [8 favorites]
posted by banjo_and_the_pork at 6:46 AM on December 22, 2020 [8 favorites]
One really off note for me in the article is the idea that children should not have black eyes, with the riffing on evil demon satan whatever. Because you know what children often have black eyes? Black children and other children of color.
posted by Orlop at 7:32 AM on December 22, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by Orlop at 7:32 AM on December 22, 2020 [3 favorites]
I just realized that the grizzled ex-Rock-Star knocking off a seasonal sell-out was loosely based on prog-rocker Greg Lake, who feathered his retirement with a mega-hit holiday ditty.
posted by ovvl at 7:45 AM on December 22, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by ovvl at 7:45 AM on December 22, 2020 [2 favorites]
tzikeh, thank you for alerting me to the fact that the word sissy, when not referring to someone's sister, is a slur that is not the same thing as calling someone a coward. I had not realized that; I am glad to know.
posted by Bella Donna at 9:14 AM on December 22, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by Bella Donna at 9:14 AM on December 22, 2020 [3 favorites]
(An aside, the article no longer uses the term blood libel; now it's libel only, so that is an improvement.)
posted by Bella Donna at 9:19 AM on December 22, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by Bella Donna at 9:19 AM on December 22, 2020 [2 favorites]
My favorite part of the Wikipedia article on a curate’s egg is the last reference, which shows how the joke developed through several mid 18th publications and got missattributed and badly copied.
(Using Twitter threads as references doesn’t seem stable though!)
posted by clew at 9:54 AM on December 22, 2020 [1 favorite]
(Using Twitter threads as references doesn’t seem stable though!)
posted by clew at 9:54 AM on December 22, 2020 [1 favorite]
I'm glad people enjoyed discovering curate's egg. I'm pretty sure I inherited that from my father, thus being somewhat out of date, but I've always liked it as an alternative to mixed bag or other options because it has a certain implication that the bad parts may ruin the good ones.
posted by tavella at 10:28 AM on December 22, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by tavella at 10:28 AM on December 22, 2020 [4 favorites]
HotToddy: The best scene in this movie is.... Emma Thompson saying “Nobody likes a sissy”
...wow. Really? That's an okay word for you?
posted by tzikeh at 5:47 PM on December 21 [2 favorites +] [!]
Um, no? That's kind of the whole point?
posted by HotToddy at 10:31 AM on December 22, 2020
...wow. Really? That's an okay word for you?
posted by tzikeh at 5:47 PM on December 21 [2 favorites +] [!]
Um, no? That's kind of the whole point?
posted by HotToddy at 10:31 AM on December 22, 2020
HotToddy, I think the confusion is coming in with your having categorized that scene as the "best" one. Perhaps some further context to explain your appreciation would help? (Does she get her ass handed to her for saying that and that's why you like it, maybe?....)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:11 PM on December 22, 2020
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:11 PM on December 22, 2020
I've still only seen the version without the Martin Freeman storyline. - Biffa
WHAT THE HECK? There is a version with Martin Freeman and Joanna Page!!!! Their story line is the only one that's actually nice and romantic! Laura Linney and her brother and Liam Neeson and Claudia Shiffer are good too, but everyone else's relationship is garbage!!!! GARBAGE!!! (I still will watch Love Actually every Christmas despite that fact.)
posted by vespabelle at 1:05 PM on December 22, 2020 [3 favorites]
WHAT THE HECK? There is a version with Martin Freeman and Joanna Page!!!! Their story line is the only one that's actually nice and romantic! Laura Linney and her brother and Liam Neeson and Claudia Shiffer are good too, but everyone else's relationship is garbage!!!! GARBAGE!!! (I still will watch Love Actually every Christmas despite that fact.)
posted by vespabelle at 1:05 PM on December 22, 2020 [3 favorites]
Yeah, I am not going to try to talk anyone around on this movie - all of your complaints are valid and true. Shrug. I like it anyway.
I do enjoy the tradition of someone new writing an article about how it kind of sucks every damn year like this is some bold contrarian take. (Though this is not what Drew Magary does here - he takes the right and appropriate tact of realizing how much dumb it is and liking it anyway.) I read them all, and laugh and generally agree, and then cheerfully watch it again. Although it's not on Netflix or Hulu right now, and I don't like it enough to own it. So maybe next year!
posted by the primroses were over at 1:41 PM on December 22, 2020 [4 favorites]
I do enjoy the tradition of someone new writing an article about how it kind of sucks every damn year like this is some bold contrarian take. (Though this is not what Drew Magary does here - he takes the right and appropriate tact of realizing how much dumb it is and liking it anyway.) I read them all, and laugh and generally agree, and then cheerfully watch it again. Although it's not on Netflix or Hulu right now, and I don't like it enough to own it. So maybe next year!
posted by the primroses were over at 1:41 PM on December 22, 2020 [4 favorites]
HotToddy, I think the confusion is coming in with your having categorized that scene as the "best" one. Perhaps some further context to explain your appreciation would help? (Does she get her ass handed to her for saying that and that's why you like it, maybe?....)
Emma Thompson's character, Karen, is the friend of Liam Neeson's character, Daniel, who is grieving the death of his beloved wife and who relies on Karen for support. Karen says to him tenderly, "Get a grip, people hate sissies. No one's ever going to shag you if you cry all the time." I liked it because it depicted a the kind of relationship where you're close enough to be able to pull off the emotionally complex trick of saying something objectively awful that will be understood by the other person as an expression of love.
Happy to explain but it sure would be nice to be asked in an noncombative way that assumes goodness . . .
posted by HotToddy at 2:33 PM on December 22, 2020
Emma Thompson's character, Karen, is the friend of Liam Neeson's character, Daniel, who is grieving the death of his beloved wife and who relies on Karen for support. Karen says to him tenderly, "Get a grip, people hate sissies. No one's ever going to shag you if you cry all the time." I liked it because it depicted a the kind of relationship where you're close enough to be able to pull off the emotionally complex trick of saying something objectively awful that will be understood by the other person as an expression of love.
Happy to explain but it sure would be nice to be asked in an noncombative way that assumes goodness . . .
posted by HotToddy at 2:33 PM on December 22, 2020
vespabelle, I looked it up, the porn storyline was deleted from the release in some Asian markets. I saw the movie on a flight from Delhi to Amsterdam, I guess the airlines like to minimise any chance of offensiveness too.
posted by biffa at 3:00 PM on December 22, 2020
posted by biffa at 3:00 PM on December 22, 2020
I am also very white and I have never seen this movie. I'm okay with that.
posted by rmd1023 at 5:51 PM on December 22, 2020
posted by rmd1023 at 5:51 PM on December 22, 2020
I don't really need to make any comments about the movie because they've mostly all been made (I've seen it, I have opinions just like all of you) but man is it ever weird to see the commenters react to Drew Magary in a totally opposite way than the usual Deadspin-y worship. And I like his stuff. It felt like...did they not know who they were calling "fashy boy" and whatever other rude things they were saying about the author of the piece? Entire legions of sports-obsessed commenters would wait breathlessly for one of his pieces! So odd to see that.
posted by 41swans at 10:00 PM on December 22, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by 41swans at 10:00 PM on December 22, 2020 [2 favorites]
When I’m forced to watch the Milwaukee scenes of this movie I survive it by imagining who might actually laugh* at the “jokes” in that storyline.
I find the bit where they all pronounce something the same way and are disappointed about it hilarious, even though it's a pretty basic joke.
posted by joannemerriam at 7:52 PM on December 25, 2020
I find the bit where they all pronounce something the same way and are disappointed about it hilarious, even though it's a pretty basic joke.
posted by joannemerriam at 7:52 PM on December 25, 2020
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This is one of my most stongly-held beliefs. I'll stretch to maybe 105 in exceptional cases.
posted by uncleozzy at 10:55 AM on December 21, 2020 [10 favorites]