Overview
Written and directed by Richard Curtis and produced by Duncan Kenworthy (the team behind NOTTING HILL and FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL) this zingy British comedy weaves a vivid crazy quilt of interlocking or unrelated vignettes all dealing with the subject of love over the Christmas holidays in London. The big name cast includes Hugh Grant as a prime minister who falls for a staff member, Liam Neeson as a widower counseling his son in the ways of romance, Laura Linney as a shy woman working up the nerve to ask out a coworker, Emma Thompson and Alan Rickman as a couple faced with infidelity, and Colin Firth as a writer who falls for his Portuguese maid. Additionally, a pair of porn film stand-ins bond on the set, an artist fantasizes about his friend's wife; and perhaps funniest of all, an aging rock star (Bill Nighy) tries for his comeback with a Christmas novelty song. The likes of Billy Bob Thornton, Rowan Atkinson and Denise Richards turn in cameos, helping making this film a throwback to those all-star, multi-plotted comedies of the 1960s and '70s, such as IT'S A MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD (1963), NASHVILLE (1975), and CALIFORNIA SUITE (1978). With Curtis' comedic credentials and the star wattage of pros like Grant, Neeson and Thompson, LOVE, ACTUALLY is a laugh-packed affair, with more than a few tears to be shed along the way, and a startling amount of bawdy raunchiness.
Awards:
Main Cast & Crew:
Richard Curtis - Director
Alan Rickman
Bill Nighy
Colin Firth
Emma Thompson
Hugh Grant
Laura Linney
Liam Neeson
Martine McCutcheon
Keira Knightley
Rowan Atkinson
Details
- Format: DVD (Digital Theater System, Dolby, Dubbed, Widescreen)
- Run Time: 135
- Color Format: Color
- UPC: 025192329326
- Genre: COMEDIES
- Rating: R (MPAA) (sexuality, nudity, and language)
- Release Date: April 2004
Movie Reviews
Notes:
Theatrical Release: November 7, 2003
Reviews:
"...[Curtis brings] a sharp sense of character comedy combined with a very human touch. His feeling for people is as genuine as his wit, and he manages it all with a light-on-its-feet casualness..." - 11/07/2003 Los Angeles Times, p.C1
"...A movie as sweetly munchable as a Christmas cookie..." - 11/14/2003 Entertainment Weekly, p.93-4
"...There are laughs laced with feeling here..." Rolling Stone, p.103
"...A big, snug duvet of a movie that you can flop into and get lost in..." - 12/01/2003 Total Film, p.90-1
"LOVE ACTUALLY is irresistible." - 11/07/2003 USA Today, p.6E
"It's jammed with characters, stories, warmth and laughs." - 11/07/2003 Chicago Sun-Times, p.38
"[T]he film's freshness, sure-footed control of its emotional effects, and sincerity are hard to dismiss." - 05/01/2004 Film Comment, p.78