i went into the cinema at westmall wif rather high expectations... which were justified because this movie is not only the directing debut of top British scriptwriter richard curtis, (who was also the man behind such box-office romantic fluff like bridget jones' diary, notting hill, & four weddings & a funeral.) but it is also headlined by an impressive array of big names in cinema i.e. emma thompson, alan rickman, liam neeson, keira knightley & hugh grant just to name a few. Sadly, i was in for abit of disappointment...
richard curtis attempts to weave together several storylines into a cohesive christmas mush-fest about the many facets of love. As such, you get almost every permutation of love imaginable (i.e. romantic, platonic, parental) acted out by some of Britain's most talented actors which in the long run, is definitely very good value for the money. However, while some of the vignettes are charmingly scripted, despite their clichedness, some are outright too incredible and far-fetched... resulting in rather contrived "sentimental" moments. the movie starts off bumpily, as we're introduced to each member of this love kaleidoscope, and all too soon, we're left abit bewildered and lost because of the constant change in story direction. (since this is a mixed bag of separate stories, we're left to our own devices trying to understand each plotline in turn) Fortunately though, evrything seems to converge together in the typical feel-good richard curtis styled ending which movie audiences have come to love. yet, inspite of this, i think a couple of "love" storylines remained sadly (and mysteriously) unresolved thus leaving the few discriminating observers (such as myself) wif a sense of incompleteness as they leave the cinema while listening to kelly clarkson's new commercialized number "the trouble wif love is" during the roll of the end-credits. and thus, THAt's the trouble wif love actually...
However, despite all these demerits, the movie has several priceless scenes which are worth evry cent spent on your cinema entry ticket. On top of that, the actors are all well at home in their characterizations --- emma thompson as the prefect wife who grapples with the possibility of her husband's infidelity; laura linney who must choose between giving her lovelife a chance or caring for her handicapped brother; colin firth falling for his portugese cleaning girl despite language barriers; bill nighy as a foul-mouthed, aging rocker who learns that his fraternal love for his pudgy manager is more important than the glitzy life he's long coveted; keira knightley as the new bride who discovers that her husband's best friend is secretly in love her... these sterling performance really make evrything seem worthwhile. EVen the cameos are top notch: rowan atkinson as a prissy salesman, billy bob thornton as a lecherous american president, denise richards as a bimbotic american girl, claudia schiffer as liam neeson's new love interest and hunkily yummy rodrigo santoro as laura linney's object of adulation. Seriously though, hugh grant as prime minister demands a horrific stretch of the imagination, but look out for his little dance to the pointer sister's "JUmp".. it's darn hilarious~! hehehe..
Overall, Love actually dazzles at several places with its sheer brilliance in acting and ingenious scripting but falls flat at others for trying too hard to impress... It's indeed a glossy affair but disappointedly lacking in substance at times. Otherwise, this is perfect maudlin fodder to watch wif your boyfrens/gerlfrens during the christmas season. ;-) 3.5/5 stars!
