QUALITY PUT ON THE BACK BURNER

By: B -- 11/18/03

In the movie world, change is usually a good thing. However, if diverting from the successful to the unsuccessful, uniqueness can hardly be commended. Love Actually is different, just not any better.

Rather than stick with the tried-and-true formula, writer/director Richard Curtis (Notting Hill) decided to try to squeeze maximum love stories in minimal time. While he does show an abundance of them, the film as a whole comes off rather hollow.

Love Actually tries to weave nearly a dozen separate love stories together in this holiday film. The point that Curtis is trying to make here is that love exists everywhere. It exists for the Prime Minister, for a ten-year old child, for an aging married couple, for a lonely lady with a crazy brother, for a writer and his Portugese housekeeper. The point that Curtis doesn't get across is why we would care about these characters.

The cast is a who's-who of British actors today, along with a few from other countries. Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Alan Rickman and Laura Linney all see significant screen time. With the exception of Emma Thompson playing Hugh Grant's younger sister, the cast is sharp and believable. Emma Thompson and Laura Linney particularly stand out even while sharing screen time with dozens of other stars.

The soundtrack is a mess of top-40s hits that have been overdone. Seemingly picked by a teen, the music does nothing but distract.

Trying to squeeze this many love stories in one film is a risk, and unfortunately Curtis can't quite pull it off. For a love story to work, the audience needs, needs, to see two things: why the two are perfect for each other and why it doesn't seem like it can work. We have to care for the characters enough to root them on as they try to work past the hardships.

Here is where Love Actually falters. In many of the stories, we don't see why the characters are perfect for each other. Such is the case with the Prime Minister (Hugh Grant) and his love interest. One look in her direction and he's smitten. Why? In the same vein is Jamie (Colin Firth) and his love interest. We see that he likes her, but we don't see why. With the absence of any justification whatsoever, we as the audience don't care if they get together. The why is critical in romantic comedies.

Maybe Curtis showed us the wrong scenes of their budding love. Maybe they were perfect for each other, but since he had to fit in so many other stories, we never found out. Time is wasted on fluff characters; for instance, the aging pop star and the randy youngster looking for easy American girls.

Bearing in mind the low points, Love Actually is a tough movie to hate. The winning cast and sugar-coated love stories are nothing if not cute. There are tender moments and funny moments, and while they don't make up for the faulty story, they do help the overall mood. This is a romantic comedy that is neither sinking nor swimming, but mainly treading water.

Overall, Love Actually is decent. It's breezy, fun and easy. However, a movie without a winning story can't usually make up for it in other areas. Such is the case with Love Actually.

POP RATING: 6

CRITICAL RATING: 4

B'S RATING: 5

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