I wanted to start this topic for two reasons...the first is that the movie has situations that relate to the other discussion about misconceptions of the English by Americans, and vice versa. I won't go into detail until all who are interested have seen the movie, but suffice it to say that it contains some humorous examples of both.
The other reason I wanted to start the topic was because I am curious what other Paxacidians think of this film. It is in some ways tailor made for Anglophiles, (which most here are, to some extent), yet is far from perfect in the way it presents its themes. Maybe this will work out better than the book group...go see this film and let me know what you think...
Tommy, take your wife on a date, it's a great date movie.
Love Actually
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sara
I went to the movies tonight. Love Actually is a good date movie, but I went alone, which is always a pleasure because I get to hog the popcorn without the guilt. Well there is the guilt, but I'm wasting space. What I really want to know is what you meant by so far from perfect in the way it presents its themes? Educate me.
Also the arrival's gate metaphor irritated me, not because it wasn't good, but because someone else used it in a song. I don't think the song was in the movie. I guess there is such a thing as an allusion, but when I heard / saw it, I thought, They stole it! not They alluded to it! The possibility of a borrowed metaphor didn't keep me from enjoying the movie, but I liked it better the first time I heard it. It was original.
Also the arrival's gate metaphor irritated me, not because it wasn't good, but because someone else used it in a song. I don't think the song was in the movie. I guess there is such a thing as an allusion, but when I heard / saw it, I thought, They stole it! not They alluded to it! The possibility of a borrowed metaphor didn't keep me from enjoying the movie, but I liked it better the first time I heard it. It was original.
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sara
OK, I'm going to start out by saying that I enjoyed the movie a lot. The following comments are nit-picky bored film-major type stuff, so don't anyone get discouraged from seeing the movie by my ramblings.
The first thing that I found less than perfect was, as already mentioned, the Arrival gate metaphor. I don't know what song you're talking about, but I know I've heard that and seen it in other movies/tv shows, etc. I liked the style of that opening, and the writing of the little Hugh Grant monologue.
What I'm mostly referring to about the presentation is the fact that in my opinion, there are too many characters to truly get to know. This film is strongest when we really get to know the people and their situations, but there are a few of them that there just wasn't time to show as much as we should to truly get into their lives. Examples...the woman who had the mentally ill brother-I wanted to know more about them, and if I remember correctly, there was no real resolution of the aborted "affair" between her and the guy she works with. It's possible that more was shot but cut for time, and I guess those scenes might be on the DVD when it comes out. Another example was the naked stand in couple. Although I enjoyed the comic juxtaposition of their awkward early "getting to know you" stuff while simulating sex, they seemed not to fit in with the rest of the stories. We never got to learn much about them, of how (if at all) they related to the other characters, since most seemed to have some connection to at least one of the other stories.
Being imperfect doesn't make a movie bad, just gives us stuff to argue about, so in that respect the filmmakers did what most filmmakers want to do...get you talking about their work.
The first thing that I found less than perfect was, as already mentioned, the Arrival gate metaphor. I don't know what song you're talking about, but I know I've heard that and seen it in other movies/tv shows, etc. I liked the style of that opening, and the writing of the little Hugh Grant monologue.
What I'm mostly referring to about the presentation is the fact that in my opinion, there are too many characters to truly get to know. This film is strongest when we really get to know the people and their situations, but there are a few of them that there just wasn't time to show as much as we should to truly get into their lives. Examples...the woman who had the mentally ill brother-I wanted to know more about them, and if I remember correctly, there was no real resolution of the aborted "affair" between her and the guy she works with. It's possible that more was shot but cut for time, and I guess those scenes might be on the DVD when it comes out. Another example was the naked stand in couple. Although I enjoyed the comic juxtaposition of their awkward early "getting to know you" stuff while simulating sex, they seemed not to fit in with the rest of the stories. We never got to learn much about them, of how (if at all) they related to the other characters, since most seemed to have some connection to at least one of the other stories.
Being imperfect doesn't make a movie bad, just gives us stuff to argue about, so in that respect the filmmakers did what most filmmakers want to do...get you talking about their work.
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sara
I see what you mean about the themes, especially the naked couple.
Can we talk about what we liked? I loved the big music in the scene with Colin Firth at the the end, the whole thing made my heart swell up. Gag, I know. The scene with Emma and Joni in the bedroom was so sad, the christmas gift wrap in the background was too much. I thought about my mom, all moms / wives. I think it was not the most enjoyable scene, but probably my favorite. The most enjoyable scene for me was watching Hugh dance -- It's a movie cliche, but I'm thinking that was the point. I knew he was going to get caught by some dour faced somebody, but isn't that just the way it always goes. I smiled.
the song I was jibber-jabbering about is The Arrival's Gate by, oh no, Ani DiFranco. I told the hubby at lunch today about how much it irritated me. He looked at me like I was crazy. Then you explain that it's been used lots of times before, and I'm like oops, how embarrassing!
Can we talk about what we liked? I loved the big music in the scene with Colin Firth at the the end, the whole thing made my heart swell up. Gag, I know. The scene with Emma and Joni in the bedroom was so sad, the christmas gift wrap in the background was too much. I thought about my mom, all moms / wives. I think it was not the most enjoyable scene, but probably my favorite. The most enjoyable scene for me was watching Hugh dance -- It's a movie cliche, but I'm thinking that was the point. I knew he was going to get caught by some dour faced somebody, but isn't that just the way it always goes. I smiled.
the song I was jibber-jabbering about is The Arrival's Gate by, oh no, Ani DiFranco. I told the hubby at lunch today about how much it irritated me. He looked at me like I was crazy. Then you explain that it's been used lots of times before, and I'm like oops, how embarrassing!
Music makes and breaks films. It's more than subtle untertones, it often sets a tone, and Love actually was one of those movies that got that right. I didn't always like the music that was playing, but sometimes that's good. Even not liking a song sets a tone for the scene. About A Boy, and of course, High Fidelity, have music that sets the tone well in most scenes.
Sorry, don't know how I managed to post the last post twice but I've deleted it now. It's not as if I recall failing to post it and then posting it again. Strange.
I caught the matinee tonight of the movie. Mixed feelings. At first I thought I would hate it (the beginning just seemed trite...not sure if that's what you mean by the arrival gate metaphor) but about a quarter to halfway through I thought "ok, well, actually I'm enjoying this, I can't deny I'm enjoying this". But in the end, I think it collapsed into Hollywood-ism. Everything turns out perfectly for everyone involved, etc etc. miracles occur (the young boy catching the young girl in the airport), the rather unbelievable scenario of a grown man discussing sex and love life with a boy who can't have even reached puberty yet...people's physical appearances go with what character they're assigned...why couldn't it have been the black guy that went to America to meet girls?? Let alone the overweight Portugese sister...Etc etc. But I'm not going to choose to concentrate on the negative here, because I've seen worse films and it's not impossible for me to excuse Hollywood-ism.
Infact, that's why I like to visit Hollywood so much. Aside from the sunshine we Seattlites are so starved for, I like to visit because it's the kind of place that makes it POSSIBLE for people to MAKE fantasy-type films. (not to mention the fact that a spectacular record shop is within walking distance of my hotel, and the beach is a 15-20 min. bus ride away, and last time I was there, I WALKED to the Hollywood Bowl to catch Radiohead. First time I've ever walked to a concert, I think, can't beat that!) That's why I thought "Zoolander" was so great - nothing better than a Hollywood film that makes fun of the whole Hollywood/southern California phenomenon. Anyway, I realized after Love Actually that I prefer visiting the Hollywood to any films it actually produces. But again, I'm going to concentrate on the positive here.
I agree it would have been nice to have more character development, not as many characters, in fact the same thought had occured to me during the film, that there were too many characters. I also felt sortof the same about Donnie Darko, where it also felt like there were too many cooks in the kitchen at once. I wonder what happened to Emma (Thompson) and her husband...the look on his face seemed to betray something awful when she confronted him, yet we never were privy to what happened and it all got drowned in all the unrealistic Hollywood happy endings. I liked the Joni Mitchell song, too - fuck what is it called - oh yes..."I've looked at love from both sides now"...though I tend to recall Judy Collins' version more than Joni's and in any case I liked it because I remember us doing that song in my choir class in high school...those were the days in that choir class!...
Maybe I'm just too apt to ramble right now (good god it's a full moon in Gemini, of course I'm going to type a lot!) to adequately contribute to this conversation but I'll try...
I actually appreciated Hugh Grant's performance. Of course he was playing a virtuous, modest politician, of which there are none in real life these days. But JEEZ that girl he had his eye on was stunningly gorgeous! Most of the wafer thin females that pass for big stars these days do nothing for me but she was something else. And I liked his dancing scene as well. It was the first time I'd ever thought "Oh, okay, yeah I can see why some people might think he was attractive".
And last but not least, the manager for Billy the pop star, the fat guy, he rang big bells in my mind because he was in the (most recent, 80's) film adaptation of George Orwell's 1984. It's hard to forget him, because he cried in a jail cell in that movie. I didn't have a hard time remembering where I saw him because I thought "he cried...oh yes...1984". I almost feel sorry for that guy. I bet if you gave him a bigger role, he would probably do a fantastic job, but he won't get those roles, because he's fat. Still, nice to see one of the actors today out of that movie "1984". Well I could talk a lot about the actors/actress in that movie, but I'll hold my tongue except to say does John Hurt ring any bells?
Getting back to Love Actually, I too would have wanted more information about the girl with the mentally ill brother because I work with mentally ill people at my job. Most mentally ill people are not violent when they're on their meds and some of the people I work with I like a lot. They would be homeless if they didn't live in the group home. I think it's sad that many of the people on the streets these days are mentally ill COMBINED with alcohol or drug abuse. This means that the services for mentally ill won't take them if they're addicted, and the services for alcohol/drug abusers won't take them if they're mentally ill. It's a terrible cocktail, homeless, mentally ill, and addicted. Some of the people I work with have just seen things I would never want to experience. They've been all over, you know? And some of them are really great people. I'm happy that their lives are relatively stable, now.
I caught the matinee tonight of the movie. Mixed feelings. At first I thought I would hate it (the beginning just seemed trite...not sure if that's what you mean by the arrival gate metaphor) but about a quarter to halfway through I thought "ok, well, actually I'm enjoying this, I can't deny I'm enjoying this". But in the end, I think it collapsed into Hollywood-ism. Everything turns out perfectly for everyone involved, etc etc. miracles occur (the young boy catching the young girl in the airport), the rather unbelievable scenario of a grown man discussing sex and love life with a boy who can't have even reached puberty yet...people's physical appearances go with what character they're assigned...why couldn't it have been the black guy that went to America to meet girls?? Let alone the overweight Portugese sister...Etc etc. But I'm not going to choose to concentrate on the negative here, because I've seen worse films and it's not impossible for me to excuse Hollywood-ism.
Infact, that's why I like to visit Hollywood so much. Aside from the sunshine we Seattlites are so starved for, I like to visit because it's the kind of place that makes it POSSIBLE for people to MAKE fantasy-type films. (not to mention the fact that a spectacular record shop is within walking distance of my hotel, and the beach is a 15-20 min. bus ride away, and last time I was there, I WALKED to the Hollywood Bowl to catch Radiohead. First time I've ever walked to a concert, I think, can't beat that!) That's why I thought "Zoolander" was so great - nothing better than a Hollywood film that makes fun of the whole Hollywood/southern California phenomenon. Anyway, I realized after Love Actually that I prefer visiting the Hollywood to any films it actually produces. But again, I'm going to concentrate on the positive here.
I agree it would have been nice to have more character development, not as many characters, in fact the same thought had occured to me during the film, that there were too many characters. I also felt sortof the same about Donnie Darko, where it also felt like there were too many cooks in the kitchen at once. I wonder what happened to Emma (Thompson) and her husband...the look on his face seemed to betray something awful when she confronted him, yet we never were privy to what happened and it all got drowned in all the unrealistic Hollywood happy endings. I liked the Joni Mitchell song, too - fuck what is it called - oh yes..."I've looked at love from both sides now"...though I tend to recall Judy Collins' version more than Joni's and in any case I liked it because I remember us doing that song in my choir class in high school...those were the days in that choir class!...
Maybe I'm just too apt to ramble right now (good god it's a full moon in Gemini, of course I'm going to type a lot!) to adequately contribute to this conversation but I'll try...
I actually appreciated Hugh Grant's performance. Of course he was playing a virtuous, modest politician, of which there are none in real life these days. But JEEZ that girl he had his eye on was stunningly gorgeous! Most of the wafer thin females that pass for big stars these days do nothing for me but she was something else. And I liked his dancing scene as well. It was the first time I'd ever thought "Oh, okay, yeah I can see why some people might think he was attractive".
And last but not least, the manager for Billy the pop star, the fat guy, he rang big bells in my mind because he was in the (most recent, 80's) film adaptation of George Orwell's 1984. It's hard to forget him, because he cried in a jail cell in that movie. I didn't have a hard time remembering where I saw him because I thought "he cried...oh yes...1984". I almost feel sorry for that guy. I bet if you gave him a bigger role, he would probably do a fantastic job, but he won't get those roles, because he's fat. Still, nice to see one of the actors today out of that movie "1984". Well I could talk a lot about the actors/actress in that movie, but I'll hold my tongue except to say does John Hurt ring any bells?
Getting back to Love Actually, I too would have wanted more information about the girl with the mentally ill brother because I work with mentally ill people at my job. Most mentally ill people are not violent when they're on their meds and some of the people I work with I like a lot. They would be homeless if they didn't live in the group home. I think it's sad that many of the people on the streets these days are mentally ill COMBINED with alcohol or drug abuse. This means that the services for mentally ill won't take them if they're addicted, and the services for alcohol/drug abusers won't take them if they're mentally ill. It's a terrible cocktail, homeless, mentally ill, and addicted. Some of the people I work with have just seen things I would never want to experience. They've been all over, you know? And some of them are really great people. I'm happy that their lives are relatively stable, now.
A thought occured to me while watching Love Actually that I realize I didn't yet relate. There was something allowing me just for a moment to overlook it's Hollywood-ism. And I couldn't pinpoint what it was, but now I realize it was that I enjoyed the film because it combined the U.K. and the U.S., and things often mean a lot to me that do that. I need a balance for real peace of mind, Libra in the 12th house and all that, balance.
Mark's silly bit o' Blondie trivia: the bass player on Parallel Lines and their next two albums was British.
Mark's silly bit o' Blondie trivia: the bass player on Parallel Lines and their next two albums was British.
You walked in LA? That's funny. Did people look at you like you were crazy while you were walking? I used to get stared at while walking down sunset, and sometimes, sad, almost attractive-if-not-for-the-fact-that-they're-crackwhores girls would offer me a blowjob for five dollars.
The thing I love about Hollywood, or used to at least, is the reason every person from middle America should visit...It isn't glamourous at all. Hollywood blvd has sex shops and porno stores, stripper clothing shops and Scientologists mixed in with cheesy cheap souvenir stores.
They're trying to " clean it up" now, and it's tarting to look like a fake amusement park like Universal Citywalk or something. I like when it was really seedy, and you'd see busloads of Japanese tourists walking around Mann's Chinese theatre, trying to avoid the homeless people, and wondering when they were going to bump into Arnold Scwarzenegger. HA HA
The thing I love about Hollywood, or used to at least, is the reason every person from middle America should visit...It isn't glamourous at all. Hollywood blvd has sex shops and porno stores, stripper clothing shops and Scientologists mixed in with cheesy cheap souvenir stores.
They're trying to " clean it up" now, and it's tarting to look like a fake amusement park like Universal Citywalk or something. I like when it was really seedy, and you'd see busloads of Japanese tourists walking around Mann's Chinese theatre, trying to avoid the homeless people, and wondering when they were going to bump into Arnold Scwarzenegger. HA HA
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Simon Rex
One can not watch a movie starring a Scientologist. Likely to have subliminal coersive language for conversion. So avoid anything with Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Jenna Elfman, Danny Masterson, Kirstie Alley, etc. Oh wait, I do that anyway. They all suck. Kinda like Slothy & McCutchy do for each other.
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mccutcheon
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Simon Rex