We all do crazy things for girls. I know I've done my fair share of stupid things all in the pursuit of love. One of them was watching the following film. Going into it I thought it would be the equivalent of The Notebook, a movie that wouldn't crack my top 100,000 favorite films.
Instead it turned into something better than I ever could have anticipated. It turned into one of my top-ten favorite movies of all-time.
Director: Richard Curtis
Starring: Hugh Grant, Keira Knightley and Colin Firth
Plot: "Follows the lives of eight very different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely and interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London, England."
Stock: Down
"Enough ... enough now."
If you've really been following this blog then this shouldn't come as a surprise to you at all. I've referenced Love Actually a couple times in the short five year history of The King of Arguments. In February of this year I mentioned it while talking about the movie Crash. More than two years ago when I celebrated my 100th post, I listed it as one of my guilty pleasures. Finally, back in January of 2007, I wrote a short review of it as I was recapping my favorite movies from the previous year.
But, I'm willing the bet that for the majority of you - including Barnes - had little to no idea that Love Actually would make my list, let alone crack the top ten. There's plenty of reasons why it ranks this high so if you read the rest of this post with an open mind perhaps you will actually walk away with an understanding of my love for this movie.
THE PLOT
Unlike most of the movies on my list, Love Actually doesn't have one main character. Instead it focuses on a multitude of people who are all on a search of love. Some are dealing with love lost. Others are finding it for the very first time. Some can't be with the one they desire, while others are trying to rekindle the fire with their spouse. This film does a remarkable job of touching on all aspects of love.
All of the characters in Love Actually are connected in some way, shape or form, which brings the entire movie to a fitting conclusion as we see all of our beloved characters at the same place at the same time.
MY REACTION
All the credit in the world goes to Liz Vaccaro for introducing me to Love Actually. Liz and I met our freshman year of college in an English class. I happened to wear a Tiffin Calvert shirt one evening and Liz asked me if I knew who "Racquet Ball Paul" was. From there we started hanging out quite a bit as I soon found out she went to Mansfield St. Peters and was not only living in my dorm but on the same floor, just right around the corner.
Liz introduced me to a lot of different things including Gavin DeGraw, chamomile tea and The Notebook. As you can guess, some were certainly better than others. But perhaps the best thing she showed me was Love Actually.
During that first viewing I sat there with a feeling of contempt. I did not want to watch another "The Notebook" and fully expected the same kind of film. At some point however, it became more "real" than The Notebook and slowly began to differentiate itself from that horrible movie.
I use the word "real" because I feel "real" emotions every time I watch it. It's hard not to. Maybe I haven't been in the exact situations that some of the characters get themselves into, but I empathize with them. I can completely understand the range of emotions they are going through. Love is the most universally known feeling, and Love Actually taps into it again and again.
WHY TOP TEN?
First and foremost, Love Actually has a well-written script. It's clever and consistently funny. Hidden beneath all the talk about love, there is a story about family, about friends, and about the human connection. This is more than just a mushy "I love you" festival, it's about the lengths we go to for the pursuit of love. It's about a gut feeling, about taking a chance, and about not being afraid of failure.
The character I empathize with the most is Mark, played by Andrew Lincoln. Mark is in love with Juliet who is played by the beautiful Keira Knightley. Mark is afraid to tell Juliet this because Juliet is married to Mark's best friend. Therefore Mark is distant and cold towards Juliet, because as Mark puts it, "It's a self-preservation thing." Once Juliet finds out Mark's true feelings, Mark decides to finally express his love. It's one of my favorite movie scenes of all-time and ends with one of my favorite quotes as well. That scene alone made Love Actually one of my all-time favorite films. It's perfect.
Maybe this film resonates with me so much because deep down I'm a helpless romantic as well. I'm a big fan of love stories and a movie that is chalk-full of hilarious and powerful ones seems like a perfect fit for my top-ten ... even if most of you will hate it.
Even if you do hate this selection it's hard to argue how solid of a soundtrack it has. It's one of my favorite movie soundtracks and it should be one of yours as well.
MEMORABLE QUOTES
"Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. 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 sneaking suspicion... love actually is all around." - Prime Minister.
"I look quite pretty." - Juliet.
"But you know, the thing about romance is... people only get together right at the very end." - Sam.
"Life is full of interruptions and complications." - Karl.
"Hiya kids. Here is an important message from your Uncle Bill. Don't buy drugs. Become a pop star, and they give you them for free!" - Billy Mack.
"I love that word "relationship." Covers all manner of sins, doesn't it? I fear that this has become a bad relationship; a relationship based on the President taking exactly what he wants and casually ignoring all those things that really matter to, erm... Britain. We may be a small country, but we're a great one, too. The country of Shakespeare, Churchill, the Beatles, Sean Connery, Harry Potter. David Beckham's right foot. David Beckham's left foot, come to that. And a friend who bullies us is no longer a friend. And since bullies only respond to strength, from now onward I will be prepared to be much stronger. And the President should be prepared for that." - Prime Minister.
"Let's go get the shit kicked out of us by love." - Sam.
"Alone again... Naturally." - Jamie.
Until next time, "read it, roll it, hole it."
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