Notting Hill (1999)

This movie is 20 years old, but it's still the most enjoyable movie I've seen in ages. Why can't they make movies like this again?

Fmovies: This film was surprisingly good, not my favourite romantic comedy in the world, and personally I think Love Actually and Four Weddings and a Funeral are better. But it is a good film, thanks to the strong performances, fresh script and the film's look. While not laugh out loud funny, Notting Hill is nonetheless warm and charming. The script is fresh, sometimes funny, sometimes insightful. The part where Anna says "I am just a girl, standing in front of a boy, waiting for him to love her", may be cringe worthy to some people, but for me no matter how clichéd it is it shows a vulnerable side to Anna's character. The film is based on love revolved around unequal social standing, William being diffident and unsuccessful, Anna being the complete opposite. The photography is fabulous and the direction is excellent. Hugh Grant is charming as William and Julia Roberts is positively luminous as Anna, and the two have strong chemistry. Out of the supporting performers, Rhys Ifans stands out in a very zany turn as Spike. The music is lovely too. All in all, this is very warm, charming and pleasant, yeah the ending is predictable, but this is a well written and quite irresistible film. 8.5/10 Bethany Cox

Can lightning strike twice? Well with writer Richard Curtis it has! I understand he wrote this screenplay and completed it before he realised just how similar it was to his previous hit, Four Weddings and a Funeral.

Let's examine this a second: Hugh Grant is the hero; There's an elusive and glamorous American that he falls for; He has a circle of friends, each in their own way a success AND a failure in life, and yet Hugh's character (William Thacker) is somehow trailing them all; there's the kooky yet endearing sister; the character with a tragic disability; a complete buffoon of a sidekick; and several near-misses.

Yet it's all so thoroughly entertaining, AGAIN. It's like a delicious dish, and its recipe for success is cooked up time and again by Curtis as Jamie Oliver's older and wiser brother.

As a single bloke in this day and age I AM William Thacker, and I AM Charles in Four Weddings. So on the one hand you'll have parts of the audience identifying with the hero, and parts of the audience wanting the hero to be their real-life partner. Yet character empathy alone is not enough to carry a film.

The path that the hero follows needs to be a roller-coaster ride. Sometimes it's up, sometimes it's down, but it's never boring. In fact, the pacing is assuredly steady just as, in one excellent scene, we see the indication of time passing in an extremely effective way. I feel that Curtis learnt from Four Weddings and tightened the strings on the time line in this movie. Where Four Weddings very occasionally crawls, Notting Hill paces along assuredly.

In addition, our hero's roller-coaster ride must be believable. Could this really happen? Why not? Do movie stars ALWAYS fall for other celebrities?

So what of the performances? Well Hugh Grant is really Hugh Grant (again) in this role. But isn't that why we go to see Hugh Grant movies? He's funny yet tragic, vulnerable yet assured, and I can't imagine anyone else playing William.

Julia Roberts is one of those stars who, love her or hate her, delivers in every role. She's very believable as Anna Scott, showing the resolute public charm of a movie star, whilst exposing the hidden human frailty behind Hollywood's finest. And this despite the undoubted (and wholly false) criticism that she's simply playing a movie star like she in fact is. She perhaps COULD have leaned back and simply ambled through the movie expecting it to be an easy role for her, but in a truly professional manner, she's sought to add depth and weight to her character.

The rest of the cast sparkle in their roles, most notably Rhys Ifans as Spike. But even without the requisite comedy set pieces that Rhys revels in, actors of class such as Tim McInnerny, James Dreyfus, Gina McKee, Emma Chambers and Hugh Bonneville expertly fill in the no-less important landscape of this joyous and warm piece of art.

Watch out, too, for memorable cameos by Alec Baldwin, Mischa Barton and Matthew Modine.

So who is Cinderella and who is the Prince? At first glance William is the hopeful nobody. But really, as the story develops, we'll see that there are two character's dreams unfolding in Notting Hill.

Why then not 10 out of 10? Well, full marks would have been ME starring as William Thacker... ;)

Notting Hill fmovies. Julia Roberts is the queen of Romantic Comedies. Her iconic role in Pretty Woman should give her the title alone, but she's been in tons, some good while others weren't. However, she chose a good one in Notting Hill.

Notting Hill is a sweet, good-natured romantic comedy that succeeds on every level it is trying to be. The story is well-written and more original then it may come off from the trailers. This is a film about movie stars that actually have meaningful conversations about being movie stars. Hugh Grant is also dashing in the leading man role. Roberts actually gives best "Rom-Com" performance here, aside from the Oscar-Nominated, Pretty Woman. She restrains herself and isn't loud or obnoxious, just true to the character. This is some of her most underrated work.

With beautiful shots of London and a sweeping romance, Notting Hill is an example for future romantic comedies. I only had one problem: there is a huge gap in the middle where Roberts is off in America. I understood it was important to the story, but it didn't have to last 20 minutes. This is her story as much as it Grant's, but the writers put her on the back-burner.

While the ending is predictable, it's sweet and makes you smile. Wonderful film; 8.5

Not usually impressed with Romantic Comedies, i found this one strangely compelling. It really was a nice movie, littered with great characters, especially Spike played by Rhys Ifans (Hilarious).

The story demonstrates to the extreme that love can occur between the most unlikely of people, and the humorous portrayal of this, is both touching and realistic. And i mean realistically created, not necessarily true realism.

Worthy of your attention, this well written romantic comedy is a must for fans of the genre and is a good gamble if your not.

8/10

Visually lovely, "Notting Hill" becomes an enchanting fairy tale.....a magical and endearing love story, from the opening credits to an afternoon of quiet sharing in a London park. Being a romantic at heart, I was emotionally drawn to this well produced and entertaining motion picture, enticing me to view it a number of times more.

Some friends have indicated that the "plot" is boring and in 2 hours and 4 minutes takes too long to come to an expected conclusion. But the lyrical chemistry between William Thacker (Hugh Grant) and Anna Scott (Julia Roberts) give intimate glimpses into the human heart and spirit. As in Mary Poppins when Burt jumps into the chalk sidewalk drawing, I longed to join this tapestry of two people falling in love, among caring friends and relatives. To longingly look into Anna's eyes and to see a reflection of your very own soul of hope and humanity may seem less than exciting to some people.....too involved in their fast paced, action world and who fail to see the beauty of life around them....to smell the roses.

Watching the inflections of Julia Robert's face became a mesmerizing cinema experience. And Hugh Grant's thoughtful and honest, yet quirky presence gave hope to what could be possible. Then wrap all this with a humorous, loving and insightful group of friends and family......WOW!

After watching "Notting Hill" with my wife and giving her a big hug, I saw that she was just a girl, standing in front of a boy, wanting to be loved!

What greater joy of meaning can be given by a film?

"Teach me the Magic of Wonder, Give me the Spirit to Fly" - John Denver