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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To get so angry watching Love Actually?

172 replies

bingbong02 · 17/12/2016 21:59

I don't even have a partner that's cheated on me but after seeing so many friends going through it the Emma Thompson/ Alan Rickman story just seems so "real life"

I wonder what the the writer had been through to get it so right

OP posts:
Puddington · 17/12/2016 23:23

I think the writer said alan and Emma "did remain together but nothing was ever quite the same again"

That's the impression I got of them at the airport, that they were basically staying together "for the kids" but the atmosphere was different even in that scene -- how could it not be after what he did?! She didn't deserve that, what an arsehole. I don't want to write a thesis on Love Actually or anything but that storyline stuck with me long after I mostly forgot Hugh Grant's awful dancing and Andrew Lincoln's stalkery messages Grin

QueenMortificado · 17/12/2016 23:25

Oh yes, there's a relationship between two women, where one of them is dying isn't there? It's beautiful, touching scenes

EssentialHummus · 17/12/2016 23:29

Oh yes, there's a relationship between two women, where one of them is dying isn't there?

Yes - I think the tie-in is that one of the women is the headmistress of the primary school with the sea creature nativity.

ThomasHardyPerennial · 17/12/2016 23:34

Before I watched it for the first time, loads of people told me about Emma Thompson's scenes, and how amazing she was in it. Meh, she left me cold. Really hate the film.

Threesoundslikealot · 17/12/2016 23:35

I completely agree with the Jezebel review. When I saw the film in the cinema I came out in tears of anger at how angry it had made me. ET and AR were the only storyline that rang remotely true, and that didn't make for a cheering evening. I have seen it on TV since and the Bill Nighy stuff is OK, and the Kris Marshall storyline just too ludicrous to care about, but the rest is either offensive or stupid.

bibbitybobbityyhat · 17/12/2016 23:36

It's a very silly film. How can you begin to take it seriously with the ludicrous Hugh Grant/Martine McCutcheon storyline in there? It wouldn't have been made had it been written by an unknown.

Threesoundslikealot · 17/12/2016 23:44

Enormously fat Martine, you mean?

findthepositive · 17/12/2016 23:52

Ouch!

Littlelamplight · 17/12/2016 23:58

It's the same every year on MN. Everyone loves ET and hates KK.

I have a feeling everyone hates KK because she's actually quite beautiful and very thin

OlennasWimple · 18/12/2016 00:00

Colin pulling on the basis of his accent is very believable (not the multiples, maybe, but yes Americans really do fawn over British accents Smile)

I can never understand why KK won an Oscar - she's so bloody wooden in everything she does

Emma Thompson is the epitome of the British stiff upper lip - love her

NoTractorsAtTheTable · 18/12/2016 00:01

I like KK - I think we would be mates Smile She's great in Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World, really loved that.

TheWitTank · 18/12/2016 00:02

It's DREADFUL. Twee, poorly acted with ridiculous storylines.

NoTractorsAtTheTable · 18/12/2016 00:04

It's DREADFUL. Twee, poorly acted with ridiculous storylines.

Just the same as every other Christmas film... Grin

TheWitTank · 18/12/2016 00:04

Yes! I can't think of one I really like.

Penvelopesnightie · 18/12/2016 00:09

I love Alan Rickman in that film , he. Was very sexy , I could imagine trying to seduce him .

TheDowagerCuntess · 18/12/2016 00:11

I love Love Actually and will happily watch it every Christmas, but there are some scenes of unutterable Shock in it.

Every time Alan R's flighty piece opens her mouth, for starters and the Sharon Stone move she pulls in the swivel chair is gruesome.

Love Colin and Aurelia, and Stacey and what's his name.

sandgrown · 18/12/2016 00:12

Love the Thompson/Rickman storyline but it makes me cry because the same thing happened to me only the gift was a beautiful pair of earrings.

FannyThat · 18/12/2016 00:25

Why would the link ruin the film? Confused just a badly written article done by someone who dislikes the film, don't have to agree with it.

bibbitybobbityyhat · 18/12/2016 00:30

Martine McCutcheon is not enormously fat! What a thing to say Angry

Lionking1981 · 18/12/2016 00:30

I have not seen this in years. The Emma Thompson scenes didn't really resonate with me back then as I was young and childless. But it's heartbreaking to watch now. I have seen messages on my dh phone discussing wanting to leave me and got up in the morning cheerily waving the kids off even though I was devastated. Really gets me now. Always thought the kk character and her husband's mate were arseholes. Just imagine the aibu on that one.

worriedmum100 · 18/12/2016 00:39

I'm no expert film buff type but a very good friend of mine is. Whenever we've had a few drinks he tells me that Love Actually is not supposed to be believable in a "real life" kind of way and that it's supposed to be a modern fairytale. I'm normally too pissed to argue with that in a coherent fashion. Personally I enjoy it but will watch Colin Firth and Alan Rickman in anything!

honeyroar · 18/12/2016 00:39

Yes I always felt sorry for the husband in the KK story.

I've met KK in real life, she was very down to earth, polite and friendly. With really lovely skin. Her boyfriend at the time was a wet lettuce and a bit of a diva (Rupert I think he was called).

A1Sharon · 18/12/2016 00:44

That'll be Wickham then honeyroar, you've described him perfectly!Grin

BikeRunSki · 18/12/2016 00:46

Yes, it was the relationship with the headmistress and her dying partner that I meant.

Of course the Kris Marshall story is too silly to be true, but comic relief is hardly a new tool in script writing.

Maybe Colin Firth and Aurelia is too romanticised to be true, but I love that storyline the best. Who knows how far fetched it is? I would be wonderful if there was one of those for every ET/AR in real life. Sadly, it's the ET/AR relationship that is mostly related to here.

But I do know a girl whose life is dictated by an autistic sibling, and has not formed any significant relationships beyond this. And people who've got to the end of their career and realised that they have more live and emotion invested in their colleagues and partners than home life.

So many people do meet their partners at work, or really love their best friend's partner. It's glorified, OTT schmaltz, but it's based on a grain of truth. And hey. If I were Prime Minister and I had the powers to track down my love interest like that, then I might just do that!

steff13 · 18/12/2016 00:55

I think 'Threesoundslikealot was being facetious about Martine whatever-her-name-is being fat, because it was a bit of a point in the story, wasn't it? Her BF broke up with her because she was fat, the other woman working in the office mentioned to Hugh Grant that she is fat. He says something like, "oh, would we call her fat?" and she says something about her thighs or her bum or something.