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AIBU that Love Actually makes me want to poke my eyes out? Light hearted.

249 replies

Mapletreelane · 18/12/2020 18:13

Don't get me wrong, I love a good Christmas flick. But I'm seeing a lot of love on social media for Love Actually. Am I the only one who finds it cringey; it stereotypes Britain as posh and middle class, and Hugh Grant's dancing PM is just....horrendously embarrassing, not funny? It has a wealth of our greatest acting talent who manage to sound unnatural and unfunny. Give me Elf any day (And I am not a Will Ferrell fan). I'm seeing so much love for it and I just cannot see the attraction!

YABU- Get a life. Love Actually is one of the greatest Xmas films ever

YANBU - it is a cringefest akin to nails scraping on a blackboard (for those of you old enough to know what a blackboard is)

OP posts:
IcedPurple · 19/12/2020 14:17

Which of those storylines are sexist?

All of them.

Why not have Emma Thompson cheat with a hot young piece?

Or a middle aged women marry a good-looking young waiter who doesn't speak her language?

A man give up a night with the smoking hot woman he'd fancied for ages in order to tend to his sick sister?

A widow get with a model 2 decades her junior?

Arguably, one by one these storylines aren't sexist (though I think they are) but put all together there's a definite theme going on.

IcedPurple · 19/12/2020 14:17

@HopeTheHeraldAngelsSing

I think you’re all reading waaaay too much into it! It’s a typical romantic comedy.
But it's neither romantic nor comedic.
Wheresmykimchi · 19/12/2020 14:20

@IcedPurple

Which of those storylines are sexist?

All of them.

Why not have Emma Thompson cheat with a hot young piece?

Or a middle aged women marry a good-looking young waiter who doesn't speak her language?

A man give up a night with the smoking hot woman he'd fancied for ages in order to tend to his sick sister?

A widow get with a model 2 decades her junior?

Arguably, one by one these storylines aren't sexist (though I think they are) but put all together there's a definite theme going on.

A middle aged woman marry a waiter who doesn't speak her language? When you look at society - Turkish waiters etc , Colin firth is the role reversal in this one .

Alan doesn't cheat. He admits to being a stupid man. Although I do agree with you , the character of the secretary so irritating I can't remember her name is cartoony and as PP have said , a shame because she has zero substance. And don't get me started on the American girls , although Ive always liked the Nick guy since my family.

I get the point on the others, in fairness. But then the bill nighy character at the end is a turnaround.

I just think it's a cheesy, feel good Christmas film. Absolute mince but then so are most Christmas films. The Holiday for one Grin

ChestnutStuffing · 19/12/2020 14:22

Which of those storylines are sexist?

These days you can only show stories where everyone behaves impeccably, al la 2020. Like real life, anyone who does something less than ideal is evil and so shouldn't be in a film, unless they die horribly to show how the universe hates bad people.

IcedPurple · 19/12/2020 14:24

A middle aged woman marry a waiter who doesn't speak her language? When you look at society - Turkish waiters etc , Colin firth is the role reversal in this one .

It's hardly a 'role reversal'. I'd say it's way more common for middle agd men to marry attractive, much younger women they can barely communicate with.

But this is a film, not real life. And it's just cliche after cliche. I don't agree with you that it's 'feel good'. More like feel smug.

And don't get me started on the American girls , although Ive always liked the Nick guy since my family.

I had forgotten that one! January Jones in a pre Betty Draper role.

Wheresmykimchi · 19/12/2020 14:28

@IcedPurple

A middle aged woman marry a waiter who doesn't speak her language? When you look at society - Turkish waiters etc , Colin firth is the role reversal in this one .

It's hardly a 'role reversal'. I'd say it's way more common for middle agd men to marry attractive, much younger women they can barely communicate with.

But this is a film, not real life. And it's just cliche after cliche. I don't agree with you that it's 'feel good'. More like feel smug.

And don't get me started on the American girls , although Ive always liked the Nick guy since my family.

I had forgotten that one! January Jones in a pre Betty Draper role.

Oh come on. Im not disagreeing that men do that but the older women /Turkish waiters thing is definitely a thing.

Oh is it January jones! Totally missed that.

AllTheDogsIveLovedBefore · 19/12/2020 14:58

@Wheresmykimchi Alan certainly does cheat. When you see the scenes of his wife upset in the bedroom, there is a shot of Mia walking from her own rumpled bed to her table to put on the necklace Alan bought for her. Before this, her bed had been immaculately made and the director himself said viewers are meant to deduce from these two scenes that Alan and Mia had slept together.

Wheresmykimchi · 19/12/2020 15:13

[quote AllTheDogsIveLovedBefore]@Wheresmykimchi Alan certainly does cheat. When you see the scenes of his wife upset in the bedroom, there is a shot of Mia walking from her own rumpled bed to her table to put on the necklace Alan bought for her. Before this, her bed had been immaculately made and the director himself said viewers are meant to deduce from these two scenes that Alan and Mia had slept together.[/quote]
What???????? Shock

BlueThistles · 19/12/2020 15:52

[quote AllTheDogsIveLovedBefore]@Wheresmykimchi Alan certainly does cheat. When you see the scenes of his wife upset in the bedroom, there is a shot of Mia walking from her own rumpled bed to her table to put on the necklace Alan bought for her. Before this, her bed had been immaculately made and the director himself said viewers are meant to deduce from these two scenes that Alan and Mia had slept together.[/quote]
OMG I'm not sure I'll recover from this information... jeeeeeeesus I never noticed... rushes off to replay scenes...

I dislike the storyline of the girl in his office who was in love with her colleague but never quite got the chance for happiness. Hmm very annoying Flowers

catbunnydog · 19/12/2020 16:04

The weirdest thing about this movie is not just the various hideous plots, but the fact that Keira Knightly was only 17 when it came out.

Like wtf?? Why is a 17 year old playing a full grown married woman whose husbands creepy best friend is trying crack onto with notecards in the street??

Worst film ever

sammylady37 · 19/12/2020 16:05

I dislike the storyline of the girl in his office who was in love with her colleague but never quite got the chance for happiness. hmm very annoying

I find that storyline very poignant and I think there’s something really bittersweet about it. It shows the huge burden that caring for a loved one with severe mental illness can be. I feel so sad for this woman that she didn’t get to live the life she wanted because of her love for her brother and all the sacrifices that entailed, yet it highlights the depth of her love for him. It brings a tear to my eye every time I watch it.

Thewithesarehere · 19/12/2020 16:08

Only good thing about that movie was Laura Linney.

Dontforgetyourbrolly · 19/12/2020 16:08

Its depressing . All the women in it are in submissive roles and have got the worst part of the bargain. Apart from the young girl I suppose.
It's all about men being heroes

HelloDulling · 19/12/2020 16:20

Eight is a lot of legs, David.

TheDuchessOfAquitaine · 19/12/2020 16:40

@HelloDulling Grin that’s my favourite line of the film

thegreenlight · 19/12/2020 16:49

It hasn’t dated. It was shit to begin with! I saw it at the cinema when it first came out and DH and I were both shocked that it had the temerity to have ‘love’ in the title when there is nothing of the sort in the film. ‘Lust at any cost, actually’ would have been a more appropriate title. Sets a very low bar for relationships.

Clawdy · 19/12/2020 17:18

The men are "heroes"??! Are you watching a different film? They are mostly portrayed as inadequate jokes! Except for Laura Linney's love......

Wheresmykimchi · 19/12/2020 17:26

@catbunnydog

The weirdest thing about this movie is not just the various hideous plots, but the fact that Keira Knightly was only 17 when it came out.

Like wtf?? Why is a 17 year old playing a full grown married woman whose husbands creepy best friend is trying crack onto with notecards in the street??

Worst film ever

Was she only 17?!
SingleWontMingle · 19/12/2020 17:36

There were only four or five years between her and Thomas Brodie-Sangster

M4J4 · 19/12/2020 17:37

Complete pile of wank. Sexist too.

sammylady37 · 19/12/2020 17:38

@thegreenlight

It hasn’t dated. It was shit to begin with! I saw it at the cinema when it first came out and DH and I were both shocked that it had the temerity to have ‘love’ in the title when there is nothing of the sort in the film. ‘Lust at any cost, actually’ would have been a more appropriate title. Sets a very low bar for relationships.
Love isn’t all about traditional relationships though. There’s the love Laura Linney has for her brother. There’s the love Liam Neeson has for his stepson. The love Emma Thompson has for her children. The love between Bill Nighy and his manager.

And yes, there’s traditional relationship love too. Alan Rickman does a good job of portraying a man who loves his wife but whose head is being turned. Colin Firth loves his partner who cheats on him, so much so that he takes himself off to another country to recover.

All of the characters are flawed, just like all people in real life are.

Films about love should depict real life, love in all its forms, with the hurts and disappointments it brings as well as the good things. Life isn’t a fairytale and this isn’t a Disney movie.

1Morewineplease · 19/12/2020 17:38

I loved it at first but I've begun to see the faults in it.
As others have said, it has dated badly.

M4J4 · 19/12/2020 17:41

There’s the love Laura Linney has for her brother.

Woman sacrifices herself to care for male relative. Typical.

sammylady37 · 19/12/2020 17:42

@M4J4

There’s the love Laura Linney has for her brother.

Woman sacrifices herself to care for male relative. Typical.

And?? What’s wrong with a movie portraying something that we know happens in real life??
sammylady37 · 19/12/2020 17:43

@M4J4

There’s the love Laura Linney has for her brother.

Woman sacrifices herself to care for male relative. Typical.

Also, I typed that in response to someone saying it shouldn’t have ‘love’ in the title as there was ‘nothing of the sort’ in the film, and I was pointing out some of the love portrayed in it
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