To enjoy watching Love Actually

[Geminijust]

Just watched Love Actually for the umpteenth time. Thoroughly enjoyed it as usual and got me in the festive spirit.

Yes, the plot(s) is full of holes and mostly ridiculous! However, there are some great moments such as the Emma Thompson scene when she gets the CD instead of the necklace and lots of funny moments (Rowen Atkinson, Bill Nighy etc). My teen DD watching for the first time pointed out the sexism and the fat shaming (but still quite enjoyed it). She's not wrong, but meh! AIBU?

@stomachameleon hope you’re both doing better now. Of course you never missed a call! And I think Christmas is a miserable bloody nuisance anyway so I don’t mind. But there’s a big difference between being allowed to access a phone all the time (not routine on any of the psych wards I’ve been on) to contact your sister so she can do the job that lots of others are being paid to do, and a once-a-week phone call.

I remember years ago recommending it as a family film and then remembered all the sexual stuff (oops), but it's still a really good film for me.

I love it. Always have and always will. I love the airport narrative because its so true. Its a feel good movie and its so easy to watch.

For me it's no more problematic than a lot of old films.

I think they all have to go through a stage where the modern audience judges them harshly for their old attitudes to various aspects of current opinions.

And then it gets a bit older still, and everyone forgives and forgets and it just becomes another old film, judged again by the standards of the time it was made.

We're just in the middle phase now, but I assume it will move on the latter one soon enough.

Isn't he called the fat manager at every opportunity?

It crossed my mind watching it today that the poor sister who is sooooo fat looks pretty normal on today's obesity standards.

Oh and Emma Thompson makes several references to feeling fat. The film is fat obsessed 🤣

Just as we can watch films or consume any media and say it’s just of it’s time, we also need to contextualise the media when it was made. When it was made, curvy women weren’t hot. Anorexia was rife, heroin chic was the norm. Dad bods hadn’t come into fashion yet either. The tone of the film is very much how incredible it is that men can fancy women with even any flesh on their bodies, or even the other way round - I actually think the appreciation of the normal male body has been slower to progress than this odd trek from liking to see all bones to wanting all curves with women. It was REALLY insensitive given the climate in which it was made.

I saw it for the first and last time a few years ago (Christmas at my sister's place). Hated it - boring sexist drivel, waste of good actors. Mercifully I've forgotten most of it.

Love Hugh grant doing that dance! 🕺 😂

I think that the US President just moved in for a kiss and she was about to reciprocate but she saw Hugh at the door and stopped ( can't remember their film names , sorry)

Good job the President wasn't Trump because he might have "grabbed pussy".

I think Hugh’s still got it - love his dancing scenes in the Florence Foster Jenkins film and Paddington 2.
As for Love Actually, it has many dated charming bits, but also some excruciating toe curlers. It’s a shame we can’t have a version with porn actors and stupid Brit in America edited out. That would be a far more enjoyable watch!

But you only need to watch 15 minutes to work out who'll end up with whom!

I love it.
Favourite bits: Jamie and Aurelia learning each other's languages imperfectly. 'Just in cases' 😍
Emma Thompson smoothing down the duvet. 😭
I love the way the body double actors are really shy around each other despite having pretended to have sex.
The Prime Minister knocking on every door looking for Natalie (and singing carols)
The rock star and his manager who he loves really
And the airport stuff which is real life footage.

The Colin story is very silly, as is the boy racing through the airport to say hi to a girl who's still leaving for America.
Also I wish they'd somehow kept the lesbian cancer wife story but the context about the kids story was a bit rubbish so I can see why it got taken out.

Even by the usual standards of Working Title Movies this is next level unmitigated shitola.

Even the presence of the always-brilliant Emma Thompson couldn't redeem it. This isn't only because of the sexism - plenty of old moves are sexist but still watchable and entertaining - but this was a start to finish fest of unrelenting saccharine, sentimental bilge.

I've watched it once and won't be repeating the experience. Give me National Lampoons any day, or Gremlins, Meet me at St Louis, even the Muppets' Christmas Carol. But Mariah Carey on repeat would beat suffering half an hour of Love Actually.

The best characters in The Holiday were the houses.

Serafina! I can’t believe you are disrespecting the much loved Muppets Christmas Carol! Now that is a joy to watch in the lead up the the Big Day.

Pretty certain she wasn't about to reciprocate, she looked really upset and disturbed.

I wasn't! It's fan bloody tastic. The Muppets rock.

@CeciledeVolangesdeNouveau he was on a child's ward. If he wasn't being violent or difficult they allowed him the phone. He must have been quite lucky then!

Excellent Serafina - glad we are on the same page.

It's my favourite Christmas film and I watch it every year over the Christmas break.

Oh @stomachameleon - rules are very different for children and adults (although sometimes phones are also restricted for children, eg eating disorder wards). It is definitely not the norm to have unlimited phone time on a psych ward as an adult though. Really hope he’s doing better.

"It made me realise how many Mners are entirely disempowered, and economically vulnerable should their marriages fail. That scene is absolutely key to a certain type of Mners’ fears."

This isn't why the scene is so admired. Lots of people have been cheated on and then had to put a brave face on for the children. So it's about complete understanding and empathy for how she feels in that moment.
Emma Thompson's character is the Prime Minister's sister - I doubt she's economically vulnerable. Lots of women are fully independent financially but still completely identify with her feelings in that moment - it's about bringing a mother and putting your children's needs ahead of your own.

Agreed. When I’ve seen the film I’ve always held it together until she has to come out and be brave for everyone. Heartbreaking.