Review of Notting Hill (1999) by Gareth R — 23 Jun 2011

There is a touching romance at the heart of Notting Hill. Although undeniably softened by the Richard Curtis Factor - a mixture of patronising modern-man soppiness and that kind of swearword-heavy Englishness that sells well overseas - it nonetheless moves you. It is grand, yet understated.

I'm talking, of course, of Tim McInnerny and Gina McKee. She's barren and stuck in a wheelchair, and he loves her effortlessly. Their scenes are highlights. The scenes focussing on Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts, and the actual plot of the film... less so.

It's the same English Boy Meets American Girl routine as Four Weddings, with the same Boy to boot. Grant is Will Thacker, a pleasantly acerbic travel-bookseller. Roberts is Anna Scott, a famous Hollywood actress. She steps into his bookshop and sparks fly, more or less. My money's on "less".

Roberts plays it so resolutely cool as Anna, even in her intimate moments, that it's hard to see what so interests Will. Grant is as professionally affable as ever, so he's hilarious and loveable, but it all has that Richard Curtis sheen, so you don't see what Anna's so in love with either. They're both such obvious star casting, and both more or less on autopilot, that there isn't much romance to it at all. It merely comes across as two actors on the rom-com circuit who were bound to meet eventually.

When we arrive at the requisite Boy Chases Girl finale, it's all gone a bit wrong. Will has turned Anna down because she treated him callously earlier on. He runs off to apologise, the problem now suddenly being that he's too prejudiced about her fame to see the normal girl inside. But that's not it, is it? Wasn't it made perfectly clear that the problem is her, dumping him whenever it's convenient, and him worrying that it'll happen again? The whole thing contradicts itself and cancels out, all in a sad effort to conform to the Richard Curtis formula.

Roberts is excellent in her second-to-last scene, pleading with Will to take her back. It's not her fault the scene doesn't go anywhere, and it's the only real emotional moment here, other than Tim and Gina doing the love thing better from the sidelines. Silly British flavour is added by Rhys Ifans, Emma Chambers et al, and it's funny, but forced. You learn to go along with that in Richard Curtis movies.

Notting Hill is harmless, really, but despite the sweetness and the pleasantness, it is without substance. Obviously it was a massive hit - with Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant, how could it miss? - but that's not a testament to its romance or its intelligence. It's candyfloss. And it is very, very Richard Curtis.