Notting Hill (DVD)

...owns a travel shop in Notting Hill, London. On one normal morning for William, his life is turned upside down when the most famous actress in the world walks into his travel book shop. He charms Anna Scott (Julia Roberts) with his cute charms and wit. They begin to see each other, but he realises that a relationship with the most famous woman in the world has its problems, and he has to face them head on. Will he get the girl or not?

...with Grant in before watching Notting Hill and I really wasn’t a fan, however after this film I really can see what other’s see in him, he is a good actor, if you ignore the poncy lame accent then he really can act. I think he is lovable in this film, I wouldn’t go as far as to call him cute, but he is pretty lovable. I think he played the part of ordinary British guy brilliantly well and he really worked well alongside Roberts even though he didn’t ... more

Hopefully you don't think the title is too rude :D xx

I was actually made to watch this film the first time, I have a weird hatred for English comedy’s, especially Hugh Grant’s ones, however I was pleasantly surprised by this film and it quickly became one of my favourite films, especially one of my best romantic comedy films. I was looking for a film to watch last night, and saw this on my shelf and realised I hadn’t seen it in a long time, so I sat down to watch it and I realised I had forgot how much I love this film. Here is my review.

The Plot

William Thacker is a normal English man who owns a travel shop in Notting Hill, London. On one normal morning for William, his life is turned upside down when the most famous actress in the world walks into his travel book shop. He charms Anna Scott (Julia Roberts) with his cute charms and wit. They begin to see each other, but he realises that a relationship with the most famous woman in the world has its problems, and he has to face them head on. Will he get the girl or not?

The Cast

Julia Roberts- Anna Scott
Hugh Grant- William Thacker
Rhys Ifans- Spike
Tim McInerny- Max
Gina McKee- Bella
Emma Chambers- Honey
Hugh Bonneville- Bernie

My Opinion

I really didn’t know what to expect with this film, Hugh Grant before me watching this film always had that kind of face that you just want to smack. He didn’t come across as a good actor, he wasn’t handsome, but this film changed my opinion of him. I found him charming, he acted the role brilliantly well. I really liked this film, it is a proper romantic comedy, I hate films which put themselves into this genre and you barely laugh throughout the whole film, but this isn’t that kind of film, you do find yourself laughing out loud a lot during the film for many reasons.

I think what makes this film rock solid for me is the supporting cast, yes Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant are amazing, but I think it could have fallen flat if it hadn’t have had the supporting cast around them. This cast consists of some brilliant actors, Spike for me was a definite highlight within the film, he really kept me laughing throughout, I think the rest are just as brilliant, you may know a lot of them from English comedies throughout the years, Emma Chambers being one of the main ones, she had me in stitches in Vicar Of Dibley and it was lovely to see her play a different role.

There are some lovely one liners in this film, I’m sure anyone that watched this film, was touched by lines like ‘To June, Who loved this garden, From Joseph, Who Always Sat Beside Her’ and ‘I’m also just a girl, standing in front of a boy...’ I’m not going to finish that quote as it could have the potential to ruin the film for those who have yet to see it but still both of those still make me go aww every time I hear them, especially the one on the bench.

This is the kind of film that us girls love, it always leaves you with a good feeling after watching it, and it is perfect for a night in with the girls. The film surprisingly has been watched hundreds of times by me and I have yet to get bored of it. Every time I find myself smiling and laughing my ass off. If you one of a few people that have yet to see this film, then check it out because it is just brilliant.

The Acting

I think the British side of the acting is just brilliant, Hugh Grant really delivers within this film as does all of his little sidekicks, however I think that Julia Roberts delivered quite a boring performance, she’s a great actress yes, but I just got the opinion that she was bored during the making of the film. If you can ignore that though, she really is a brilliant actress and you really can’t beat a Julia Robert’s romantic comedy.

Hugh Grant steals the screen however, like I said before, I had watched a few films with Grant in before watching Notting Hill and I really wasn’t a fan, however after this film I really can see what other’s see in him, he is a good actor, if you ignore the poncy lame accent then he really can act. I think he is lovable in this film, I wouldn’t go as far as to call him cute, but he is pretty lovable. I think he played the part of ordinary British guy brilliantly well and he really worked well alongside Roberts even though he didn’t have much to work from.

Like I said before, the British really stole the screen with this film, there are a few cameo appearances from the likes of Alec Baldwin and a very little Mischa Barton (Marissa from the OC) but they are just boring and nothing really special, it is the Brits that take over with this film with some great appearances from the brilliant Emma Chambers who most people know from The Vicar Of Dibley, and she is brilliant within this film, it really is nice to see her in a different role from Dibley. Rhys Ifans is just brilliant in this film, he plays a very dim witted disgusting man but he gets some of the best laughs in the entire film. The Brits give us the funniest moments in the film; these normal people try to work out why the most famous girl in the world seems mesmerized by William.

The Comedy

You do get some great laugh out moment that you’ll still laugh out loud when watching it years later, I think this is the great thing about this film, it isn’t the best comedy film I’ve ever seen, but in its genre, romantic comedy this film really does excel.

The Soundtrack

This music is filled with some brilliant music, it’s not really typically my kind of music, I wouldn’t usually choose to listen to Elvis Costello but in this film it adds so much to the film and of course it’s always nice to watch a film with brilliant music, it adds so much to the brilliance of the film. Other great songs include and I really can’t believe I’m including this name in a review of mine, but it is a good song and fits the moment perfectly and that is Ronan Keating’s, When You Say Nothing At All. Ain’t No Sunshine is another great song from this film and you really can’t complain about the brilliant soundtrack when watching the movie. Well unless you only listen to death metal, but then I can’t really see you watching this film at all.

The Bad

This film like every romantic comedy out there is filled with predictable moments and of course, the ending is the most predictable thing there is within the entire film. This particular story of boy meets girl, girl likes boy, girl and boy date, girl and boy break up has been done hundreds of times, I’m not sure if I have seen a film where it does the famous girl and the normal boy before like this film, but to be honest, it has the same pretence that a lot of other films do out there.

I think the chemistry could have been better, Hugh Grant seemed right at home, as did Julia Roberts in some scenes (the birthday party scene for one), however in other’s she just seemed to be out of place and that she didn’t want to be there, I have seen Roberts in so many romantic comedies it’s ridiculous, but I think with her acting talents, she could have preformed something so much better within this film, she didn’t deliver as much as I would have liked.

Should You Buy It?

Yes, it is a brilliant film. If you want to buy this film on a site like amazon or play.com you are looking to pay about a fiver which is a bit excessive considering I brought this DVD about 3 years ago on EBay for about £2.50. I’m sure if you check out EBay you can get a brilliant price for this DVD and it is well worth it. As well as that, it’s one of those films which is shown on television all the damn time and so I’m sure you can see it on television.

Details

Release Date: 1999
Director: Richard Curtis
Certificate: 15
Running Time: 124 minutes

(C) 2009

I recently got moaned at on one of the sites I post my reviews on, about me not putting in the extras for films, even though I may talk about them within the review. There is a very good reason for this, for me, I think a film should be brought not on the basis of what extras are on the disk, as 90% of the time they’re pretty useless and I think if I write about the extras, it’s not my opinion of the film, it’s about what’s on the disk, because of this, unless the Extras are amazing and critical to the film, I do not write about them within my review.

Sorry if this is not good enough for some people, I just think you should base buying a DVD on my review, not what extras are on the disk. He also moaned about my small plot that I put into the review, I politely told him where to stick that comment as I think anything more than two paragraphs is way too much.

 

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