Love Actually (Full Screen Edition)

Love Actually (Full Screen Edition)

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DVD Reviews of Love Actually (Full Screen Edition)

DVD Review: IF YOU LOVED THE MOVIE, AVOID (SOME OF) THE DVD
Summary: 3 Stars

Admittedly, this is a great popcorn movie. Entertaining. Enjoyable. Delightful. It doesn't require a great deal of intellectual investment, but it probably has one of the greatest casts of English (and American) actors assembled in one film since "Gosford Park." So, it was perfect for a Saturday afternoon.

Admittedly, there are a lot of illogical moments. (For example, one would think that the Prime Minister of England would have easy access to the address -- and last name -- of one of his senior household staff, rather than having to tromp up and down a cold, dark street, knocking on doors looking for her on Christmas Eve.)

And although the staggering number of intersecting plotlines could understandably overwhelm, I came away from the movie feeling that Richard Curtis had artfully woven an endearingly warm and fuzzy quilt around us, affirming that, still, "love is in the air" amidst a very complicated world.

In short, not a deep thought-provoking film, but not a bad way to spend a snowy London afternoon cuddled up in the cinema.

The feature commentary on the DVD, unfortunately, destroyed a lot of that illusion.

Curtis and Hugh Grant were obvious choices as two of the commentary participants. But given the size and pedigree of this cast, it's surprising that they weren't able to come up with more interesting co-commentators than Bill Nighy and nine-year-old Thomas Sangster.

Nighy was wonderful in the film, but his self-deprecating comments in the commentary pretty much destroy the cocky on-screen persona he had so memorably created on screen.

As for the talented young Thomas Sangster, he too was marvelous on screen. But it was inappropriate to have a nine-year-old boy participate in the running commentary of this film. I am no prude. The nudity and sexual content of LOVE ACTUALLY did not phase me at all . . . in fact, it was essential to the twisting and intertwining plots which tell such a story of contemporary love in today's society. But rewatching the entire film while a nine-year-old boy viewed it with three wise-cracking men in their 40's and 50's made even me uncomfortable. At one point, even Richard Curtis says "So Thomas, how does it feel to be watching a movie that, legally, you can't even get in to see." Perfectly said, and they should have thought better.

As for Hugh Grant . . . . I have always really liked his performances, including in this movie. And living in England half the time as I do, I thoroughly understand that razer-sharp English public school (i.e. private boarding school) banter and humour (which is often at the expense of others.) But in his commentary, I did not understand Hugh Grant's non-stop trashing of Colin Firth. The first few remarks were funny. The next six, not quite so. But two and a half solid hours of continuous bitchy remarks by Mr. Grant about Mr. Firth -- whose performance was one of the most heartfelt in this film -- became really irritating and downright rude. And for me, it really was counter to the warm feelings and hopeful spirit the film claims to trumpet and portray. It was, perhaps, meant as good-spirited fun, but it came off as vicious sniping at a colleague and a fellow actor.

Most disappointing, however, was Richard Curtis' commentary itself. What I previously thought had been a fresh, interesting , and well-thought-out directorial masterplan was obviously, instead, a shoot-from-the-hip scramble, by his own admission (Well, he's still a great writer.)

All-in-all, this particular commentary illustrates that filmmakers and actors should remember that a commentary becomes a viable and permanent part of their film's persona once it is released on DVD, and that they should be thoughtful not to destroy or lessen the illusions and patina they had created in the film itself. It's no joke, even in a lighthearted film.

The DVD does showcase a couple of deleted scenes which perhaps SHOULDN'T have ended up on the cutting room floor -- most notably the hilarious segment where Emma Thompson and her son (a talented young man whom you otherwise barely notice in the final cut) are called to the Head Mistress' office over one of the most innovative Christmas Wish essays ever written. It is (or would have been) probably the funniest scene in the movie.

The movie on DVD is still, of course, the movie, and it's still great fun, and completely enjoyable. My advice, though, would be to avoid the commentary, and just stick to the deleted scenes.

Oh yes, and one last thing . . . this DVD does eloquently allow the viewer to watch, over and over, the subtly nuanced performance of the magnificent Emma Thompson, who I'd say is one of the greatest actors on the planet. Her anguished, wordless scene, standing next to her stark, coldly-lit, empty marital bed, is one of such moving, gripping emotion that you almost have to avert your eyes, since you feel you are intruding on a moment of such deep, private pain.

And you have to give Curtis credit for those moments, as well.
Even wordless scenes are written, and even brilliant actors such as Thompson have to be directed and captured on film.