Impossible Romance Pulls It Off

by Jason R. Hewlett

First off: as a personal rule I don't really care much for romantic comedies. I find most of them harder to swallow than the average sci-fi or horror film because they are heavily grounded in a basic human elelment: falling in love. Generally the genre takes falling in love and turns it into a forced and contrived situation filled with forced and contrieved humour and the result is a great big insult to the intelligence...at least for me. Place my opinion in front the average female and I tend to get those funny looks that can make you feel like a complete schmuck. Still, it's my opinion and I'll stand by it and possibly hang by it.

So I wasn't too thrilled with the prospect of seeing the latest Julia Roberts romantic comedy "Notting Hill." I went by myself to a barely attended matinee. Considering comedy works best in crowds and romance works best with a date it was, in concept, a bad plan from the start. I shoudl have seen "The Phantom Menace" for a fourth time. However, despite my negative attitude and less than complimentary situation I enjoyed "Notting Hill" to a degree in spite of myself.

The premise is as contrieved as it could possibly get: ultrahot movie star Anna Scott (Julia Roberts, obviously playing herself) stumbles into a Notting Hill travel book shop owned by Hugh Grant. The two fall in love and through the usual screenwriting code (displayed by Richard Curtis of "Four Weddings and a Funeral" screenwriter Richard Curtis) have a heck of a time getting together until the big finale in front of a press conference.

What the film lacks in believability it makes up for in charm. Yes, the film is charming. Grant plays a good flustered romantic who never knows quite how to act or what to say in the face of beauty (I can relate) and the dialgue displays that dry British wit that one either loves or hates (I happen to love it). The two leads also work well together and I bought their budding romance despite the fact that it was obviously a screenwriter's plot device.

The big laughs, however, come from Grant's flatmate Spike. He is extremely well played Rhys Ifans as a charming lowlife and the character is so well drawn and presented that he steals the show away from the two leads. If you're there on a date, you'll be charmed by the whole movie I'm sure. If you're on your own, you'll howl at the antics of Spike.

7 out of 10!