Love Actually: the character's the thing.

Films with big ensemble casts are a tricky proposition. If a director spends too much time on a character no one in the audience really likes, then they will loose them altogether. If they do not spend enough time with a character the audience does identify with, then they will still feel cheated and might just start a blog where they rip said film (not that I'd know from personal experience or anything). But when it's done right, a film with a big ensemble cast can work wonders because there is one character that each individual in the crowd identifies with, Love Actually is that film.

The romantic lives of a number of different characters are explored in the film Love Actually. Be it the Prime Minister of Great Britain, a man with unrequited love for his best friends’ new wife or a housewife who fears her husband may be cheating, all of these characters (and more) must find a way to get, forget or deal with that most human of emotions; love.

The strongest parts of the film, aside from many genuinely funny parts, were the interconnecting storylines and characters. With all of the characters and situations they were in it would have been easy for writer/director Richard Curtis to loose control of the film and have it turn into one giant mess. Instead there was just enough of every storyline and character to keep the film interesting and entertaining. In fact, some of the individual storylines were so good that they could have been made into their own stand alone films. Most romantic comedies nowadays are too sickly sweet for their own good and seem excessively phony with endings that are too good to be true, but in this film the happy endings were actually heartwarming because the audience cared whether or not love would prevail. Jam packed with laughs and enough happy endings to make even a pessimist crack a smile, Love Actually was a top notch romantic comedy that everyone could enjoy.

Grade: B