Notting Hill (Roger Mitchell, 1999) wr. Richard Curtis
The life of a simple bookshop owner changes when he meets the most famous film star in the world.
Hugh Grant, Julie Roberts, Rhys Ifans, James Dreyfus, Dylan Moran
Another page to illustrate why this folder should not be called "reviews". I've just seen this movie for the first time, in 2017, while it was released almost twenty years ago.
Richard Curtis uses again the formula that was so successful in Four Weddings: bumbling 'Hugh Grant character' ( = stereotypical Englishman) falls in love with 'Julia Roberts character' (a film star playing herself). The American is in charge; he hasn't got a clue - I'm sure this film did particularly well in the USA for a British film.
Rhys Ifans also more or less plays himself - or at least the gangling, vulgar stereotype RI to which his height and weight lend themselves.
This is the film with the famous seasonal change scene. When Thacker (Grant) starts to walk through the street market in Notting Hill there is snow on the roadway. By the time he has got to the end and turned the corner it is summer - he takes off his coat, if you haven't noticed. I think there is a cut (or two; I wasn't counting) but it is pleasantly cinematic way to show the passing of time - better than those flipping calendars they used to show back in the day.
Garry Gillard | reviews | New: 26 November, 2017 | Now: 26 November, 2017