Real Kato Blog: Movies: Love Actually

Charming and fluffy, "Love Actually" is a romantic comedy about a series of interconnected relationships. There's definitely an "awwww" factor in this movie; that will appeal to some people, but make other people roll their eyes.

Some people like romantic comedies, and some don't. This movie could serve as a litmus test. It has not one, not two, but eight different romantic story lines, cramming all the usual themes (boy-meets-girl, unrequited love, infidelity, forbidden love, family love, friendship, etc.) into a single movie. You get it all here, folks.

It's clearly intentional. The original working title of the movie was "Love Actually Is All Around", and that is the plainly-stated point of the movie. Regardless of how complicated and frustrating relationships can be, everyone can find love somewhere, in some form.

It's a positive message, and a sweet one... but one that will bring a hail of bitterness from cynics, or from anyone who's been recently dumped. And in realizing that, the movie's major flaw becomes apparent: by giving us a superficial treatment of eight different story lines, the movie never really delves into how complicated each relationship actually is. We never get a really deep look at anyone's emotional turmoil.

And so yes, the movie is fluffy in that regard. But it is also charming, and most folks will find something to like about it.

Rating: 2.5 / 5

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