Stars: Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Laura Linney, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Keira Knightley, Martine McCutcheon

Director: Richard Curtis

Summary: Set in the weeks leading up to Christmas, this is the story of a group of people who find themselves surrounded by love...

Written and directed by Richard Curtis and produced by Duncan Kenworthy (the team behind NOTTING HILL and FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL) this zingy British comedy weaves a vivid crazy quilt of interlocking or unrelated vignettes all dealing with the subject of love over the Christmas holidays in London. The big name cast includes Hugh Grant as a prime minister who falls for a staff member, Liam Neeson as a widower counselling his son in the ways of romance, Laura Linney as a shy woman working up the nerve to ask out a co-worker, Emma Thompson and Alan Rickman as a couple faced with infidelity, and Colin Firth as a writer who falls for his Portuguese maid. Additionally, a pair of porn film stand-ins bond on the set, an artist fantasises about his friend's wife; and perhaps funniest of all, an aging rock star (Bill Nighy) tries for his comeback with a Christmas novelty song. The likes of Billy Bob Thornton, Rowan Atkinson and Denise Richards turn in cameos, helping making this film a throwback to those all-star, multi-plotted comedies of the 1960s and '70s, such as IT'S A MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD (1963), NASHVILLE (1975), and CALIFORNIA SUITE (1978). With Curtis' comedic credentials and the star wattage of pros like Grant, Neeson and Thompson, LOVE, ACTUALLY is a laugh-packed affair, with more than a few tears to be shed along the way, and a startling amount of bawdy raunchiness.

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With no fewer than eight couples vying for our attention, Love Actually is like the London Marathon of romantic comedies, and everybody wins. Having mastered the genre as the writer of Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, and Bridget Jones's Diary, it appears that first-time director Richard Curtis is just like his screenplays: he just wants to be loved, and he'll go to absurdly appealing lengths to win our affection. With Love Actually, Curtis orchestrates a minor miracle of romantic choreography, guiding a brilliant cast of stars and newcomers as they careen toward love and holiday cheer in London, among them the Prime Minister (Hugh Grant) who's smitten with his caterer (Martine McCutcheon); a widower (Liam Neeson) whose young son nurses the ultimate schoolboy crush; a writer (Colin Firth) who falls for his Portuguese housekeeper; a devoted wife and mother (Emma Thompson) coping with her potentially unfaithful husband (Alan Rickman); and a lovelorn American (Laura Linney) who's desperately attracted to a colleague. There's more--too much more--as Curtis wraps his Christmas gift with enough happy endings to sweeten a dozen other movies. That he pulls it off so entertainingly is undeniably impressive; that he does it so shamelessly suggests that his writing fares better with other, less ingratiating directors. --Jeff Shannon

Aspect Ratio:	2.35 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Commentary By Writer Director Richard Curtis, Deleted Scenes With Introduction From Richard Curtis, Music Highlights, Music Video Christmas Is All Around, The Storytellers Featurette
Release Date:	June 20, 2005
Runtime:	129 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	8220660
Keywords:	Love, Comedy, General, Romantic, Actually
Genre:	Comedy