Notting Hill (1999)

Directed by Roger Michell. Starring Hugh Grant, Julia Roberts, Rhys Ifans, Gina McKee, Hugh Bonneville, Tim McInnerny, Emma Chambers, James Dreyfus, Richard McCabe. [PG-13]

A London travel bookstore owner (Grant) meets an American movie star (Roberts) when she comes into the shop one day, and they impulsively stumble into an unexpected (and unstable) romance. Her fame, and the media scrutiny chasing it, is one of several roadblocks standing between them and happily-ever-after, and the way this date movie navigates those roadblocks is both one of its strengths and one of its weaknesses. Hugh Grant does his stammering, self-deprecating thing so organically it looks effortless, while Julia Roberts plays it low-key and earnest, which may not be credible for the character’s “baggage”, but is at least a change of pace from the usual celebrity clichés. They’re amiable together onscreen, instead of passionate, playful or steamy, which is dangerous for the contrived situation they find themselves in—it’s easier to sell magnetic lust between mismatched lovers than hesitant curiosity—and the screenplay labors too hard to delay the inevitable, resulting in an overextended second half that doesn’t know when to quit. What makes it a cut above the average glossy, crowd-pleasing rom-com from the era is the roster of eccentric supporting characters, oddball roommate Ifans and socially-graceless co-worker Dreyfus among them; whenever the love story hits a lull or gets stuck in the formula grind, one or more of them comes along to raise spirits. Written by Richard Curtis, who helped Grant achieve stardom five years earlier in one of the genre’s brightest gems, Four Weddings and a Funeral, and like that one, the female lead is given an embarrassingly bad line near the end to tie the whole thing up with a happy-ending bow: “I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.” Alec Baldwin makes a cameo appearance, along with Simon Callow and Matthew Modine playing (presumably) themselves; Emily Mortimer also makes a quick appearance as a “perfect” woman.

65/100