Love Actually
Love Actually is a 2003 British romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. The Christmas holiday film features an ensemble cast, composed predominantly of British actors, many of whom had worked with Curtis in previous projects. An international co-production between the U.K., U.S., and France, it was mostly filmed on-location in London, England. The movie delves into different aspects of love as shown through 10 separate stories involving a variety of individuals, many of whom are interlinked as the plot progresses. The story begins five weeks before Christmas and is played out in a weekly countdown until the holiday, followed by an epilogue that takes place in the New Year.
Love Actually
Richard Curtis
- United International Pictures (United Kingdom)
- Universal Pictures (United States)
- Mars Distribution (France)[1]
- 14 November 2003 (United States)
- 21 November 2003 (United Kingdom)
136 minutes
- United Kingdom
- United States
- France[2]
English
$40 million
$248.3 million
The film was released in the U.S. on 14 November 2003 and a week later in the U.K. during its theatrical run. Love Actually was a box-office success, grossing $245 million worldwide on a budget of $40 million. The film received mixed reviews and received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.
A made-for-television short film sequel, Red Nose Day Actually, aired in two different versions on BBC One and NBC in 2017.
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
Love Actually grossed $59.7 million in the United States and Canada, $62.7 million in the United Kingdom, and $122.6 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $244.9 million, against a budget of $40 million.[33] It spent its first five weeks in the Top 10 at the U.S. box office.[34]
Critical response[edit]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 64% of 225 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.4/10. The website's consensus reads: "A sugary tale overstuffed with too many stories. Still, the cast charms."[35] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 55 out of 100, based on 41 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[36]
Michael Atkinson of The Village Voice called it "love British style, handicapped slightly by corny circumstance and populated by colorful neurotics".[37] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three and a half out of four stars, describing it as "a belly-flop into the sea of romantic comedy ... The movie's only flaw is also a virtue: ... It feels a little like a gourmet meal that turns into a hot-dog eating contest."[38]
Nev Pierce of the BBC awarded it four of a possible five stars and called it a "vibrant romantic comedy ... Warm, bittersweet and hilarious, this is lovely, actually. Prepare to be smitten."[39]
In his review in The New York Times, journalist A. O. Scott called it "a romantic comedy swollen to the length of an Oscar-trawling epic" and added, "it is more like a record label's greatest-hits compilation or a very special sitcom clip-reel show than an actual movie."[40]
In Rolling Stone, Peter Travers rated it two stars out of a possible four, saying "there are laughs laced with feeling here, but the deft screenwriter Richard Curtis dilutes the impact by tossing in more and more stories."[41] Christopher Orr of The Atlantic was negative toward the work and described it as the least romantic movie of all time, considering its ultimate message to be "It's probably best if you give up on love altogether and get on with the rest of your life."[42][43]
Since initial release Love Actually has become a cult film with audiences habitually viewing it as a holiday staple.[44][45] It remains broadly popular with audiences and has been discussed as an arguable modern-day Christmas classic.[46][47][48][49]
Home media[edit]
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment released the film on Blu-ray in November 2009.[52] The film was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray on 21 November 2023 for the film's 20th anniversary, featuring a 4K restoration.[53]
