Customer Reviews

Notting Hill (Widescreen)

5 star:		(153)
4 star:		(54)
3 star:		(24)
2 star:		(20)
1 star:		(25)

 

 

My wife paid top dollar for this DVD when it was released, and I greeted it with contempt and dismay. I hadn't seen it, of course--but I had seen trailers promoting the corny contemporary inverted-gender Cinderella story in a tawdry attempt to cash in on the box-office appeal of stars Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts. Grudgingly agreeing to suffer through it for the sake of marital harmony, I soon discovered I'd been guilty again of contempt prior to investigation. Since then it has become one of my favorite movies. Perhaps even more surprisingly, it's become one of our teenaged boys' favorites as well, judging from the number of times they've seen it.

NOTTING HILL is a superb example of a movie with high Replay Value. Despite seeing it a dozen or so times over the past few years--most recently last night at the request of a dinner guest--it never fails to entertain. Credit, of course, goes largely to the writer, Richard Curtis, a modern master of the Romantic Comedy genre (FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL, BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY, LOVE ACTUALLY), for infusing the script with gentle wit and charm. But the ensemble cast deserves equal praise for fleshing out Curtis's characters with so much warmth and decency that they become precisely the sort of people we enjoy spending time with. Tim McInnery, Gina McKee, Emma Chambers, Hugh Bonneville, James Dreyfus, and especially Rhys Ifans make this movie special, in much the same way that the terrific ensemble cast made FOUR WEDDINGS so enjoyable before.

If you appreciate the warmth, wit, and maturity of movies such as IQ, NOBODY'S FOOL, and SENSE & SENSIBILITY, and require something more interesting than fiery explosions and flesh-eating zombies to feel entertained, then NOTTING HILL might be for you. Four stars for the overall quality of the film, plus one star more for its surprising high replay value.

I judge movies by how real the actors make the events on screen seem real. Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant did a great job with this movie. I actually felt like I was watching THE REAL THING! The filming, the cast, and the storyline are perfect; just the right touch of humor, the right touch of drama...great job by everyone around them, too!

I'd have given it six stars, but that wasn't an option. Buy this movie! It's great.

G.B.
www.therunninggirl.com

After watching a recent but not great romantic comedy, I watched NOTTING HILL to clean my palate. It tasted so good. So refreshing. It is one of the best romantic comedies of the last 10 years. It is, in fact, brilliant.
The lead actors are Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant. Roberts plays a movie star, Anna Scott, trapped by the gilded cage of her own stardom. She is plays it uptight and bitchy. She's not very happy and that makes her bitchy. So if you don't like her, well heck, she did it well, didn't she? She also plays it a bit reserved, shy, which is probably how most performers are underneath their stardoms. Then there is Hugh Grant. He plays William Thacker, charming "average bloke" who owns a travel bookshop. Now nobody can play charming like Hugh Grant. He can play a charming rogue, charming cad, and a charming average bloke as he does here. Grant could probably charm the pants off a turnip, which is, something if you think about it. (I am sure there's a charming serial killer psychopath in Grant's future, so I look forward to the day of Hannibal, Jr.).
The supporting cast members play a motley bunch of quirky characters, Will's friends and family. They are all wonder, especially the actor who plays Will's flatmate. But most important of all, they are all integrated in the plot. They're not just standing about doing nothing.
The writing by Richard Curtis is brilliant and funny. Very funny. I mean really funny. Not forced funny. The actors delivered it perfectly. The directing was great. There is a scene where Will is dejected because Anna has rejected him. He walks through the scenery of Notting Hill as the seasons change. He's in the same clothing. We see a woman who is pregnant woman at the beginning of this and the same woman with a child at the end. It was a clever and perfect way to show time passing by as Will wallows in his depression.
I liked most of the music except the one called She. It was a bit strident and maudlin and yet strangely like a soap commercial. That's probably my only complaint.
The dvd includes a funny featurette by Grant and deleted scenes. The flatmate is even funny as all get out in those.
So if you want to watch a clever, witty, charming modern day fairy tale where the princess (movie star) marries the tradesman (bookstore owner) than NOTTING HILL is the film to watch. Buy it and watch it over and over again.

Ask people if they've seen Notting Hill, and most of them say, 'The one with Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts? The one with that roommate from hell who answers the door in his skivvies and then postures for the paparazzi? That one? Yeah, sure. Who WAS that guy, anyway?' He's Rhys Ifans, and he damn near steals the movie. Each time he's on the screen, he's the only one you watch, just to see what gauche and disgusting stunt he's going to come up with next.
But the movie, the movie...
They don't really make romantic comedies like this anymore, pure fairy tale with more than a few deep bows of gratitude to Roman Holiday. The setup is that a very famous actress stumbles into a London bookseller and she and the bookstore owner fall in love. But there's this huge difference in lifestyle. Can love triumph? Well, duh...
The movie is fluff, pure fantasy, and it requires a huge suspension of belief - but it's wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. See it with someone you love and just sit back and enjoy a great evening.

The movie is ok for watching once.. so rent if you want to see it first.. but not one i'd watch again. nothing really captivating in this movie. why julia in this movie was interested in grants character is beyond me... she barely knew the guy except for a few things... his apartment is a mess and he has some freaky roomate that would have scared me off.. i can sympathize with her situation and sort of see movie stars life in a new light.. but then again being rich and famous has a lot of other pleasures i'm sure! and this movie makes it seem like shes plain miserable. anyway, this movie was slightly boring. i like roberts and grant as actors.. i just didnt see the real attraction between them no matter how hard they tried... there was no moments in this movie that would have made them very close therefore not moving to me.. this one isnt a keeper in my opinion.

I've been waiting forever for a critic or reviewer to expose Julia Roberts for what she is- a talentless, over-estimated, freak of nature--- but the culture is so heady with celebrity buzz that it will never happen. So I'll have to take matters into my own hands:

Roberts has been getting away with simply playing variations of herself since the days of Mystic Pizza. Her same shrill laugh (it's actually a barking shout- look for it) can be heard in any one of those forgettable roles from Flatliners to the Pelican Brief, and the academy-award-winning Brokovich character was Roberts again, only this time dressed like a trailer park refugee and spouting a little more anger and sarcasm than she normally does. God help us- Pretty Woman was such a smash that we'll never be rid of her. Unfortunately, when not playing one of those personal variations, she's lost because she honestly can't act. Take a look at her poor attempt in Michael Collins and there you'll find someone out of their depth. The role was not difficult, just not a variation of herself (am I getting redundant?)

Now for the review of Nottinghill: The script is witty at points, and the story is at times charming with some entertaining moments. According to a professional reviewer, "True, Roberts doesn't really have to stretch very far to play a big-time actress who makes $15 million per movie . . ." Well, that nails it, doesn't it? For once, Roberts can be forgiven for being herself, because that's what the role calls for: a famous, over-paid, self-consumed, Hollywood celebrity. But as well-cast as Julia is here, even she can't resist going over the top on occasion, as in the scene where one of Grant's friends, who meets her for the first time, discovers she's an actress and comments that it's a tough occupation in which to make a living. Our girl enjoys her response entirely too much when he asks what she got paid for her last work. Then again--- I guess I can see her gloating in the same self-satisfied manner in real life, so it's probably appropriate. In contrast to this kind of affirmation, however, notice how Alec Baldwin's cameo portrayl of the male star counterpart later in the film is more tongue in cheek; Julia, on the other hand, is far too relaxed (and serious) playing the pompous, condescending star. Gee, by Jove, it's her!

As enjoyable as this film can be at times despite the romantic comedy formula which has been so overdone, the real killer is the fairy tale ending. It just wouldn't have happened this way, no matter what we want to believe. If by some strange quirk of fate, Roberts' character was somehow faintly drawn to this guy and married him, it would have been only as a passing diversion, and annulled 2 weeks later (any real life analogies?). Good performances by Grant and most of the supporting cast, and Roberts doing herself (there it is again), but it's not enough. Even though the film is not a disaster, it just doesn't work. Spend your money on the popcorn for another video.

By the way, will someone also please finally admit that Julia Roberts is not attractive? With that mouth, she looks like she could consume a '56 Buick whole in one bite.

I personally do not think that Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant are the absolute perfect on screen power couple. The movie however is sweet and will definately be remembered as a romantic comedy classic. The acting is good but like I said I just didn't buy the on screen chemistry. The story is a brilliant concept escpecially in today's society. The music is good and there is good ol' British comedy that gives the audience comic relief. This is a very good date movie and it is one of Julia's and Hugh's best films. I reccomend it.

It's kind of a movie that makes you wanna watch it over and over.

This is one my favorite movies. Hugh Grant is always adorable in his aimless Hugh Grant sort of way. And Roberts always delivers because, hello, she's Julia Roberts.

Grant plays William Thacker, a travel bookshop owner and admirer of actress Anna Scott (Roberts). As luck would have it, Anna pops into his little shop one day, where they have a funny little interlude, which leads to another funny interlude that involves orange juice, and soon enough, both are completely smitten with one another.

This movie is so gentle and flows along at a perfect pace. It's one of those movies where you want to sit on the couch and eat bon bons and dream of the day when you'll meet and fall in love with a movie star. The dialogue is great, each character is engaging, which makes for a great movie. And, oh yeah, Mischa Barton (from that new show THE O.C.) has a small role in this... just thought I'd pass that along.

BOTTOM LINE- JUST SEE THIS MOVIE! IT DESERVES YOUR ATTENTION!!!

William Thacker is an English Man living in Notting Hill. He runs a travel bookstore. He has some friends and his sister, but since his wife left him for a man he claims looks exactly like Harrison Ford his life has been boring. Then one day things start to change.

Anna Scott just happens to be in London doing a movie and stops into Williams bookstore to look around. After spilling orange juice on her shirt things start to heat up between the two of them with the help of Williams flatmate Spike until he realizes that there is no way that the two of them can be together because he lives in Notting Hill she lives in Beverly Hills, she is world famous and sometimes his mother does not even know his name.

What happens between the two of them? Get Notting Hill and watch to see what happens