WASHINGTON 鈥� The last thing America needed was another cultural battlefront, yet here we are.
The fault line: Is 鈥淟ove Actually鈥� a good movie?
Fifteen years after its release, the British romantic comedy 鈥� which of mixed quality 鈥� has apparently become a holiday film that many view annually, if social media feeds are any indication.
My hot take is 鈥楲ove Actually鈥� is actually a bad movie.
鈥� Winston Hines (@winston_hines)
Yes!!! Time for ! ♥🎄
鈥� Antonela Pounder 🎮 (@AnimatedAnt)
It鈥檚 a rare honor, reserved for the likes of 鈥淚t鈥檚 a Wonderful Life,鈥� 鈥淢iracle on 34th Street鈥� and, yes, 鈥淒ie Hard.鈥�
Point: 鈥楢ww!鈥�
There鈥檚 a good reason it鈥檚 ascended to this rarefied position: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year is one of sentimentality, and boy howdy does 鈥淟ove Actually鈥� push that button.
How can sentimental softies resist …
- earnest cue-card love confession to his best friend鈥檚 wife?
- The classic airport scene, when to confess love to his first crush?
- The that will outlive us all?
The glass is half-full, say the film鈥檚 champions. It鈥檚 what love and the holidays should be 鈥� a heartwarming beacon for optimists, romantics and all that. Follow through on your feelings, confess your love, and your ever after will be happy.
Counterpoint: 鈥楤ah!鈥�
But let鈥檚 get real here: Matters of the heart aren鈥檛 so neatly wrapped up like that. Even healthy relationships are complicated. They require as much maturity as they do a young-at-heart romantic spirit, and that combination is rare. People are flawed, and everyone has baggage.
Who gave those Brits the idea that they can fill our heads with this sappy grog? Sure, the film鈥檚 execution is more polished than what you鈥檒l see from , but “Love Actually” just inflates expectations in this age of The Swipe-Left.
Even the film鈥檚 title is problematic. While 鈥淟ove Actually鈥� is an abbreviation of the film鈥檚 theme 鈥� 鈥溾�� 鈥� it sounds like the preface to what will be an epic mansplain.
The problems don鈥檛 stop there. How can sentimental softies defend 鈥�
- Sheriff Rick Grimes鈥� creepy, stalker-ish cue-card love confession to his best friend鈥檚 wife?
- Liam Neeson鈥檚 son somehow slipping around post-9/11 airport security without getting tackled and pepper-sprayed?
- The schoolkids鈥� vapid lip-syncing of that overplayed Mariah Carey song that will outlive us all?
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鈥淪houldn鈥檛 we hold out for the fairy tale?鈥� replies the defender, right before a shoe is thrown at their face.
For analysis, we turn now to 鈥�
Two fair, balanced experts shared their perspectives on this debate: Aaron Bliden and Mary Catherine Curran, who are in the cast of The Second City鈥檚 鈥淟ove Factually.鈥� The festive satire of romantic comedies such as 鈥淟ove Actually鈥� .
The show isn鈥檛 necessarily a note-for-note parody of each 鈥淟ove Actually鈥� story. Rather, it flips the script a bit on the major stories, mashes up two of them, adds Jane Austen鈥檚 ghost and a rap battle (among other things), and then ends it all in a way that both sides of the debate will appreciate.
鈥淟ove Factually,鈥� oddly enough, explores both sides of this dividing line 鈥� sentimentality versus jaded cynicism.
So what say y’all?
Curran, for one, advises that you not dwell so much on its quality. Rather, consider how it affects you. 鈥淚 would not say that ‘Love Actually’ is a good movie, but it makes me feel good,鈥� she said.
鈥�… I take away good from it. I think that’s like a thing where I definitely watch it, and I’m like, ‘This is ridiculous!’ But I have to imagine that that’s probably how my grandmother feels when she’s watching Hallmark movies, because I watch them and I’m rude and judgmental. But then I’m like, ‘If I just let go … then it’s good to me.鈥�”
Bliden sees it as a film that accomplishes its goals.
“What does it mean to do, and does it do that thing? Does it aim to make you feel mushy and does it do that? I’m a sucker for it a little bit, so yeah.”
Both liked Emma Thompson鈥檚 performance in her dramatic storyline. They also liked the story involving the widower (Liam Neeson) coaching his son through a first crush. Then there鈥檚 the story involving a woman (Laura Linney) who has to reconcile dating with her sense of obligation toward a mentally disabled brother.
鈥淗er love for her brother is the most important love in her life, and I think that’s the thing that they really hit over the head 鈥� the different types of love,鈥� Curran said.
‘Embrace the cliche’聽
These sensitive narratives share the screen with straight-up rubbish. What is up with that creepy beer-commercial storyline in which a British bro flies to Milwaukee (?!?) so he can get lucky with American ladies … then succeeds?
Other minor infractions: Why would Colin Firth ? Who thought that a smug was clever? And why exactly are the Christmas pageant kids wearing lobster costumes?
We could go on here like a grumpus, or just accept it all for what it is. Dwell too much on the glass鈥檚 empty half, and you鈥檒l go thirsty.
In the words of one 鈥淟ove Factually鈥� song, 鈥渆mbrace the cliche.鈥�
“There’s so much garbage that happens all the time in the world,鈥� Curran said. 鈥淭hat’s why we need these escapes. That’s why we fall into these escapisms, because we love the idea of seeing something that’s maybe better than what we’re experiencing currently.”
鈥淓mbrace the cliche, for sure, but don’t lose your intelligence at the same time,鈥� Bliden said.
