I’m not really into chick flicks, but I get my fair share due the fact that I’m married to someone I love. I’m not unhappy about seeing them, it’s a culture I wouldn’t normally be exposed to. I don’t think I’ve actually disliked any that I’ve seen, and every now and again I really like one.
Love Actually was one of these. It wasn’t anything I expected. I thought it was a happy Christmas love story between England’s Prime Minister and a commoner. Which wouldn’t have been bad, I was in a Christmas mood that evening. (it’s after Halloween, of course I’m in a Christmas mood). Instead, it was a snapshot of many of the ways that humans love each other. Parents and children, husbands and wives, strangers, children, etc.
It was also an excellent show of “6 degrees of separation”. Everyone in the movie was somehow connected to everyone else, but usually through only one contact.
I can’t say too much without giving away some of the finer points, but I’d suggest it highly. There are elements of gushy chick flick, but it’s far more than that.
The only caution I would give is that there’s some startling nudity. Startling because it was totally unexpected, and seemingly out of place with the rest of the movie. It took me a while to understand why it was there, but after a while it made sense. It was not gratuitous, which is to say it had a very real reason for being there, with its own message to convey.
So, see it with someone not easily offended.
