“For those who search for it, I’ve acquired a sneaky feeling you’ll discover that love really is throughout.” This sentence is used to open Richard Curtis’ 2003 Christmas rom-com Love Truly, which turns 20 in the present day and is presently among the many greatest films on Netflix. Starring a who’s who of British legends, Love Truly follows a number of tales from 5 weeks earlier than Christmas till the vacation, with an epilogue set one month later.
Few 21st-century movies have a stronger grip on popular culture than Love Truly. That’s to not say it has aged flawlessly; certainly, it has attracted appreciable criticism for its dated views on relationships, intercourse, physique picture, and psychological well being. Nevertheless, that doesn’t imply it’s not a superb movie, as a result of it’s, and it’s simply as pleasing in the present day because it was in 2003. To have a good time its 20th anniversary, listed below are 20 causes that show that Love Truly remains to be nice, really.
20. That solid!
One can not speak about Love Truly with out speaking about that solid. Hugh Grant! Emma Thompson! The late Alan Rickman! Liam Neeson! Colin Firth! Martin Freeman?! Keira Knightley? Pre-Kinky Boots Chiwetel Ejiofor? Clear-shaved Andrew Lincoln? Three-time Oscar nominee and American treasure Laura Linney? British legends Invoice Nighy and Rowan Atkinson? It’s an excessive amount of expertise to endure!
19. It’s not a typical Christmas film
Yearly, studios like Disney and streamers like Hulu launch a number of Christmas films to get folks within the temper for the favored vacation. They observe an analogous construction, that includes a sappy, barely nonsensical love story that results in a good sappier ending.
Love Truly breaks this mould by specializing in the darker features of life simply as a lot because it does the great thing about love and Christmas. It may not be a typical vacation film, nevertheless it’s way more rewarding than a lot of the yearly Christmas efforts.
18. It’s the last word British film lover’s dream
Few movies are so unabashedly and uncompromisingly British as Love Truly. The very best British reveals and flicks all share the identical DNA — they’re naturally posh, light but poignant, innately romantic, unexpectedly unhappy, and wholly irresistible.
Love Truly meets this standards after which some, providing an overflow of British-ness that can certainly fulfill Anglophiles the world over.
17. It’s surprisingly unhappy
Make no mistake, Love Truly is a remarkably unhappy film. Positive, its essential concern is love and its many types, however this additionally consists of heartbreak, disappointment, and longing. Sure, a lot of its tales have conventionally glad endings, however others don’t.
Very like in actual life, some characters find yourself alone, having missed their shot at love, or worse, caught in damaged relationships for the sake of household and conventions.
16. It’s the very best of the large-ensemble rom-coms
Love Truly impressed a number of copycats, none of which matched its appeal and wit. 2009’s He’s Simply Not That Into You, a movie that aged even worse than Love Truly, involves thoughts, as does Garry Marshall’s completely mediocre vacation trilogy: Valentine’s Day, New 12 months’s Eve, and Mom’s Day. These movies characteristic the identical method as Love Truly, utilizing an enormous solid of A-listers to inform a number of interconnected tales about love and heartbreak. Nevertheless, none have Love Truly‘s coronary heart or complexity, settling as an alternative for being low-cost, common rom-coms. Their existence solely makes Love Truly look higher looking back.
15. Cameos galore!
Positive, Love Truly has a powerful solid, however what about these cameos? This film has Billy Bob Thornton because the jerky president of the US, plus January Jones, Shannon Elizabeth, Elisha Cuthbert, Denise Richards, and even Claudia freaking Schiffer. Simply whenever you assume issues can’t probably get extra crowded, Love Truly proves they really can.
14. The songs are nice
Love Truly has a fantastic soundtrack. Craig Armstrong’s rating is among the many most recognizable within the trendy rom-com style, and the movie options nice covers of the Troggs’ Love Is All Round Us and Mariah Carey’s All I Need for Christmas Is You, courtesy of Invoice Nighy and Olivia Olson, respectively.
Kelly Clarkson’s The Bother with Love Is was closely used to advertise the movie and options within the credit, whereas the ultimate scene options the Seashore Boys’ God Solely Is aware of. Couple all that with songs from Dido, Nora Jones, and The Calling, the Love Truly soundtrack is an early 2000s fantasy.
13. The airport scene remains to be a charmer
Perennial baby-faced actor and Emmy nominee Thomas Brodie-Sangster performs younger Sam in Love Truly. Sam has one of many movie’s most memorable tales chronicling his crush on his classmate, Joanna.
The story culminates in an prolonged chase by the airport as Sam races to admit his love. It’s a now-iconic sequence that impressed a number of lesser copycats that make the state of affairs really feel extra creepy than romantic.
12. It has a ridiculously scorching solid
There’s no different method of claiming this: the solid of Love Truly is scorching. Like, unbearably scorching. The trio of Grant-Firth-Neeson was at peak rom-com-leading-man attractiveness andjoined by the likes of Freeman, Lincoln, and Ejiofor.
Add in Linney, Knightley, Lúcia Moniz, Martine McCutcheon, plus the a number of supermodel cameos, and Love Truly is a humiliation of scorching riches. If that wasn’t sufficient, I’ve acquired two phrases for you: Rodrigo Santoro. Sufficient stated.
11. It’s a real trendy traditional
The phrase “traditional” is thrown round typically to explain many trendy films, however few really deserve it. Love Truly is the uncommon 21st-century movie that lives as much as this daunting status. It has turn into an annual Christmas custom in tens of millions of households, and a number of scenes have entered the popular culture lexicon in methods different films can solely dream of.
10. It’s foolish in the very best method
Love Truly is among the many greatest romantic comedies as a result of it effortlessly blends real emotion with foolish escapism. From seeing the ridiculously dashing Prime Minister dancing round 10 Downing Avenue to purchasing the notion that {couples} can fall in love in a matter of days and marry in a matter of weeks, Love Truly suspends actuality and invitations its viewers to associate with its silliness.
9. It’s a near-perfect rom-com
Having stated that, Love Truly follows each main rom-com trope and excels at it. The movie is admittedly in love with its personal messages and silliness, making it simpler for audiences to fall into its spell. Love Truly is good, humorous, tender, sweeping, charming, and barely creepy — what else may anybody ask of a romantic comedy?
8. It has multiple ‘large rom-com second’
Each romantic comedy has that one “large” second close to the tip when the romantic lead makes his large transfer to get the woman. Billy Crystal runs to the New 12 months’s Eve occasion for Meg Ryan; Hugh Grant crashes the press convention to humble himself to Julia Roberts.
Love Truly has not one, not two, not three, however 4 large moments. From David and Natalie’s on-stage kiss on the expertise present, to Jamie gathering a complete village to admit his like to Aurelia, to the aforementioned airport scene, to the now-infamous playing cards scene, Love Truly has one thing for everybody.
7. Purple Nostril Day Truly
After years of hypothesis, Love Truly returned for a sequel — properly, kind of. As a part of the Purple Nostril Day fundraiser occasion in 2017, a lot of the essential solid reunited for a 15-minute brief. Grant, Neeson, Firth, Knightley, Ejiofor, Lincoln, Sangster, Olson, McCutcheon, Moniz, Atkinson, and Nighy all returned for the movie, with Linney showing within the U.S. launch.
Nevertheless, Thompson didn’t return as a result of passing of her on-screen husband, Alan Rickman. Purple Nostril Day Truly is much less a sequel and extra a enjoyable gathering of British favorites, however we’ll take no matter we will get!
6. Rowan Atkinson
The hilarious Rowan Atkinson improves all the things he’s part of, and Love Truly proves it. He has just one main scene, nevertheless it’s a spotlight of the film.
Atkinson’s pure comedic skills are excellent for the sequence, which sees his character, Rufus, meticulously wrap a present for Rickman’s character’s mistress. Rickman’s wickedly humorous and apparently genuinely exasperated reactions to Rufus’ more and more ridiculous gift-wrapping make the scene all of the extra hysterical.
5. Laura Linney
Three-time Oscar nominee, four-time Emmy winner, and five-time Tony nominee Laura Linney is an performing establishment. She has in all probability the saddest storyline in Love Truly, taking part in a girl whose duties to her household disrupt her romantic life.
The storyline is considerably problematic these days, however Linney sells the character’s emotional journey and her final heartbreak fantastically. It takes somebody of Linney’s caliber to raise such a task, confirming why she’s amongst her technology’s greatest performers.
4. Invoice Nighy
Oscar-nominee Billy Nighy is Love Truly‘s secret ingredient. The revered actor is ridiculous and hilarious as growing older rock and roll star Billy Mack, who information a canopy of the Trogg’s Love Is All Round Us in an try and climb to the highest of the Christmas charts.
Nighy is a riot as Mack, embracing the character’s absurdity and delivering a grasp class in comedy that earned him the 2004 BAFTA Award for Finest Actor in a Supporting Position.
3. Emma Thompson
Love Truly sees two-time Oscar winner Emma Thompson taking part in Karen, a girl whose marriage is disrupted by her husband’s indiscretion.
Thompson delivers a heartbreaking efficiency within the movie, forming a wonderful partnership with Rickman and arguably carrying the movie’s emotional weight. The scene the place she quietly cries in her bed room earlier than returning to her household is an performing tour de pressure and one among Love Truly‘s strongest moments.
2. It showcases a number of kinds of love
The very best romance films often deal with one side of affection. Nevertheless, Love Truly covers the entire spectrum, showcasing completely different relationships and their distinctive bonds.
From romantic like to parental and familial love, love at first sight, unrequited love, fading love, sudden love, and the love you have got for one night time solely, Love Truly does a superb job exhibiting the various types of this elusive and common emotion.
1. It proves love really is throughout us
Love Truly‘s essential message is how love is humanity’s common language. Each connection we’ve got has some type of love in it, and Christmas is the right time to discover and specific it.
Positive, the movie has some icky features that is likely to be barely uncomfortable by in the present day’s requirements, however its intentions are good, and its message is pure. As a result of love really is throughout us; all you need to do is open your eyes and coronary heart to it.
Love Truly is streaming on Netflix.
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