To Me, You Are Perfect: Ranking the Stories in "Love Actually"
Sunday, December 24, 2017 at 1:08PM By Spencer Coile
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Every holiday season, we sit down with our favorite festive movies and return to the magic these films have to offer. Some turn to classics such as It’s a Wonderful Life or the various renditions of A Christmas Carol. Others favor Die Hard, Gremlins, or something a bit more contemporary -- The Family Stone, anyone? Regardless, we come back to our favorites for comfort and a jolly mood.
Love Actually, to me, is that Christmas movie. Using the “interwoven lives” structure that so many rom-coms have since used disastrously, Love Actually uses the formula with beautiful effect. The result is a kindhearted, giant hug of a film that always manages to lift the spirits. Put on your holiday hats as we rank the 9 storylines...
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09. Colin & the American Girls (Kris Marshall, January Jones, Elisha Cuthbert, Shannon Elizabeth, & Ivana Miličević
Colin wants to have more sex, and because he does not feel he can find that in London, he travels to Wisconsin to fulfill his needs. There, he meets a group of weirdly horny hotties and he shacks up with them. Harmless, but insignificant compared to the rest.
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08. Prime Minister David and Natalie (Hugh Grant & Martine McCutcheon)
This might be the most controversial ranking, because this seems like a focus of the film. While there are some genuine moments throughout David and Natalie’s short relationship, the whole ordeal feels unintentionally clumsy. For instance, must we constantly be bombarded with Natalie’s “weight issues?” This is never reconciled or explored, but instead, a facet of her personality that David accepts. Perhaps he could’ve taken a cue from Mark and presented her with a “To me, you are perfect” sign.
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07. Juliet, Peter, & Mark (Keira Knightley, Chiwetel Ejiofor, & Andrew Lincoln)
Speaking of Mark’s signs, this will go down as one of the most iconic scenes in the film. Mark is in love with Juliet, but sadly for Mark, she just got married to his best friend. What’s a boy to do? Profess his love for her and move on, of course! It is a scene that is equal parts affirming and heartbreaking. At the same time, though, isn’t it also a touch stalker-ish?
06. Billy Mack & Joe (Bill Nighy & Gregor Fisher)
Bill Nighy is fantastic as washed-up rock singer Billy Mack, and Gregor Fisher is the perfect, downtrodden counterpart to Nighy’s eccentricities, as his manager. Unfortunately their relationship does not get the attention it deserves until their final scene.
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05. Sarah & Karl (Laura Linney & Rodrigo Santoro)
Laura Linney is positively loopy here. Clumsy and awkward and oh so relatable she pines after her coworker, Karl. Her unhinged excitement after their first kiss leaves her (and us) giddy. But sadly, as we come to learn, her brother is not mentally well and she is the only one who cares for him. So rather than be with Karl for one magical night, she goes to be with her brother. Easily one of the film’s most compelling stories, it feels odd that there is no conclusion to it.
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04. Daniel & Sam (Liam Neeson & Thomas Sangster)
A recently widowed Daniel helps his young stepson Sam win over the love of his life. Complete with Titanic recreations, an “All I Want for Christmas is You” rendition, and a magical chase scene through the airport, this storyline is full of that Christmas spirit. But both Daniel and Sam seem to get over the death of their wife and mother way too quickly, don't you think?
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03. John & Judy (Martin Freeman & Joanna Page)
This is surely the sweetest storyline. Both stand-ins for famous film actors, John and Judy meet and bond with one another while they simulate sex. As their positions become increasingly more awkward, they in turn, become more comfortable with one another. That contrast is adorable and makes for an innocently fun plot amongst the more dramatic stories.
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02. Jamie & Aurelia (Colin Firth & Sienna Guillory)
You could argue that Jamie and Aurelia’s romance happens too quickly, but Firth and Guillory's impeccable chemistry makes it easy to forgive. Their lost-in-translation conversations could have gone horribly awry (making one look like the fool over the other), but fortunately the script balances this out and they both come across as foolish – but all in a way that is comical and helps their relationship grow. Their final scene may make your heart grow three sizes.
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01. Harry, Karen, & Mia (Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Heike Makatsch)
When all is said and done, it is really Emma Thompson who is the MVP of this film. Her performance as Karen is so layered and it's easy to get caught up in the love triangle she shares with her husband, Harry and his secretary, Mia. She wants to believe that her husband would never be the type of man who strays away from his family, so to watch her disillusionment slowly sink in is astonishing and heart-rending. This thread carries the heaviest emotionals in the film.
Of course, by the film’s end, almost everyone has a sweet conclusion with a little Christmas bow on top. This should not be surprising, considering it opens with a voice-over from Prime Minister David, where he says:
If you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love actually is all around.
And while this sentiment is quite sappy, it captures the Christmas spirit perfectly. It is warm and generous, just like Love Actually. So as we all hunker down and prepare for the holidays, take the time to enjoy your favorite Christmas movie -- and let the holiday feeling wash over you.
Further reading:
Chris's take on Love Actually's soundtrack
Netflix's new hit A Christmas Prince
Edward Scissorhands is a Christmas movie
Reader Comments (26)
I hate this movie
This post was all I wanted for Christmas. Thank you very much!
Easily one of my favorite Christmas movies. I think everyone has their own favorite storyline from the movie. For me it is David and Natalie, but you are right that Emma Thompson is the MVP of the film. I always find it interesting how different people perceive this film. Some people hate it and others really love it.
I hate this movie for its treatment of women. They’re either two-dimensional sex maniacs, or they’re dead, stalked, cheated on, violently unhappy, trapped, or sexually assaulted by the president of the United States. Aurelia sort of gets by this, but only if you discount the patriarchical treatment of giving permission to access her.
*02. Jamie & Aurelia (Colin Firth & Lucia Moniz)
I can watch the Emma receiving the gift and the crying after on loop but not 1 other part of it 'cos her scene rings so true.
My favorite is Jamie & Aurelia... (Aurelia is played by the Portuguese actress Lúcia Moniz not Sienna Guillory)
As a Portuguese guy, I think the portray of a traditional Portuguese family and some of their expressions are top-notch. Love "Lost in Translation" type of romances
Ugh, this movie. Emma Thompson is a goddess and if she’s not on screen, this movie is saccharine crap.
The one about Colin was my least favorite as I had the unfortunate experience of watching this film in a test screening and it really took me out of it. It was terrible. The one about Liam Neeson and his son is the one I enjoyed the most.
So glad to see the only part of the film I think is unnecessary, Colin and the American girls, placed last. That whole segment could have been excised without impacting any other part.
Beside that one all the stories are enjoyable for different reasons but I am in total agreement that Emma Thompson makes the greatest impact.
Glad the Guillory-Moniz mistake was mentioned by many here... Lucia Moniz should get more recognition for this movie.
As a portuguese, I think the portuguese community was a little misrepresented, too over-the-top, but i guess someone had to pull the comedic effect to the storyline.
That Laura linney storyline never made sense to me. I don't believe that guy would ever be into her. And if he was, I REALLY don't believe she would pick her brother over him. Put your phone on mute for the night, sis. He'll still be at the hospital tomorrow!
She tries to sell it because she's a great actress but everything about that segment just rings false to me.
Emma Thompson was fantastic in LOVE ACTUALLY. She said she'd had practice crying in the bedroom following Kenneth Branagh's affair with Helena Bonham Carter when they were married.
(Interestingly, Branagh directed HBC in CINDERELLA in 2015 so I guess they've managed to stay professional with one another.)
This movie is the worst! Insufferable garage.
Constant fat-shaming. And it's perfectly acceptable for at least three men to sleep with their employees. Mourning your late wife lasts all of six weeks. Dreck.
Very good soundtrack. Wonderful wasted cast. Doesn't surprise me that this movie is so little talked about. They could have reached Four Weddings And A Funeral level here, but they missed a script. Some scenes seem improvised. With so many characters they should have made two movies and have given to the actors more time on screen and more development to their roles.
Ah, the MAGNOLIA of Christmas movies.
"I hate this movie for its treatment of women. They’re either two-dimensional sex maniacs, or they’re dead, stalked, cheated on, violently unhappy, trapped, or sexually assaulted by the president of the United States."
I mean, couldn't you say the same thing about the men in the movie? Minus the POTUS bit, of course. All of them have the same character arc -- they're unhappy, then they're not.
"Very good soundtrack. Wonderful wasted cast. Doesn't surprise me that this movie is so little talked about."
At least in my world, people mention this movie all the time. Agree about the soundtrack though!
Of course, it is Lúcia Moniz. Totally my fault. I am not as familiar with her work, but she is great here!
This movie received (and still receives) so much undeserved attention.
This movie received (and still receives) so much undeserved attention.
I would argue that the love in Sarah's storyline is not Karl but rather the love she has for her brother. Since their parents are now gone, he has become the love of her life and she is willing to make the necessary sacrifices to keep him him happy and it is her brother to whom she constantly refers to as "my darling." Seen in that perspective the storyline has a perfect conclusion, they end up together.
It's a very overstuffed "movie movie", but I love it and it's soundtrack. "To me, it is perfect."
As a lover of Emma Thompson and a hater of LOVE ACTUALLY, we at the Broad Appeal podcast have done our own particular takedown of this toxic flick: http://bit.ly/2DhE23A
I love this film.
Sean I'm very exited to listen to that! (Sorry I don't know how to add the accent to your name - I'm not on my home keyboard).
I'm intrigued by Pat's reading of Laura Linney's storyline, especially since I had two very different reactions to it when the movie came out and then when I saw it 5-7 years later.
The first time I viewed it, I thought Karl was incredibly fickle. He decided to just give up because she took one phone call?
The second time, after having been a social worker for a few years - and having worked with mentally ill clients who had family members with varying degrees of healthy boundaries - I thought "ooh, she will never be able to have a boundary with him that sustains her, even if the expense is only a few hours of discomfort/increased symptoms for him." He seems to live in some kind of facility, but she answered his call and seems to have the idea that she is his only resource available when she's not. There are professionals that are there to help him - there's no reason for her to answer her phone except for worry and a little bit of martyr complex.
That said, I feel like Linney's character is positioned as kind of a Plain Jane who is lucky to catch the eye of the office hottie, which is ludicrous - Linney is always so luminous.