I saw Notting Hill last night. It was a fun
movie. At the time, I needed to escape, and this boy meets girl,
girl chases boy, girl dumbs boy, etc. fit the bill.
Grant's character, William Thacker, runs a failing travel
bookstore (PE probably wouldn't shop there), in a bohemian
neighborhood full of charm, open markets and antique vendors. The
street in the neighborhood plays like a giant hall that the
characters, particularly Thacker, wander back and forth. There is
one scene where he walks down the street and the seasons change (indicating
time passage). It could have been tiresome, but I thought it
worked quite well.
Julia Roberts is Anna Scott, and as MsIT wrote, there is a sub-story
about celebrity and tabloid journalism (repetitive description).
Escapist, romantic movies often take us into the world of the
rich and beautiful. It's an easy leap, but actually the glances
we get in this movie tend to be negative (funny scenes with
journalists asking stupid questions).
Grant plays the befuddled, palest man in England, with nice hair,
self-deprecating wit, and pale blue eyes. He carries the pain of
being in love with a movie star, and does it well, the weight
getting heavier and heavier.
As others remarked earlier about Kevin Costner sticking to jock
roles, I think Grant plays this stock character best -- I suppose
Carey Grant comes to mind. As in Four Weddings & A Funeral,
he is surrounded by the quirkiest people possible, making him
seem, indeed, more interesting than his character really would be
in real life. But real life doesn't make us forget our woes and
sigh in a movie theater.
Worst thing was the shots of the two of them walking at night,
looking mooney. Very trite for a movie that aims at being a bit
more literate than the average summer fare.
