"Notting Hill" A Subdued Yet Cute Rom-Com

 

    I was originally going to watch Good Will Hunting with my sister, but I sadly I'll have to save that for another day. Instead, I get to watch what was for the most part quite a wholesome rom-com. I can see why this movie is rated pretty highly. I must admit the movie did get a nice big grin out of during the ending. However, it's hard not to feel a little cheated. Not in the sense that I think the film was bad or anything, but in the sense that I almost think it came out with the wrong message? I think part of it might just be the different age we're in, but another part of me thinks they might have gotten it wrong. Let's talk about it.

    I'll start with my nitpicks with this film, which aren't many. First of all, I think the showrunners needed to organize William Thacker's life just a little bit more. My sister and I were both confused about his friend/family dynamics, and who was related to who/dating who when we first met them all. Eventually it all sorts itself out but for like half the film I thought he was related to his best friend who he supposedly once loved? Secondly, they needed to make his job feel slightly more believable? He basically only ever appears there twice, once when they first meet, and second when Anna makes her big speech.

    Other than that I think this film needs like 50% less Spike, or at least make him less creepy because him marrying William's sister is kind of out of nowhere. Also it's a bit nitpicky but I would love if they made it a bit more clean chronologically. It was just very difficult to tell how much time passed between each time Anna and William met, and even by the end I would just have to guess and say that about two years have passed? All of these are minor and fixable though, they're not really back-breaking and I can handwave them off because I think for the most part this is quite a cute film.

    I will say though, if you're used to modern rom-coms where they're a bit more explosive this might throw you off guard. My sister personally called this film a bit of a slow-burn, but personally I quite enjoyed how this film felt a lot more subtle. I enjoyed the soft little conversations between William and Anna. The cute moments and kisses that didn't feel so all-consuming that it felt unrealistic or out of place. It was quite nice and subdued actually. Like Anna would talk about her struggles with fame, and tried to be human around William who was nothing but understanding.

    That's kind of my issue with it though. Ultimately, I don't think William does anything wrong other than tolerating Spike who is a bit of a perv and also just generally a stupid person. Like I have been told by my sister that the one scene where Anna tells William that she's just a girl asking him to love her is popular online. But to that I have to say, is it really? Is it taken out of context? I've avoided it as long as I can but my true, main gripe with this film is that frankly Hugh never should have had to beg for Anna to come back, it should have been Anna who came for him. I mean I know she gets him that very expensive painting, but also like she is the real issue in their relationship, he seems to have no issue with anything, even when her nudes are leaked. She basically dismisses him and treats him as nothing more than a dirty little secret all film.

    Whether it be the fact that she lied to him about her boyfriend, or repeatedly basically tells him that she regrets it. I understand her being mad about the press being called, but I still don't see how exactly that situation was his fault, though I understand her being mad. I don't know if I would call this part back-breaking, but my sister and I both pretty firmly believed that int he end Anna should have been the one chasing over a heartbroken William. I mean it was years of stringing him along, on and off relationships. I understand she might not have been ready for it, and by the end she finally realized that yes being with him would have been worth it, but also she was the bigger dick in this story by a pretty sizable measure. 

    Maybe I'm just handwaving Anna's struggles too much, maybe I think William could have been a bit more of a dick. Even then I can't help but think that the film ends it on the right notes regardless. The last scene where his friends all help him attend the press conference, and he crashes it begging for her back was very cute. Then to end it on them just smiling at each other through all of the paparazzi, followed by the montage of their future life together was just so absolutely adorable. How many points should I take off for a rom-com that really does everything right except for one bit, even if it's the climax? I'm not quire sure.

Final Score: 70/100

    I was kind of tempted to give this movie a 75, it was quite cute, but I felt like I couldn't go that high considering my issues with it. On a side note is it just me or is young Hugh Grant kind of easily the hottest person in this film. Like usually I'll say the female lead is more attractive but I felt pretty comfortable in saying Hugh Grant was the most attractive person in this film, he was quite handsome I must admit. Also this film kind of has a hard time toggling between how famous Anna really is? Like sometimes people act like she's the biggest star in the world, and other times people are just kind of like eh. Also, I suppose the leaked nudes wouldn't be as big of a deal in the 2020's as it was back then, but like I would say Anna rebounded from it quite well. Like she made it seem like it'd be career-ending during the scene with the paparazzi, but she does quite well later on. Of course, I'm not trying to diminish how humiliating and dehumanizing it would have been, since she's been looked at like a piece of meat for so many years, but still. Maybe that's my issue with this film, if Anna wasn't so mean to William I would have been more sympathetic to her, but maybe William needed to be more understanding from where she was coming from all along. Something something the chicken or the egg.