Hugh Grant doesn't make a very believable Prime Minister, and even his very pointed speech to his American counterpart - especially relevant in light of Bush's recent state visit to England - don't redeem the odd casting.
There are of course plenty of nits to pick. And the purely comic moments, like Rowan Atkinson's appearances and Hugh Grant's Christmas-caroling bodyguard, are delightful in and of themselves. While some characters have to fight for their love, others have simple, happy, straightforward relationships, with love (or whatever) falling in their laps like a parcel from Santa Claus. These noble, tragic threads are interwoven with lighthearted comedic ones to produce a fabric that holds together well. And the strength that a third shows when love is shown to be fragile and her world collapses around her is tragically inspiring. Another character is shown to be caught between conflicting duties that will, we are led to believe, prevent her from ever being truly happy. One character's unrequited love is revealed as a noble sacrifice made for another's happiness (the method of finally achieving closure and moving on, however, could only work in the movies). The most interesting parts of Love Actually are the times when it addresses the tragic situations where love is self-sacrificing, contradictory, or fragile. The movie is made up of many threads, and of course some threads are stronger than others. There are schmaltzy happy moments and touching sad ones, moments of great strength and moments of foolish weakness. It addresses different forms and levels of love, sometimes straightforward and carefree, sometimes complex and contradictory. What I appreciated most about Love Actually was that for the most part, it realistically looks at relationships happy and sad, successful and unsuccessful, with a future and without.
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