Notting Hill
Category
Romance
Director
Roger Michell
Cast
- Julia Roberts
- Hugh Grant
- Rhys Ifans
- Emma Chambers
- Tim McInnerny
- Gina McKee
- Hugh Bonneville
Release Date
28 May 1999
Synopsis
Boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love, boy loses girl, boy goes after girl, boy and girl kiss, the pop love song swells, roll credits - just the standard humdrum formula all romantic comedies follow. But if you have the writer of Four Weddings And Funeral, Bridget Jones's Diary, and Love Actually behind this romantic flick, along with dashing British actor and America's sweet heart working together in a picture, then you're sure to fall in love. Richard Curtis puts a twist to the typical love story by enlisting director Roger Michell, and actors Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts for the movie that will forever be remembered for the line: "I'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her." Just think of the number of people who have used that line or parodied it since May of 1999 when the movie was released.
Hugh Grant is William Thatcher, a befuddled bookstore owner and recent bachelor. With his divorce just over, he doesn't expect to suddenly become infatuated with world-famous Hollywood actress, Anna Scott who's in town filming for a series. He's a mere mortal; she's a screen goddess. What could they possibly have in common? But when a juice spill leads to a kiss then to dates with a sound track of love songs all around, and finally to their first night together, the lovers defy their seeming differences. But of course, the course of true love never ran smoothly, as Will's odd blabbermouth roommate lets the cat out of the bag and paparazzi hounds the secret lovers. Of course there'll be a happy ending, but at what lengths will the two separated lovers go through to reach happily ever after?
In classic Hugh Grant form, he is charming yet comical with that grin that's kept him up in the big screen one romantic flick after another, and Julia Roberts is true to life with her grace. The two have an undeniable chemistry but their surrounding characters thankfully lighten up the mood with their wit and banter and make the movie a little less cheesy for the romance-intolerant. But even if you're the most hardcore of anti-love pessimists, you're sure to crack even the slightest of smiles when you see the romance unfold in Notting Hill.