Notting Hill (Ultimate Edition)

Rating:
Summary: Yuck, Oh and Also Dumb
Review: Boring. Why is this a chick flick? This chick don't like it. But the roommate was a gas. Apparently Julia Roberts is so popular Hollywood would put her in anything vaguely resembling a story in hopes of making a profit. Do yourself a favor and don't see this one.

Rating:
Summary: Heart-warming!
Review: Julia Roberts is at her vulnerable best as a star who falls in love with a bookstore owner (Hugh Grant). Truly romantic and at times funny!

Rating:
Summary: Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant Do "Love Is Nice" Very Well
Review: There are currently four contenders in films vying for the title of "Mr./Ms. Romantic Comedy:" in no particular order, Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Julia Roberts, and Hugh Grant. Each of these actors appears to wear the trappings of the genre impeccably, and seeing them on-screen in these roles is almost always a pleasure.

"Notting Hill" brings together Mr. Grant and Ms. Roberts, and does so quite well. Grant plays his traditional hesitant-yet-charmingly-romantic self, which he perfected in his earlier collaboration with director Roger Hill, "Four Weddings and a Funeral." Roberts essentially plays her own popular image -- a hugely successful world-famous actress who's really just the girl next door. Through a "meet-cute" (trademark Roger Ebert) involving some spilt orange juice and bad travel books, Grant and Roberts begin a long-drawn out courtship.

"Notting Hill," like so many of the great romantic comedies, takes its time with its characters, allowing them to grow and mature over several months. Roberts spends a great amount of time off-screen, as the movie is centered more on Grant's character -- giving us plenty of time to meet Grant's circle of charmingly eccentric-yet-believable friends. But Roberts is always a presence in the film, and Grant convincingly conveys his preoccupation with "the American" even when she's not around.

The film is also sensitive to the "harsh realities" of Roberts' character, and we do see some of the down-side of being an ultra-successful actress (the media-driven relationship with the Bad Boyfriend, the hounding photographers, the lechery of the general public). And refreshingly, Roberts does not handle every bump in the road with class and grace, but shows a temper and some humanizing flaws.

You'll note that I don't use character names for Grant and Roberts - that's intentional, because the film really wants you to see Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts get together and does not require either actor to deviate at all from their popular images. The movie wants you to love these familiar characters, and for the most part you can't help yourself from doing so.

The only problem with the movie is the soundtrack, which suffers from over-planning. "Notting Hill" is far from a subtle film -- anyone who doubts whether Grant and Roberts will end up together is obviously seeing his or her first romantic comedy -- but many of the songs on the soundtrack just pummel the viewers with their lyrics ("Ain't so sunshine when she's gone" is a fine song, but it's a little on the nose as used in the film). A little restraint here would have helped a great deal.

Perhaps suffering a bit because both Grant and Roberts have such a solid track record in this genre, "Notting Hill" does not offer great surprises, but it does offer a very enjoyable two hours. A solid entry into any romantic's film library!

The extras on the DVD are fine, but the movie's the reason to pick up this one, not the extras.