Notting Hill (1999) 3 1/2 stars out of 4. Starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant.
The most telling line in "Notting Hill" has mega star Anna Scott (Julia Roberts) telling her bookstore-owner boyfriend, William Thacker (Hugh Grant), about Rita Hayworth.
Men, Hayworth used to say, would go to bed with "Gilda" (her most famous movie character) and wake up with me.
Translation: Men would confuse the love goddess on screen with the real person who, offscreen, had the same frailties and doubts as we mortals.
"Notting Hill" is a romantic fable that plays upon the fantasies in all us ordinary men and women. You know the one: That Julia Roberts or Brad Pitt would bump into you, and actually find you interesting. The two of you would fall in love, marry and spend the rest of your lives happily ever after.
Like I said, a fantasy. Let's be honest. You probably have a better chance of winning Powerball.
The world in which a super celebrity orbits is so high above us common folk these days that we would need an oxygen mask to reach such altitudes.
Yet, "Notting Hill," written by Richard Curtis (who penned the delightful "Four Weddings and a Funeral"), so charmingly manipulates that very fantasy that we swallow the premise entirely.
Anna and William meet at his travel bookstore. He is shy, she is weary. They later collide - literally - on the street. It's one of those cute-meet situations recognized by veteran moviegoers.
From there, a cautious, awkward and humorous mating dance begins as Anna and William gingerly step into each others worlds.
To his credit, Curtis - as well as director Roger Michell - do not always show Anna in a favorable light. After all, she is a superstar, and Roberts is at her best when she acts the pampered, spoiled and self-centered role of diva actress.
After the paparazzi discover Anna at William's apartment, for example, her reaction centers only on how the situation and ensuing publicity will affect her. She gives no thought to William and how the circumstances will impact on his now-former life of anonymity..
Such are the nuances that hoist Notting Hill a notch above the usual, predictable, romantic-comedy drivel that lately has infested movie screens.
Grant, of course, plays his usual charming, boyish character, with his self-depreciating comments, his stammer and fluttering eyebrows. It becomes a bit tiresome, but Grant has such a winning personality that you tend to overlook this by-now overdone trademark.
A strong supporting cast of eccentrics, led by Welsh actor Rhys Ifans as Spike, William's uncouth and unconventional roommate, aids in making Notting Hill an enjoyable two hours,
Ifans is a comic natural who does not overplay his character nor allow him to be wallowed in stereotype.
A quick cameo by Alec Baldwin as Anna's movie star boyfriend shows the unconscious condescending nature that grips those who have gained fame and are too ill-equipped to handle the social graces attached to such public positions.
"Notting Hill" is a winner, a truly starry-eyed endeavor, complete with sappy music, lovers' spats, reconciliations and good vibrations.
It's a quiet alternative to George Lucas' world of fantasy. Yet, in a sense, it is just as much a once-upon-a-time story as the new "Star Wars" saga. Roberts is beautiful, Grant is charming, London is picturesque. What more can you ask for?
Maybe a candlelight pasta dinner with Sophia Loren? Well, I can dream, too, can't I?
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN. He can be reached by e-mail at bloom@journal-courier.com or at cbloom@iquest.net
cb
Carol Bloom of Bloom Ink Publishing Professionals 3312 Indian Rock Lane West Lafayette, IN 47906-1203 765-497-9320 fax 765-497-3112 cbloom@iquest.net
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