Notting Hill (1999) Reviewed by Eugene Novikov http://www.ultimate-movie.com Member: Online Film Critics Society
***1/2 out of four
Starring Hugh Grant, Julia Roberts, Rhys Ifans. Rated PG-13.
Notting Hill is a movie that plays off a dream. It's a dream many people have. Imagine, if you will, this scenario: you get a knock on your door one afternoon. You go to open it, and on your doorstep you see one of the most famous movie stars in the world, someone you have seen time and again, someone you admire, perhaps even adore (don't even ask why they are there, stick with me here). What would you do? What would you say? How would you conduct yourself? It's quite an interesting thought, really. One often imagines something like that happening to him, but if push comes to shove and it actually happens, he is dumbfounded. And what if that movie star, presumably of the opposite sex, comes up and plants a big wet kiss on you? That's what Notting Hill is about.
Hugh Grant, whose talents have taken second billing to the 1995 scandal when he reportedly hired a prostitute to perform undignified sexual acts on him in the privacy of his car, is actually a damn good actor. He's got a boyish, often befuddled charm that can only be described as crowd- pleasing, but it's also effective. Here, he stars as William Thacker, a struggling travel bookshop owner in a section of London called Notting Hill. When Anna Scott (Julia Roberts), a female movie star the equivalent of, well, Julia Roberts, walks into his bookshop one day, he is understandably amazed but he maintains his composure (even if he does give her a free book). He remains human even when later that same day he bumps into Anna on the street and spills some coffee on her. He excitedly invites her to go clean up at his place, across the street (18 yards away), to clean up. That is where the big wet kiss is planted.
Before long, it's full-fledged love affair, with Anna coming to William's sister's birthday (complete with exclamations of "Holy F*ck!" by astounded family members), them climbing over garden walls, and so on. It's an extraordinarily engaging affair, mainly because Thacker's I- can't-believe-this-is-happening astonishment is so palpable. For once, here is the old "ordinary guy in extraordinary circumstances" plot, when the extraordinary circumstances are actually positive, as is this relentlessly upbeat, optimistic modern fairly tale.
Notting Hill asks whether fame is a goal or an obstacle; whether one who is a household name can achieve the happiness that so many "ordinary people" can arrive at. It is an exhilirating, funny, profound film, full of smart, realistic dialogue, masterful cinematography and magical acting. Julia Roberts, whose last romantic comedy was the equally wonderful My Best Friend's Wedding, is terrific; although understandably, the role isn't much of a stretch for her, she has the ailing superstar feel down cold. Hugh Grant is something else again -- the bumbling Brit is an absolute delight, and the scene where he impersonates a reporter from "Horse and Hound" magazine is a triumph of understated comedy.
Director Roger Michell, whose only other major motion picture was the Jane Austen adaptation Persuasion, stages this movie free of any suspense or particularly pressing conflict; it's a whimsical, airy production that is part crowd-pleaing and part profound and thoughtful. Even though William's degenerate roommate (Rhys Ifans) is a bit too much, the comedy rarely gets in the way of the plot, nor does it spoil the movie's mood.
This is a perfect example of how good "mainstream" movies can be. It's hard to remember the last time a romantic comedy worked this well, this consistently. Grant and Roberts are awesome, in a movie that pulls no punches and plays no tricks. It would be cliched and disrespectful to call Notting Hill the "feel-good movie of the year," but that's what it is; an upbeat, optimistic story of how an ordinary bloke and a superstar fell in love. Happens every day. ©1999 Eugene Novikov‰
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