Episode 87 - Notting Hill

Somehow the 1999 Julia Roberts-Hugh Grant flick "Notting
Hill"—which is just the repeated gag of "Holy cow; she’s famous
and talking to us!"—was extended into a 2-hour movie that made
$364 million at the box office.


This movie also has side bits about how eccentric British people
are in this quaint, and down-to-earth super affluent section of
London that seems like it's millions of miles away from
Hollywood, even though it’s not.


This movie was written by Richard Curtis, the man behind "Four
Weddings and a Funeral" and "Love Actually," and it's difficult
to differentiate the three, because he’s a hack who pumps out the
same schmaltz at every turn.


Hugh Grant plays Will Thacker, a man whose entire personality
consists of manufacturing excessive apologies into charm. He owns
a failing travel bookstore, which he laments, even though he
hates his inventory and all his customers, so what’s the mystery.


Julia Roberts plays a famous bad actress named Anna Scott (quite
the stretch for her) who Hugh Grant falls in love with because
she's famous. She's basically a robot in this movie who doesn't
do much other than be captivated by this bumbling idiot.


Then there’s also a zany roommate, who's basically just a Welsh
version of Kramer from "Seinfeld." Oh, and there are other
characters who all just complain about their lives and are shown
to be in awe of the sight of a famous person in their supposed
distant squalor (even though, again, it's super rich London).


Join us as we rank the Baldwin brothers, whether or not the zany
roommate is a figment of Hugh Grant's imagination and how this
movie is so transparently trying to get credit for disabilities.


Tell us what you think by chatting with us (@filmsnuff)
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shooting us an email over at mailbag@filmsnuff.com.


This episode is sponsored by Chuck Lorre's new TV show, "Fart,"
which premieres Thursdays this fall on CBS.


Visit our website at https://www.filmsnuff.com.