20 years of "Tatsächlich ... Love"

Alongside "The Little Lord" and "Three Hazelnuts for Cinderella", "Tatsächlich ... Love" has become as much a part of the festive season as Santa Claus. The episodic film is now 20 years old. And even if not everything about it is up to date, it will of course still be flickering across the screens in 2023.

Hugh Grant falls in love with a female employee as the British Prime Minister, Bill Nighy sings "Christmas is all around me" as a boozy rock star, Heike Makatsch and Claudia Schiffer have small supporting roles and Rowan Atkinson ("Mr. Bean") takes a long time to wrap a present as a salesman. A very, very long time. Of course, we're talking about the Christmas comedy "Tatsächlich ... Love", an ensemble love story that was shown in cinemas 20 years ago and has since become a classic.

In 2023, the film with the original title "Love Actually" can once again be seen on German television for the festive season. Vox will show it on December 26 at 8.15 pm - it can also be streamed on RTL+. Last year, ZDF broadcast it in the late evening of the first public holiday. For two decades now, the movie has been one of those works that people watch again and again during the Advent season. Because a December without the movie wouldn't really be Christmas time for them.

A broad spectrum of emotions

The film begins five weeks before Christmas and interweaves the stories of several people in London and the UK. According to director Richard Curtis, who is considered the king of romantic comedies known as "RomComs", one of the reasons why it is still popular today is that you often don't know which scene is coming next. In fact, so many stories are told that some episodes are forgotten by the following year.

The spectrum of emotions is also broad: It ranges, for example, from a little boy who has a huge crush on a classmate to a woman whose marriage is in danger of collapsing (Emma Thompson with Alan Rickman). The story with actress Keira Knightley, who receives a confession of love on cardboard cards, is also cult. The scene - wife opens front door, husband's best friend confesses his feelings without (spoken) words using cardboard - is often re-enacted.

But not everything about the movie still seems modern and cool today. At an English literary festival this year, director Curtis gave an interview to his daughter Scarlett. Among other things, the daughter remarked quite humorously that her father had now learned a lot about feminism from her.

"Just not funny anymore"

The Prime Minister's employee Natalie (Martine McCutcheon), for example, is portrayed as chubby in "Actually ... Love", for example, is portrayed as chubby and criticized for her supposedly fat thighs. His films also showed very few black people, daughter Scarlett told the director off. In "In fact... Love", there are also superiors who behave problematically, such as the Prime Minister.

Looking back, would Richard Curtis do anything differently? "Yes. I wish I had been ahead of my time," said Curtis. He hadn't thought enough about some things. "I remember how shocked I was five years ago when Scarlett said to me: 'You can never use the word 'fat' again'." She was right. "Those jokes just aren't funny anymore."

However, the scene at the airport at the beginning of the movie remains pretty. "Whenever I get depressed about the global political situation, I always think of the arrivals hall at Heathrow Airport," Hugh Grant's character says off-screen, while we see in slow motion how (real) people fall into each other's arms as they arrive at the airport. "It's generally said that we live in a world full of hate and greed. But that's not true."

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In 2023, fans of "Love Actually" can enjoy the Christmas classic again on German TV, with Vox airing it at 8:15 PM on December 26. It's also available for streaming on RTL+. (contains: Love Actually, 2023, German television, Vox, RTL+)

Despite its age, "Love Actually" continues to captivate audiences with its array of emotional stories and unexpected twists, including a little boy's secret crush, a marriage on the brink, and a confession of love delivered with cardboard signs. (contains: Love Actually, emotion, stories, twists, cardboard signs)

In a 2022 interview, director Richard Curtis's daughter pointed out several aspects of the film that seem outdated today, such as the portrayal of Natalie as chubby and the lack of diversity in the cast. Curtis acknowledged these criticisms, stating that he wishes he had been more aware of these issues back then. (contains: Love Actually, Richard Curtis, daughter, interview, Natalie, portrayal, diversity, criticisms)

Source: www.ntv.de