Christmas classics - Despite kitsch and sexism: Why I love the movie "Love Actually"
"When I get depressed about the global political situation, I always think of the arrivals hall at Heathrow Airport. It is generally said that we live in a world full of hatred and greed. But that's not true. On the contrary, it seems to me that we are surrounded bylove everywhere . Often it's neither particularly glamorous nor spectacular, but it's always there."
It is these first sentences of "Love Indeed" that make my inner Christmas elf sing every year.
When the movie came out in 2003, I was nine years old. Since then, I've seen it at least 20 times. Every year I am fascinated by a different love story. Every year I dance in front of the screen with the British Prime Minister David (Hugh Grant) through 10 Downing Street. Every year my heart breaks when Karen (Emma Thompson) is betrayed by her husband (the great Alan Rickman). But of course my view of the movie has changed over the years.
I'm not ashamed to indulge in this kitsch. But I don't find the sexist jokes, such as those made about the bodies of women who are supposedly too fat, funny. In fact, they annoy me to no end. I also find some of the scenes involving the prime minister or the doltish would-be womanizer who travels to the USA to pick up American women difficult.
Admittedly, "Love Actually" has aged badly ...
But "Love Actually" is also a child of its time - the movie would (hopefully) look completely different in 2023 than it did 20 years ago. And precisely because the movie is so beautifully old, I can look at it from a different distance than movies from today. Then it does me good, as absurd as it may sound. Two things in particular make me feel reconciled and allow me to enjoy the movie again this year.
Firstly, director Richard Curtis regrets the sexist jokes and lack of diversity in his films today. He recently said at an event that "calling someone chubby" might have been funny once upon a time. Today, he wouldn't do that anymore. At the event, he was interviewed by his daughter Scarlett, of all people, a feminist author, who asked him some very refreshing questions.
Secondly, the cast of "Love Actually" is simply great. With Emma Thompson, Keira Knightly, Colin Firth and Liam Neeson, the film could hardly be better cast. It is the actors who give the sometimes flat or sometimes completely overdrawn characters depth and turn them into people with whom I empathize from the bottom of my heart. In a review of "Beyond the Boxset", author John Lucas puts it in a nutshell: "Nobody but Hugh Grant could have made this nonsense fly." And yes, the "bullshit" flies for me - even the 21st time!
... but I still love the movie
That's why I still love the movie today: "Love Actually" distracts me and gets me in the Christmas spirit. It makes me laugh at the cynical rock star Billy Nighy, at Rowan Atkinson, the slowest salesman in the world, and of course at the lobster at the nativity play.
"Love Actually" gives me hope and warmth in a world situation that sometimes makes you want to despair. A world situation in which my head really, really needs a movie where you can just switch off. At least for 135 minutes. And at the latest when Dido sings "Here with me".
Sources: "Love indeed", Beyond the boxset,"Guardian"
Read also:
- Despite the sexist jokes and outdated portrayals of women, I still find myself drawn to the love stories in the Christmas movie "Love Actually," starring Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Keira Knightley, Colin Firth, and a stellar cast.
- In a recent interview, director Richard Curtis, father of feminist author Scarlett Curtis, acknowledged the mistakes he made in the past, such as using sexist jokes in the movie, and expressed his intent to be more inclusive and mindful moving forward.
- The scenes featuring Alan Rickman as Emma Thompson's husband and the British Prime Minister, Hugh Grant, have remained some of my favorites throughout the years, and the movie's ability to make me laugh and cry alike is unmatched.
- Even with its flaws, "Love Actually" remains a classic Christmas movie, thanks to the talented performances of its cast, particularly Hugh Grant, who elevates the material to new heights.
Source: www.stern.de
