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Notting Hill
Universal Pictures
Starring Hugh Grant/Julia Roberts

I hate romantic comedies. I'm a romantic guy and certainly am all for romance but there is a certain element to a lot of the romantic comedies that are coming out lately that I find very stale or at least very problematic. They aren't subtle or even smart; many times, we don't believe the two people who end up together or their motivations in coming together. This was especially evident in "You've Got Mail", a movie where Tom Hanks's mega-bookstore owner put Meg Ryan's little children's bookstore out of business, effectively not only crushing her, but closing the history of generations, since the children's bookstore had been in her family for ages. And yet, in the end, they fall in love with each other. I'm sorry, but I don't believe it.

Julia Roberts looks to become the queen of romantic comedies and she certainly deserves that title. She has picked two films now that are romantic comedies, but they are smart, subtle and do remarkably fresh things with what I feel is a very tired genre. "My Best Friends Wedding" was a fantastically smart, light comedy that had a thrilling energy to it and great performances. "Notting Hill" is a way different film for the most part, but it still contains a lot of the same elements; very smart, witty and literate dialogue combined with some very colorful characters who have been fully written and fully realized. Hugh Grant stars as William, the owner of a small Notting Hill bookstore that is certainly down on his luck; the store is failing when one day, in walks Anna Scott(Roberts), a world famous starlet that is in town promoting her new film. The two have a very cute and funny meeting as Grant's bookstore owner apprehends a shoplifter in the midst of their conversation. There isn't much said or done, but there are some very slight gestures and enjoyable acting that shares with us the fact that there is certainly more possibilities left in this newly found relationship.

The two meet again at various times and what's so nice is that their meetings are everything at once that we need, but in a small package. What that means is that these meetings are smart, sweet and entirely believable, but they don't go for the grand scene, they are twice as effective as that: these meetings build off of small events like William spilling Orange Juice on Anna on the street. Soon enough, William finds himself sneaking into a press conference for Anna's new film in a hilarious sequence where Grant must pretend to be a reporter. It's during scenes like these that are a good example of why I liked Grant so much in this film. Before, he was always funny in sort of a slightly sloppy way, doing his stuttering bit("Uh,um, yes, well, hello.") Here, he's shaped that sort of bit into a sharper, smarter more detailed and interesting performance that combines comedy and a little bit of drama into a far better performance than anything else I've seen him in.

We know the steps that the film will take; the two will have a lot of fun together, something will happen to split them apart, then it's only a matter of time before they find one another again. It's through the performances and the very literate screenplay that we're still caring after 120 minutes whether or not these people ever end up together. "Notting Hill" does get a little long during the middle point where it seems to spin over and over, with interesting scenes- but a lot of these scenes don't really help to push the film towards its conclusion; the forward momentum from the smart first half seems to get lost slightly here, but towards the end, we regain the sort of madcap comedy/romance that we're looking for, and the film certainly has an enjoyable final act.

The film isn't really a satire or even that much of a look at the sort of privacy and fame issues that the film seems to be going for before it starts. Yes, it certainly has elements that either joke or hint at the reality of showbiz, but it uses these elements to fuel the romantic drama/comedy of the film and it works. I certainly think that this film could have gone down the road of satiring the kind of films that "Anna" does, but I think that the final product here is more successful than that idea would have been. Again, it's all in the performances: Grant is smart, funny and detailed in his performance; Roberts is growing stronger as an actress with every role and she's great here, an excellently played perfomance that combines great timing and sweetness. What I really liked about both of their characters was the fact that a few genuinely believeable flaws were added into the personalities of both and Roberts makes particularly effective use of building these flaws into a very real and memorable character that we can sympathize with because she's not perfect. We're not watching "Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant", we're watching "William and Anna". A lot of films today really don't get that far, convincing us to forget that we're watching stars and become involved in the characters they play. The surrounding characters, especially William's family and roommate(Rhys Ilfans) are very funny and wonderfully written here as well and provide an enjoyably comic background to the proceedings. Really, the biggest thing I didn't care for was the score, full of obvious and predictable songs that basically tell us what we already know that's going on in the film. I would have liked to have seen a less "song-driven" score that would match the subtle, witty charms of the film.

All in all I really enjoyed "Notting Hill". Like the characters involved, the film certainly has a couple of flaws, but it's so wonderfully made and greatly acted that you can't help being charmed by it. It's a very smart romantic comedy and one of the year's best films.

*** 1/2.