Fat shaming
“Love Actually”: Why almost every storyline is subterranean – and yet everyone loves the film
“Love Actually”: Hugh Grant plays the British Prime Minister who falls in love with his employee (Martine McCutcheon)
© Ronald Grant / Imago Images
Heard for 20 years “Actually…love” for many at Christmas time like cookies and mulled wine. The individual plots of the cult classic are causing criticism today.
As “Actually…Love” was shown in German cinemas 20 years ago, it quickly became clear: The romantic comedy by star director Richard Curtis has the potential to become a cult classic. In 2023, the feeling has been confirmed. Every Christmas season, fans of the film look forward to watching it snuggle up from the sofa at home. Even though Curtis himself has now apologized for parts of the storyline.
“Love Actually”: Cult film with underground storylines
Approached by his own daughter, author Scarlett Curtis, the filmmaker admitted a few months ago that he had sometimes made sexist jokes in his films. In “Love Actually” there are several examples of storylines that would probably not survive acceptance today.
On the one hand, there is the role of Hugh Grant, who plays the British Prime Minister and falls in love with his employee, who was recently described as fat. Or the character of star actor Colin Firth. Firth’s character is cheated on by his partner and therefore spends the holidays abroad. There he falls in love with the housekeeper working in the holiday home, who doesn’t speak a word of English. At the end of the film he proposes to her in broken Portuguese. The relationship between boss and employee runs like a common thread through the cult film. Alan Rickman’s character also likes his much younger employee – played by Heike Makatsch – and betrays his wife (Emma Thompson).
Meanwhile, Liam Neeson’s character mourns the loss of the love of his life. In one scene, Emma Thompson’s character comforts him with the words: “Pull yourself together, people hate sissies. Nobody will ever fuck you if you cry all the time” – which immediately brings you into the Christmas spirit.
Discussions on the internet
And then there is the character of Andrew Lincoln, who is madly in love with his best friend’s wife. In one of the film’s most iconic scenes, he confesses his love to her (Keira Knightley) while her husband (aka his best friend!) is also in the house. What bothers many of the film’s critics is that Knightley was just 17 years old when “Love Actually” was filmed.
For some time now, numerous users on social networks have been making fun of the various storylines of the cult film. And while some are outraged that the film could ever achieve cult status, others try to explain their ambivalent feelings. “Every single storyline is absolutely unacceptable. And I still love ‘Love Actually,'” writes a user on TikTok. “Perhaps it’s the most realistic romantic movie of all time,” said another user. “I feel like the film is self-aware and has this feeling of bittersweetness. We’re not supposed to approve of everything we see,” another tries to explain. Still others argue that the humor in “Love Actually” is simply very British and therefore difficult for other people to understand.
What makes “Love Actually” still so popular and successful is, in addition to the top-class cast, probably one thing above all else: the feeling of nostalgia. For many people, the film is part of the contemplative Christmas season. The music and the festive atmosphere put you straight into the Christmas spirit. It’s quite possible that not much attention is paid to the storylines themselves.