Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Pleasantly, not what I'd expected!
Let me just say that I'm not particularly a Julia Roberts fan. So when my wife asked to go see Notting Hill in the theater, I politely declined... but I figured that I'd give her a suprise and buy the DVD for her. Well, I sat and watched it with her, and was pleasantly suprised, myself!Set in the real-life Notting Hill section of London, this VERY fairy-tale story is filled with moments of true belly-aching laughter, painful heartbreak, and one delightful "car chase." Julia Roberts portrays Anna Scott, a fifteen-million-dollar per picture movie actress who gets tangled in the trappings of love with William Thacker, a bumbling, but likeable book-shop owner convincingly played by Hugh Grant. Notting Hill wastes no time in setting up this premise and rockets off from there. The film moves along at a good pace and only has one noticible slow spot. The music chosen to accompany the film is beyond perfect. Watch the screen closely when you hear "Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers. I would be remiss if I did not mention "Spike". Rhys Ifans plays Spike, William's very odd, very Welsh flat mate. You can't help but laugh every time he's on the screen. Luckily, the director and editor didn't over-do Spike's antics, so we can truly enjoy the moments when he's on. The Collector's Edition goodies make the DVD a true gem and a great bargain. The musical highlights let you quickly jump into the middle of the movie to enjoy a song while watching the movie roll. (After you've watched the movie, go find "Ain't No Sunshine"!) The deleted scenes give a glimpse of what could have happened in the film. After watching, I'd say that I agree with the director's choice of endings. This movie proves that romantic comedies can still be done well... and you don't have to have Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan to do it.
Rating: - Quirky, funny and totally sentimental...what more is there?
This is a feel good movie for everyone who has ever loved or been loved. Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts are great as the mismatched couple who meet one day and strike up the most unlikeliest of friendships. Julia Roberts plays "the most famous film star in the world", whilst Hugh Grant is a bumbling bookstore owner with a failing business. Their love affair is a fairy tale come true, but like most fairy tales there are a few hurdles to overcome before true love and happiness can finally be theirs. Grant and Roberts are ably supported by an excellent cast, including the Emma Chambers better known as Alice Tinker from "The Vicar of Dibley", and Rhys Ifans who brilliantly portrays Grant's nutty Welsh flatmate. Notting Hill doesn't tax the brain cells. There are many hilarious moments, one of the funniest being the car scene when Grant tries to get to Robert's press evening, it's a laugh a minute and the same can be said for the rest of the film. So if you want a gentle love story, a surprisingly good comedy combined with witty dialogue and a cast of great actors then rent or buy this movie. You won't regret it.
Rating: - One fine, funny romantic comedy
Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant each appeared in two movies in the summer of 1998. Roberts starred in the smash hit, Runaway Bride, while Grant had top billing in the unsuccessful Mikey Blue Eyes. All this proves is that she can carry a picture, and he can't. Business and star politics aside, Notting Hill is easily the best summer movie they were in. The plot is as preposterous as they come, but this is permitted in romantic comedy. Grant plays William Thacker, who runs a little travel bookstore on Portobello Road in London's Notting Hill district. Roberts is Anna Scott, the biggest female movie star on the planet. This is amusing in itself, since Roberts is exactly that in real life. On location in England, Scott wanders into William's shop one afternoon. He doesn't even recognize her until a customer does. Later, he runs into in the street, where he spills orange juice all over the both of them. Accepting an invitation to clean herself up, she goes to his flat. Emotions begin to smolder. What unfolds is by the book boy meets girl, boy loses girl, etc., but it's all done in witty, bright and sophisticated fashion. Notting Hill utilizes two of the oldest Hollywood romantic devices - the two main characters have failed at love, and they come from social scenes that are polar opposites. Its writer and director are shrewd enough to know that these are tensions which can add the comedy to romance. She flounders in his world, and we laugh. He stumbles in hers, and we laugh still more. Even in the inevitable scene where their world collide, and the romance seems doomed, we find amusement. This is the best and most successful British comedy [excluding their trademark period pieces] since Four Weddings and a Funeral, which also had but one major American character. We get a parade of those eccentric English characters we adore. By far the funniest is Spike [Rhys Ifans], who is William's ditzy, clueless flat mate. Most of his best scenes cannot be written down for a family publication, but I can say that they are bawdy, as opposed to tawdry. Spike does not know how to dress, how to carry on a conversation longer than two sentences or how to react normally to life's simplest situations. He may be the one character who is most likely to also exist in the real world. Ifans is almost assured of receiving a Best Supporting Actor nomination next spring. Roberts and Grant are in top form. She doesn't grin her way out of every emotional moment, and he keeps his trademark stutter in check. It's hard to say how much real chemistry there is between them, but it hardly matters, because they are two of the most charming and affable actors on the screen today. Their performance are right up their with what I consider to be their best - she in My Best Friend's Wedding, he in Sense and Sensibility. The photography is excellent. One scene, in which William walks along Portobello Road as the seasons change, is remarkable. It's one of those complex-to-do creations that comes off as seamless and simple. Also of note is a moment where Spike, in his underwear, unwittingly opens the flat door and walks into a sea of screaming, photo-snapping journalists. It is a classic comedic moment. I don't think it matters all that much that the plot is a tried and true one. After all, the point isn't whether or not you paint a landscape, but how well you paint it. If Notting Hill were a painting, it wouldn't be a masterpiece, but it would be very pleasing to the eye nonetheless.
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