I've waited until watching this a second time to see whether my first impression holds. It does.
I'm a long time closet fan of romantic comedies. Love Actually is a peculiar treat: It's as if the plot points and high lights of a half dozen romantic comedies were woven together, and all of the superfluous substance was removed. But is it really superfluous?
We've got the fantasy of the young man going abroad to "get lucky". We've got the cuckolded husband finding new love in the midst of his solitude. We've got the recently widower-ed step-father learning to live again through the first love being experienced by his dead wife's son. We've got the middle-aged family man who wakes up to what he has been taking for granted at home when he is nearly seduced by his secretary. We've got the third-wheel best-friend of the groom who is cold and distant to the new wife not because he dislikes her but because he loves her. We've got the prime minister who falls in love with a household assistant. We've for the soft-core body-doubles who can easily feign passion on command but who can't hardly figure out how to date. And we've got the love-sick office workers who can't quite get together because life and family get in the way.
It's as if Curtis, who has written more of his share of hit romantic comedies, among other things, had a stack of stories lying about -- and rather than develop any one into something like another Notting Hill, he combined them all into an ensemble picture of nothing but money-shots.
Oddly, it almost works. But it's hard to feel there's much going on other than a mechanical walk through, not unlike the simulated sex some of the characters perform for a living.
Recommended, with two key caveats: It's only for the die-hard romantic comedy fan, and even then only if seeing the form exploited in so blithe a manner is of interest.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/
