Dec 22: Five Reasons Why Love Actually is the Best Christmas Movie: A Review

As the year comes to an end, I’m getting a little burned out on my regular types of reviews. Seeing as I’ve written 356 reviews in 356 days, I think it’s safe to say I can experiment a little (yes, I’m tooting my own horn). And, given that this is a weekend review, I figured why not try something different completely. The other day, I wrote The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey‘s review in a The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly style and today I figured I’d stick with a nice list format. Shall we continue?

Every Christmas, there are a handful of films I have to watch. You’ve already seen my reviews for The Muppet Christmas Carol and Jingle All the Way (two December staples in my house) so I figured the next best step would be to watch Love Actually, the only “throw as many stars at it and hope it works” movie I actually enjoy and one of the few romantic comedies worth revisiting every year. I even would consider it an exceptional movie during the non-Christmas season and would even make it on my list of favorite movies of all time (it’d be like.. #62, but still). So for today’s review, I’m going to bullet point six reasons why Love Actually is the best Christmas movie of all time.

#5: The Cast

It’s hard to not talk about Love Actually and mention its incredible cast. The entire roster of actors that come together elevate the film to something memorable and seeing all of their stories dance around each other is a joy to watch. Here’s a taste of the cast- Liam Neeson, Alan Rickman, Bill Nighy, Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Kiera Knightley, Emma Thompson, Martin Freeman, Andrew Lincoln, Rowan Atkinson, Laura Linney, and Billy Bob Thorton. Not to mention, there are a TON of other familiar faces that will pop up when you least expect it and it’s quite amazing to see so many of the stars well before their breakout roles. It’s like the casting director knew who would become famous, got those actors for cheap, and threw them all into the mix because f**k it, why not? The best part of it all is that everyone is having a blast in the film, and whenever you can see Bill Nighy sing a horrible Christmas tune or Hugh Grant dancing as the British Prime Minister, you know you have something special.

#4. The Soundtrack

Every Christmas movie utilizes familiar tunes to bring the holiday home. From “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire” to “Jingle Bells”, we hear it all come December. With Love Actually, we’re given a handful of original songs (even if they’re re-did covers) including the masterpiece- “Christmas is All Around” sung by Bill Nighy as the past-his-prime rocker, Billy Mack. Craig Armstrong also delivers a damn good score that you’ll recognize from countless trailers and advertisements, that really sets the lovey-dovey Christmas mood. Love Actually also features the greatest moment of music hitting the action on the screen when Andrew Lincoln’s character, Mark, zips up his sweater. You all know what I’m talking about.

#3: The R-Rating

There are very few Christmas movies (sans Die Hard) that can rock the R-rating like Love Actually. Unlike most of the unfunny drivel that comes out of the rom-com genre, Love Actually mixes a good combination of sex, language, and raunch into a film that most certainly needs it. Instead of just spreading out the cheese, we get moments that feel genuinely real, from Laura Linney’s dedication to her mentally ill brother to the scenes featuring Emma Thompson and her discovery of her husband’s ‘affair’. We also get some boobs.

#2. The Real Meaning of Christmas is Love

There are almost a dozen different stories happening in Love Actually and each of them relate to a different kind of love. From passionate desire, love mixed up in translation, young love, love between strangers, and lost love, the film covers it all. Set each story during Christmas to have it build up to a school pageant and then an airport bring it all together. Yes, it’s cheesy. Yes, it’s sappy. But dammit does it work.

#1. London at Christmas

Chances are, Love Actually wasn’t actually (ha!) filmed during the winter months, but it still looks like the holiday in one of the world’s greatest cities. Personally, I haven’t been and Love Actually only adds more magic to London and makes it all the more appealing. From the people, to the locations (even Glasgow Airport looks fun), the film shows us a lot of places you don’t see in any movie set in the U.K. When partnered up with its genuine moments and a heart-warming soundtrack, Love Actually makes you all giddy with holiday spirit.

Overall: 8.2/10