Release Date: May 28th, 1999
Release Date Note: With a Memorial Day weekend release, this Julia Roberts movie is aiming to be the first non-Star Wars big hit of the summer season. Based upon the trailer, which combines the kind of self-mocking of Hollywood audiences like and British humor (including Hugh Grant's roommate, Rhys Ifans, which seems to be a popular favorite), this film should be another pleasant success for Ms. Julia.
Video Release Date: November 9th, 1999
DVD Release Note: The USA Today newspaper reported today (6/4/99) that nearly 90 minutes were edited out of this film for its release, but that they would be included when this film is released on DVD (no date for that yet), which will make the film a full 3 and a half hours long. (2/6/00) Well, there might've been 90 minutes cut out, but the deleted scenes on the DVD only last about 15 minutes. The director's commentary does refer to other scenes that were cut, so the USA Today report is accurate to that extent, but it's not known if those other 75 minutes of scenes will ever be seen by audiences. (My guess is "probably not").
Nominations: Best Comedy or Musical Picture, Best Comedy or Musical Actress (Roberts), Best Comedy or Musical Actress (Grant), 2000 Golden Globes.
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (sexual content and brief strong language)
Distributor: Universal/Polygram
Cast: Julia Roberts, Hugh Grant, Alec Baldwin, Rhys Ifans, Gina McKee, Tim McInnerny, Emma Chambers, Hugh Bonneville
Director: Roger Michell (1995's Persuasion, Titanic Town; next up was Changing Lanes, and now, The Mother)
Screenwriter: Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Bean)
Premise: The owner (Grant) of a small travel book store in the Notting Hill district of London, England sees his life change when the most popular actress in the world (Julia Roberts) walks into his bookstore, and since this is a romantic comedy... into his heart. I's not an unbumpy ride, however, as these two people from completely different walks-of-life try to sort out what it is they can be to each other.
Official Site: Universal Pictures
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2/23/03 - Director
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Review (***1/2)
Within a week of each other, I've seen two films by director Roger Michell (the other being Titanic Town, a film currently seeking distribution in the USA), and in both are cinematographic and conceptual similarities that mark them clearly as being by the same director. For example, both are films about ordinary people who find themselves suddenly hurtled into the spotlight of fame, all while their family and friends are left to deal with it in their own ways.
The approach to fame of reflecting it through the eyes of very ordinary citizens is effective in both, and indeed, in Notting Hill is its most winning feature. Upon first thought, you'd think the film's strength would be the relationship between Grant and Roberts, but really, it's the friends and relatives of Grant's characters are both the most memorable and the glue of the film. This strong supporting cast includes Grant's Kramer-esque Welsh flatmate (Ifans) to his best friend (McInnerny) and his beautiful wheelchair-bound wife (the extremely photogenic Gina McKee, probably best known for her role in Mike Leigh's Naked), his flaky but sweet sister (Chambers), and his stockbroker other best friend (Bonneville). Though they are noteworthy through the entire film, the first dinner with them and Julia Roberts' character of Anna is particularly entertaining and memorable.
Of course, most people want to know how Hugh Grant as bookstore owner William and Julia Roberts as movie star Anna Scott get along, and the answer is quite nicely, with Julia Roberts gathering more of our attention as we find ourselves fascinated by the possibility that some of these scenes and mannerisms are somehow autobiographical. Grant's character is only less interesting in that we've seen him playing similar roles before, though arguably, this is probably his best romantic part since Four Weddings and a Funeral. The film is at its best when Roberts and Grant are skirting around each other as not necessarily a "couple" but two people on the edges of flirtation.
One point of contention that some people will have about Notting Hill is whether they believe the romance between a movie star and a bookstore owner or not. I thought the film convinced me of the romance, but I did at first think it was a bit unbelievable, and some people might never get past that first leap of faith.
This charming story of an actress struggling to "be just a girl standing in front of a boy" is certainly entertaining, fun, and probably the best date movie to come to theaters since Playing by Heart. There's not many other romantic comedies of this star power this summer until The Runaway Bride arrives in theaters in late July, starring, surprisingly enough, Ms. Julia Roberts.
Mentioned by some as a sort-of-sequel to the smash hit Four Weddings and a Funeral, if only because of the reunion of star Grant, screenwriter Richard Curtis, and producer Duncan Kenworthy. There are, of course, more similarities, in the very concept of the movie as a movie about a beautiful American woman in merry old England who falls, slowly, for Hugh Grant.
Slated for a late May release, this does indeed look to be another likely romantic-comedy hit for Julia Roberts, who is settling very comfortably into her role as the modern queen of the genre. This movie should be a pleasant enough way to spend an early Summer night.
Trailer Note
It's light, it's cute, and it's just what one might expect! I especially liked the brief look at Julia in a sci-fi movie that reminded me of Jodie Foster in Contact.
Page Created: 1/17/99
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