Universal Pictures, Rated PG-13
Directed by Roger Michell
Written by Richard Curtis

It's quite funny when, in interviews, Julia Roberts is asked why she decided to make Notting Hill. As anyone who has seen the movie will attest, it's obvious. It's a Julia Roberts lovefest. The entire movie seems to be something of an infomercial for the greatness of Julia Roberts. Roberts has the look of a movie star, but acting wise, it's give and take. Here, she seems to be on auto-pilot, while her co-star Hugh Grant puts a lot more of himself into the role of William Thacker, a bookshop owner in the small British town of Notting Hill. He makes the character quite sympathetic and is only outdone by Gina McKee, in the role of his brother's wheelchair-bound wife. McKee avoids the oft-used cliches that most actors use when playing someone with a handicap. The other actor of note is Rhys Ifans as William's scene-stealing roommate, Spike, who after a while reeks of high test screenings. He is thrown into more scenes than was ever needed to begin with.
The shoddily-paced story involves the "love at first sight" between Roberts' movie-star character Anna Scott and William when they meet by chance in a bookstore. They kiss after knowing each other for ten minutes, killing off any notion of suspense and the rest of the movie is their halfway-interesting on-again, off-again romance. We see the problems of being famous and dating someone famous but this makes the character of Scott hardly sympathetic. A speech Anna gives on how one day she will be old and washed up is an obvious attempt to get the audience to like her in case some still do not. There are several scenes that are very well done, including one at a press junket for Anna's new sci-fi movie and another in which the seasons change and William is walking through his picturesque town. There are also some laughs to be had, but it is far from flawless in terms of humor. The ending is the film's biggest weakness, once again postponing the inevitable but this movie goes overboard with it and one can't be assured that these two characters are really in love after all of that. I am so tired of romantic comedies that try to fake the suspense of what we all know will happen at the end and this film is one of the biggest offenders. If you are a fan of Grant or Roberts, go see it. Otherwise, it's barely worth your time. ** 1/2