I watched this on VHS once, back probably in 2000. I've really enjoyed Love Actually, and since this was written by the same person, I figured I should give it another try.
It's such a disappointment. It's a charming movie, and there are some very likable scenes, but so much of the movie is devoted to Julia Roberts playing someone who is effectively herself, and she's so incredibly dislikable.
There are a few interesting things that this has going for it. First, it's from the male perspective. Many romantic comedies focus exclusively on the female point of view. Second, it takes a huge risk by making a female lead character that would be overwhelmingly difficult to identify with. As we were watching this, my wife pointed out that the character is rich, attractive, and famous. She's not even lonely - she has a boyfriend throughout the movie! This is usually something that gets addressed in the first couple scenes, establishing some traits that make the audience like her. Instead, we get the audience liking Hugh Grant's character. This is fine for me, but it seems a little risky for the core of the romantic audience.
The wackiness in this movie doesn't play as well as it does in my favorite romances. Something about it feels more forced, and less fun. There is one notable exception - the entire "Horse & Hound" sequence. But the wacky friends and neighbors just doesn't work. At least I applaud the effort to include a couple that is not wacky, but is realistic.
The main failing that the movie has is that Julia Roberts doesn't really redeem herself. She acts like a jerk through most of the movie. She gets a few passive scenes of her liking Hugh Grant. Then she tries to make it all up with a little speech near the end. It's not a bad speech, but it doesn't address her main faults. Specifically, that she tends to overreact to the press. The movie barely addresses her issues of infidelity.
I'm also bothered by the ending. Right after we get the scene of them reconciling, we get a montage (set to Elvis Costello's She) that shows them dating in high style, getting married, and it ends on her pregnant on a park bench. Something about this movie made this scope seem entirely inappropriate. We spent the whole two hours getting the couple to jump one hurdle, then suddenly, we dash the rest of the race in about three minutes?
One other thing that I liked - there's a very nice shot done against Ain't No Sunshine, a tracking shot where we see the seasons change as he walks to work. Very nicely done.
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