I avoided watching this for a stupid long time; probably a full decade after its release was around the first (and only) time I watched it. Neither Hugh Grant nor Julia Roberts are particular favorites of mine, so I’m willing to avow that my mediocre feelings about the film itself might stem from mediocre feelings about the actors. With that out of the way…
Will and Anna just don’t do it for me here, for all both actors are reasonably attractive and their interactions moderately sweet. Anna is supposed to be this super relateable ultra famous actress who bumbles into meeting an average bookstore owner and through various misadventures they keep encountering one another until she realizes she’s madly in love with him. Other than the obvious comic relief, this movie just isn’t very “fun” for all its status as a romantic comedy. The romance itself blows lukewarm and cold, so that when they finally get together there isn’t so much a sigh of wistful satisfaction as a workman like dusting of hands that the job was finished.
I do think the basic idea of the thing is interesting. How would a very famous person and a very not famous person actually relate to one another? And the dryness of the humor is refreshing over pratfalls and ribald situations, though some of my favorite British comedy has both. But it certainly isn’t my first choice, or second, and perhaps you should see if Netflix has anything new on offer before you pick this one out of the queue.
So as I sit here watching my favourite bad 90s romance I find my stuff yearning for a Buddie Notting Hill AU. Buck as the lonley megastar actor who falls in love with Eddie the average guy who just works hard and loves his kid.
Eddie falling for Buck as he learns the megastar people see has nothing on the kind hearted guy who always is just fun, patient and insanley good with kids……
That scene where they are reading scripts but with Chris as well and Buck acting all dramatic running lines with him ❤
The awkward meeting, the cute getting to know you scenes.
Here’s another shoot with Niomi from last week, shot around Notting Hill. We shot this around a few different streets in the area, as a lot of the houses are painted different colours, which looks beautiful. Our shoot was also invaded by a curious little white cat. Who probably wasn’t curious, just a bit grumpy. You can view the blog post here.
I’m a bit stuck currently, so I am going back to my usual: romcom lol The Notting Hill AU nobody asked for :-)
In all the Notting Hill AU I’ve read, John is the bookstore owner and Sherlock the elusive star, I’ve decided to do it the other way around.
A first short draft of the first chapter, what do you think? Is anybody interested?
Chapter 1:
Walking slowly in Nothing Hill, John was at ease for the first time in a long time. Can’t believe how relax it is, so early in the morning. Before the crowd… before all the noise. The only movement was coming from the shopkeepers. He smiled as he smelled the coffee from a trendy little coffee house, followed by the sweet odours coming from a quaint bakery. He sighed, knowing that such a break was rare in today’s hectic life. Stopping at a corner, he hesitated between going left or right when a promising window catches his eyes. Hmmm, a doughnuts shop, that is worth a visit. He gingerly crossed the road, chuckling at the neon sign stating that “It’s always a good time!”. My body is not a temple this morning, Hell no! A free day is definitively a good time for a breakfast exclusively composes of a few doughnuts!
To his dismay, the tempting establishment was closed.
He looked at his watch, frowning, and to the little sign on the door. 7h22… but the sign said that it is opening at 7h on weekdays. Disappointed, he was about to leave to find something else to eat when he saw a post-it. “I am next door, please come and get me!” He chuckled at the abondance of little hearts and flowers penned on the note and looked at his right – a bar, presently closed, - and his left. A light glow was coming from the window and wood and glass door, with a number of books in the display it was evidently a bookshop. Stepping back, John read the gold letters, The Notting Hill Bookshop, before he cautiously opened the door.
As the faint sound of the doorbell dissipated, he watched around looking for someone. It was… not was he was expected. The small space was filled to the rim in books (of course) but also with a plethora of scientific equipment, vintage anatomic charts, naturalized bats. Turning on himself in awes, John felt suddenly overwhelmed but surprisingly at home for the first-time in years. What is happening to me… and… is it a real skull?
A warm (annoyed) voice shouted from the back of the room. getting him out of his daydreaming, “MS HUDSON, you’ve got another one!”
This picture from @OscarWGrut on twitter, is captioned ‘Worst advert ever?’
Notting Hill is in the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea and is either known because of its world renowned carnival or the romantic comedy by the same name.
I gave Brixton the ‘briefly’ treatment here, Notting Hill has a common history on two notes; immigrant communities in the 1950s & 1960s and gentrification.
There is still so much I haven’t read and heard about the history of the Afro-Caribbean community in London, beyond the stories of elders and family photos. I do, however, understand that the above photo demonstrates that once the demographic of an area is forcibly changed, a space is made for brazen displays of ignorance of local history.
There is probably much more I could type about this, though I’d be stepping out of the realms of being brief. Defeating the purpose of this post.
For an interesting place to start if you would like to get a glimpse of immigrant life in the UK and then some, try Michael X: A Life In Black and White,there is a review of it here.
Book & Comic Exchange, W11. This has to be one of the most eye catching shops I’ve gone into since I’ve been doing this. It’s literally 50/50 books and comics which adds to the visual punch to begin with (something quite appeals about vintage copies of Shakespeare being under the same roof as rare X-Men editions,) but those section demarcates! All hand drawn in exquisite detail and they’re all over every last bit of the gaff. This place has personality and charm in spades! If you love trawling over oodles of second hand titles as much as me you could easily lose days in here. http://www.mgeshops.com/book-comic-exchange.html
Carly Simon’s No Secrets album cover (1972) with some of the outtakes from the same photo session. Photographs by Ed Caraeff, who took them in front of the Portobello Hotel in London’s Notting Hill.
this is going around twitter rn but im also super curious: please tell me your top four comfort movies that you’re always down to watch bc my friend thinks mine are ridiculous and now we’ve realised everyone’s version of “comfort” is hilariously different
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