It’s no surprise that rewatching Love Actually, 2003’s hit holiday rom-com, comes with some harsh realities 20 years after the film’s initial release. Written and directed by Notting Hill filmmaker Richard Curtis, the London-set film examines the nature of love through 10 vignettes, all of which interconnect as the movie plays out. Love Actually‘s all-star ensemble cast, which features Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant, Keira Knightley, and Colin Firth (among many others), is certainly one of its most memorable assets. After Love Actually made $246 million worldwide on a budget of roughly $40 million, its formula was replicated by other holiday-centric films.
None of these holiday rom-com copycats have come close to Love Actually‘s surprising — and enduring — success. Although it was critically panned upon its debut, the film was a sleeper hit with audiences. Thanks to annual showings, Love Actually has become something of a Christmastime staple in the two decades following its theatrical release. Even though it has the hallmarks of a cozy holiday watch, there’s no denying that watching Love Actually is hard in hindsight. Some story lines may have seemed progressive at the time, but the right-side-of-history stances they took, all while raising other troubling issues, prove the bar was low, actually.
10 Love Actually Mishandles Its Workplace Harassment Story
One of Love Actually‘s vignettes centers on Hugh Grant’s David, the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister, and his junior staffer, Natalie (Martine McCutcheon), who’s recently joined 10 Downing Street’s personnel. When the U.S. President (Billy Bob Thorton) visits, he makes some inappropriate remarks about Natalie; the passive David doesn’t do much of anything. Later, however, David walks in on the president harassing Natalie. Instead of making sure Natalie’s alright, David, who has a budding crush on his staffer, makes the sexual harassment and violation of consent all about himself during the subsequent joint press conference. What’s worse is that David only adds to Natalie’s feelings of shame.
9 The Fat Shaming In Love Actually Isn’t Funny
Throughout Natalie’s story line, tons of fatphobic jokes are made at her expense. The comments come from all over, including her family, and it’s clear that Natalie has internalized this fatphobia and (yet again) shame. Writer-director Richard Curtis was recently interviewed by his daughter, Scarlett, who brought up the ever-present body-shaming of women in Love Actually and her father’s other films. The filmmaker didn’t resist the criticism, noting, “Those jokes aren’t any longer funny,” and admitting that Scarlett and others were “right” to call it out. Of course, that doesn’t make a rewatch of those moments any easier.
8 Love Actually’s Uncomfortable Male Gaze In Aurélia & Jamie’s Storyline
Richard Curtis’ daughter, Scarlett, also raised a few points about her father’s depiction of women in his films, including Love Actually. As Scarlett Curtis puts it, “in general, the women are visions of unattainable loveliness” (via Entertainment Weekly). This is reflected in several stories throughout Love Actually, but is perhaps most prominently displayed in the story of Aurélia (Lúcia Moniz) and Jamie (Colin Firth). Heartbroken by his girlfriend’s infidelity, Jamie heads to a remote cottage to write his novel. While there, he meets Aurélia, a Portuguese housekeeper. Although the two don’t share a common language, there are sparks.
However, what could’ve served as a fun meet-cute plot line is tarnished by the overt male gaze of it all. Often, Aurélia is objectified — a beautiful person for Jamie to gawk at. This is most clearly exemplified in the scene where Aurélia strips down to save Jamie’s novel pages from the property’s pond. The way the scene is shot, and the fact that Jamie isn’t treated the same by the camera’s gaze, makes it clear that there’s a lot of objectification at play. Unfortunately, this approach casts a pall over the rest of the couple’s otherwise-sweet love story.
7 Love Actually’s Colin Remains Frustrating
After failing to woo any women at the wedding that opens Love Actually, Colin (Kris Marshall) convinces his best buddy Tony (Abdul Salis) that they should fly to America and use their “Britishness” to seduce women. Later, at a Wisconsin dive bar, three women — including characters played by January Jones and Elisha Cuthbert — find Colin irresistible. Although the story line isn’t meant to be taken all that seriously, that doesn’t make it any less frustrating. It’s fine that Colin wants to have some flings, but the misogyny and objectification that run through his thread make it hard to watch, even if it’s trying to be farcical.
6 Love Actually’s Harry Is Positioned As Mia’s “Victim”
Aside from the fact that Mia (Heike Makatsch) wears a devil costume to a Christmas party — a startling two months post-Halloween — there’s a lot that’s cringe-worthy about Mia and Harry’s (Alan Rickman) story line. Harry, who is married to Emma Thompson’s Karen, is having a workplace affair, which is bad enough for Karen (who experiences Love Actually‘s least romantic story line), but the film’s depiction of the power dynamics at play is troubling, to say the least. It’s no secret that Harry, as a character, skirts around accountability, but the film should address his culpability more directly.
For starters, Harry is the managing director of the design agency and Mia is his secretary. Even so, Love Actually positions Harry as the story’s victim who is unable to say “no” to Mia’s advances. Harry is checked out of his marriage; when he tells Karen that she should listen to some more Joni Mitchell to further her “emotional education,” he’s clearly projecting his own issues onto his wife. Even if Mia is pursuing Harry more than he’s pursuing her, he shouldn’t be painted as a helpless victim as he’s Mia’s boss. Instead, the uneven power dynamic isn’t meaningfully discussed and Mia is portrayed as a one-note “villain.”
5 Emma Thompson’s Karen Tells Liam Neeson’s Daniel To Stop Being So Emotional
While trying his best to care for his stepson, Sam (Thomas Brodie-Sangster), Daniel (Liam Neeson) mourns the recent, sudden loss of his wife. For most of the film, Daniel is trying to help Sam express his feelings for his classmate, Joanna. This culminates in Love Actually‘s memorable airport chase sequence. But while Daniel supports Sam beautifully, he isn’t really shown the same kindness from his best friend, Karen (Thompson). “Get a grip, people hate sissies,” Karen tells the recently widowed Daniel. “No one’s ever gonna shag you if you cry all the time.” Maybe Harry’s infidelity is clouding Karen’s judgment, but her espousing toxic masculinity is a real shame.
4 Love Actually Is Full Of HR Nightmares
Aside from the HR nightmare that is Harry and Mia’s sure-to-be ill-fated liaison, the film boasts another workplace romance that itself is a reason Love Actually is the worst. If David’s failure to comfort Natalie; stand up for her (instead of himself); and center Natalie in the wake of her own trauma wasn’t bad enough, things take an even more frustrating turn post-press conference. Disturbingly, the film suggests David is emasculated by another man “taking an interest in” — that is, harassing — Natalie, hence his self-centered press conference speech. Feeling uncomfortable in Natalie’s presence, David has her moved off his immediate staff.
This is problematic on so many levels. For starters, Natalie is the one who was harassed and/or assaulted by Thorton’s president character. Instead of being supported, she’s made to feel embarrassed and ashamed, all while her job is impacted without her consent. (It would be another thing if she requested a transfer, after all.) Natalie even feels the need to apologize to David in the form of a Christmas card, which assures him that she’s his — only his. In this particular HR nightmare, the uneven power dynamics are just the tip of the iceberg.
3 Billy Mack’s Story Puts Homophobia & Misogyny On Display
At first glance, rock and roll legend Billy Mack’s (Bill Nighy) plot line seems like a breath of fresh air. Instead of centering on romantic love, it takes a look at the platonic love between Billy and his long-time manager, Joe (Gregor Fisher), as Billy struggles to record a holiday version of the Troggs’ “Love Is All Around.” Billy Mack and Joe are crass curmudgeons, which is part of their charm. However, that kind of characterization shouldn’t come at the expense of others. In addition to Billy Mack’s consistent string of fatphobic jokes at Joe’s expense, the duo have their disappointingly fair share of misogynistic and homophobic remarks.
2 Love Actually Glamorizes Stalking
In one of Love Actually‘s opening set-pieces, Juliet (Keira Knightley) and Peter (Chiwetel Ejiofor) get married, with Peter’s best man, Mark (Andrew Lincoln), serving as the videographer. When Mark is cold towards Juliet, she starts to believe her husband’s best mate doesn’t like her. Later, she shows up at Mark’s flat and demands to see the wedding video. What follows is a horrifying recording packed with extreme close-ups of Juliet’s face — very little Peter, and very little wedding. The reveal that Mark’s in love with Juliet is startling and uncomfortable. What’s worse is that the film frames Mark’s stalker behavior as an act of love.
1 Andrew Lincoln’s Mark Is Positioned As A Martyr
What Mark does next (and how Juliet receives it) makes this one of Love Actually‘s story lines that aged very badly. In the scene, Mark shows up at Peter and Juliet’s house with a boombox and cue cards, which suggest that Juliet tell Peter it’s just carolers outside in order to give them a private moment. Mark then flips through a bunch of cue cards that meander through an apology, only to circle back to the fact that he loves Juliet. “To me, you are perfect,” Mark says silently. Somehow, all of this prompts Juliet to kiss Mark, solidifying the exchange as one of Love Actually‘s most cringe-worthy moments.
