I sat down with apprehension and watched Love Actually. Don’t worry, this isn’t starting a new trend for the site, I promised I’d watch this and I managed it without fast-forwarding once.

As you’ll know, this is written by Richard Curtis, who I’ve loathed ever since Four Weddings and a Funeral. Surprisingly, since this is the first time he’s directed his own script, it isn’t quite as clichéd and smug as usual, and he actually displays a visual talent in a couple of scenes. In fact, the first hour is moderately enjoyable if you’re willing to suspend your disbelief, and not wonder which political party has Hugh Grant as a leader, but it all goes horribly wrong in a nauseating ‘life-affirming’ last 20 minutes.

If you believe that love really is all you need, that it’s all around, and that it’s possible to attach philosophical depth to a Beach Boys song, then you’ll like this more than me and it’s out now on Region 2.

Mild Peril Rating:

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