Iconic lines, millions of rewatches, a legendary cast and a whole lotta love – as British romcom Love Actually celebrates its 20th anniversary, Arielle Steele reflects on why it became a cultural phenomenon
There is no other movie I have watched more times than Love Actually. The romantic comedy, featuring an ensemble cast with interlocking love stories set in London, has been a ritual watch with my husband every Christmas for the past decade. We switch on the tree lights, make some mulled wine and embark on an unofficial competition to discover who can recite word for word more of the lines said by ageing rock star Billy Mack (Bill Nighy). It’s such a joyful experience we sometimes do it twice.
But Love Actually is for life, not just for Christmas. At any time of year, when I ask my husband if he needs something from the supermarket, he responds: ‘I don’t want something I need, I want something I want.’ When we’re happy with a photograph someone has taken: ‘I look quite pretty.’ And sometimes, for no reason at all: ‘Eight is a lot of legs, David.’
Clearly, we’re not the only ones who know this movie like the backs of our hands. According to a special Diane Sawyer programme for ABC last year, The Laughter & Secrets Of Love Actually: 20 Years Later, audiences have spent a combined 4.6bn minutes watching the film since it came out in 2003. It’s the most searched-for Christmas movie in the UK, peaking every December. Each year, a slew of new articles are published, asking, ‘Which Love Actually character are you?’, or reigniting debates about the different storylines. Hugh Grant’s legendary dance scene has been recreated on TikTok thousands of times. So why, when so many festive movies end up collecting dust, did this become such a cultural phenomenon?
Of course, there’s something to say for the glittering cast of great actors, including Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, the late Alan Rickman, Keira Knightley, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Andrew Lincoln… the list goes on. It’s a smorgasbord of talent, but many films with star-studded casts still fall flat – so we have to come back to the Midas touch of director and screenwriter Richard Curtis, who was famously inspired by the heartfelt reunions in Heathrow Airport (of which real-life scenes open and close the movie).
As well as his expert knack for slightly awkward, dry British humour, Curtis is known for his genuine, unflinching fascination with love (think ‘I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy…’ in Notting Hill) – and it shines through every scene.
Each storyline bears witness to the different ways love appears in our lives: between parents and children, siblings and friends. There’s unrequited love, unconditional love and unexpected love.
Laura Linney (who plays Sarah, torn between her office crush and her brother with se
