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Title: Notting Hill
Review: Unbelievably, Hugh Grant turns down Julia Roberts and the next moment he's announcing this to a roomfull of friends. They, without too much effort, convince Grant that he's made a terrible mistake. Then, they all immediately pile into a car (including his friend's wife in a wheelchair) and race to Roberts's hotel, breaking every traffic rule along the way. Couldn't Grant have quietly come to a realization without involving his odd circle of friends? And couldn't he have gone to try to see Roberts without dragging them all with him? I think that's what an American leading man would have done. This was an obvious effort to "build up" the ending, using all of the supporting characters. It was needless and you can see right through the scriptwriter's intentions. Also, my apology to Rhys Ifans, but I think he actually hurt the film and should have been left on the cutting room floor. He made the film hard to take seriously, which I really wanted to do.
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