# Notting Hill (1999)

### reviewed by
Akiva Gottlieb

    Notting Hill ***

    rated PG-13
    Universal Pictures
    starring Julia Roberts, Hugh Grant, Hugh Bonneville, Emma Chambers,
    James Dreyfus, Rhys Ifans, Tim McInnerny, Gina McKee, Richard McCabe,
    Alec Baldwin
    written by Richard Curtis
    directed by Roger Mitchell

The topic of celebrity is one of much debate in this entertainment-obsessed decade. Should celebrities recieve different treatment than "regular" people? Well, regardless of whether they should or shouldn't, they do, and Roger Mitchell's "Notting Hill" examines the relationship between the world's most famous actress and a "normal" bookshop owner in a section of London called Notting Hill.

Living in Los Angeles, I have had many celebrity encounters, and my experiences have usually been somehwat similar. When you first see the celebrity, you feel a rush that leaves you breathless for a couple seconds. As you talk to the person, the newness will wear off; the speed depending on how down-to-earth the celebrity is. However, when the person leaves, you end up regretting either asking too much or asking too little. Therefore, a romance between a celebrity and an everyman can be a whirlwind.

In "Notting Hill", William Thacker(Hugh Grant) first meets Anna Scott(Julia Roberts) when she visits his travel bookshop, arguably the least successful store in Notting Hill. A series of coincidences leads her to his flat, where they share a passionate kiss. William isn't sure what to make of the kiss, since Anna had, at first, come off as arrogant and selfish.

>From that moment on, their relationship has its ups and downs, as William learns that dating a celebrity is tough work. She loves him only for the fact that he is something ordinary in a hectic lifestyle. He loves her because, well...she's the world's biggest movie star.

"Notting Hill" is well-written for the most part(despite its predictability), but it is the acting that keeps everything real. Hugh Grant once again perfects his charming loser act, and Julia Roberts was born to play this role; a role that isn't much different than her real life. The supporting cast is wondrous, led by Rhys Ifans("Dancing At Lughnasa") as William's roommate and newcomer Emma Chambers as William's sister. The acting more than makes up for the very conventional wedding.

"Notting Hill" is the first film after Woody Allen's "Celebrity" to accurately examine the celebrity lifestyle, and it's a topic that deserves to be looked at in cinema, even if the film is being done by the people it is examining. I'd like to see a film that(a la "The Player") looks at celebrity life with sardonic wit and a cynical point of view. "Notting Hill" isn't that kind of film, but it's a charming, funny romantic-comedy.

a review by Akiva Gottlieb, The Teenage Movie Critic akiva@excite.com http://www.angelfire.com/mo/film

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