Guilty Pleasures Week: Richard Curtis Collection

If Richard Curtis wrote it, I probably love it. And Hugh Grant and Colin Firth are probably in it, which are added bonuses. Here are my Curtis classics (hey, I left a couple off the list):


The Tall Guy (1989)
A brilliant mocking of all things Andrew Lloyd Webber, featuring a musical of The Elephant Man. I’ve had a thing for Jeff Goldblum since The Fly. (The Fly, not The Big Chill or Transylvania 6-5000? Yes, The Fly. His vulnerability, I guess. And he’s tall and dark-haired and intelligent and self-deprecating.) The Tall Guy is funny, sweet, and includes my favorite film sex scene, with Jeff Goldblum and Emma Thompson; all bedrooms should be destroyed that completely the first time.


Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
My first real introduction to the greatest head of hair in Hollywood (although I did enjoy Hugh’s Chopin to Judy Davis’ George Sand in Impromptu). Light, romantic, funny, sad. Hugh exudes charm (and great hair) in every scene, and the rest of the characters are perfect. Even Andie McDowell’s wooden line readings in the final scene can’t ruin Four Weddings and a Funeral for me (damn, I wish I had her hair). The WE network seems to be required by the FCC to broadcast Four Weddings and a Funeral at least twice each weekend, so I can pretty much pick up during any of the weddings and watch through to the rainstorm and Elton John's cover of "Going to the Chapel."


Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)
It’s rare to love the book and the movie; this is one of those rare times. As I mentioned in a recent weekend wrap-up, I love my Bridget. I’ve seen it so many times I can tell you how many minutes in for Hugh Grant’s big entrance and that look Colin Firth gives at the birthday party. It’s funny, it’s romantic, it’s a little too parallel with my life at times. I can repeat the dialog, complete with facial expressions and arm movements. I can even tell you what tunes are playing in the background during crucial scenes (best use of a song: Shelby Lynne’s “Dreamsome” during the birthday party dinner).


Love Actually (2003)
Richard Curtis + Hugh Grant + Colin Firth = romantic gold. Every time. But Love Actually goes further, bringing in Liam Neeson and several beautiful boys we’ve never really seen before (yeah, the women are gorgeous, too, but I’m writing this post). Again, it’s light and romantic and sweet — and Hugh Grant picks the chick with meat on her bones. Emma Thompson should have been nominated for her scene in the bedroom after she opens her Christmas gift; rips my heart out every time. Love Actually leaves me wanting to spend Christmas in London. If I were Richard Curtis, I would have cut the storyline with the guy going to Wisconsin; the rest of the vignettes I love.

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