Love Actually is all around

Love Actually gets your romantic juices flowing right from the start when the film opens with a washed up British rock star (Billy Nighy) singing a remade version of his once number one hit, "Love is All Around." It is impossible not to hum along and sway back and forth to the syrupy lyrics as Nighy closes his eyes, snaps his fingers, and croons, "I feel it in my fingers, I feel it in my to-oes."

It's Christmas time in the UK, and as Billy Mack says after substituting the word "Christmas" for "Love" in his last shameless attempt at a comeback, "Christmas is for people with someone they love in their lives." With the sappy song seeping into your veins, it seems that love is all around as the new British comedy, Love Actually finds it in all the nooks and crannies of life and shows that romance buds in the most unsuspecting places.

The Prime Minister (Hugh Grant) finds himself unwillingly smitten by his refreshingly genuine secretary (Martine McCutcheon). An adorable eleven year old boy (Thomas Sangster) is in the unbearable throws of the "total agony of being in love" when he falls for the most popular girl in school. A comfortable mother (Emma Thompson) is forced to question her married life when she suspects her husband is having an affair. An enthusiastically obnoxious caterer (Kris Marshall) decides his love life has failed because English girls are simply too "stuck up" and heads to America where he is sure he will get a girlfriend "instantly."

The list of interwoven tales of love and rejection goes on as this fresh montage of romantic comedy takes the audience on a journey through the lives of eight loosely connected couples in search of love, which, according to the film, "actually is all around." Discovering love in all of its different forms and surprising locations leaves you feeling it from the tips of your fingers all the way down through your toes, and even ringing in your ears as Billy Mack's annoyingly catchy song is bound to get stuck in your head.

Celebrated British director Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, Mr. Bean, Bridget Jone's Diary) brilliantly combines every possible romantic comedy plotline to come up with an original story that will satiate even the cynic's appetite for romance. The film, echoing its namesake, experiences a multifaceted array of emotion as it guides the audience through the inevitable heartbreak, awkwardness, betrayal, humor, and hopeful elation that go hand in had with being in love. Curtis has created a fool proof formula for success with a well timed release (Christmas is just around the corner), witty dialogue, an invigorating and uplifting story, and an all star cast.

Relying on his past success stories, Curtis unites some of his favorite performers. We get a sense of d?©j?  vu with Hugh Grant (Four Weddings, Notting Hill, Bridget Jones) as the dashingly handsome and sweetly bumbling Prime Minister, Colin Firth (Bridget Jones) as the heartbroken writer who falls for his Portuguese house maid and Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) as the hilariously irritating department store salesman. The stellar cast in rounded off as these Curtis regulars are accompanied by big names including young British bombshell Keira Knightley (Pirates of the Carribean), Emma Thompson (Sense and Sensibility), Alan Rickman (Harry Potter), and even an appearance by Billy Bob Thorton as the US President.

It may seem unlikely that Curtis could possibly pull off having eight entirely different subplots without getting either very confusing or falling into the trap of gift wrapping a cute formula ending where everything comes together just right. However, the film manages to give each character a sufficient arc and resolution while maintaining his or her respective autonomy. The characters and subplots are also all tied together just enough to provide a coherent overall storyline without making the relationships heavy handed and entirely unbelievable. Using subtle and seamless transitions, each story enhances, rather than takes away from the others.

Love Actually sends a cheesy, but genuine message. It is easy to get caught up in the disappointments of everyday life, especially when we are constantly bombarded by hostile images of war and hate at what feels like every turn. Whether it is on the playground, in politics, at work, across cultures, or right in front of your face this film makes a point of reminding us to look around, and realize that love actually is all around. And with the help of some very endearing plotlines, talented direction and a star studded cast, and a sappy theme song, you'll be feeling it in your fingers and even way down in your to-oes!