In the twenty years since its initial release, Love Actually has established itself as a staple of the holiday season.
For millions of Brits, no Christmas would be complete without a screening of the film, which stars Hugh Grant as the prime minister in love with his secretary and Billy Nighy as an aging rocker who will do almost anything for one last chance at the big party.
But British film censors were less keen on 'reruns' of a film, with one claiming they lost the will to live while watching it.
The criticism, which will be music to the ears of the British who could never stomach the film, is included in the files that are being made public for the first time.
Staff at the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) could not resist sharing their concerns about the film when they were asked to advise on its classification in 2003.
The BBFC team believed that the film's writer and director, Richard Curtis, had simply reworked the plots of his previous films Four Weddings and A Funeral Notting Hill and Bridget Jones's Diary.
One reviewer wrote: 'At its core it's a story of people trying to find love, but Curtis has complicated things by spreading this rather thin storyline among several characters who are all essentially doing the same thing'
The BBFC team believed that the film's writer and director, Richard Curtis, had simply reworked the plots of his previous films Four Weddings and A Funeral Notting Hill and Bridget Jones's Diary.
One wrote: 'From the Richard Curtis school of romcom writing comes this rather long rehash of everything you've seen in Four Weddings (sic), Notting Hill and Bridget Jones, although it sounds a bit like today's Chelsea Bee the football team, director Curtis seems to have had difficulty deciding which of his all-star cast to play and in what position.'
The reviewer said the film's stellar cast, which also included Keira Knightley, Dame Emma Thompson and the late Alan Rickman, was wasted in a series of subplots that were barely distinguishable from each other.
They wrote, “At its core it's a story of people trying to find love, but Curtis has complicated things by spreading this rather thin storyline among several characters who are all essentially doing the same thing.”
They added: 'The problem is that by the time each character's personal 'conflict' is resolved (and in some cases remains unresolved) two and a half hours have passed, during which the will to live gradually evaporates. Overall, quite disappointing and not something I personally would want to see again anytime soon.”
A second reviewer felt that Curtis should have called his film Four Notting Hills and A Diary because it was so derivative of his other work.
They also disdained key storylines, including the moment when an author, played by Colin Firth, must rescue his novel, which he produced on a typewriter, from a nearby lake.
Hugh Grant is actually in love. A second reviewer thought Curtis should have called his film Four Notting Hills and A Diary because it was so derivative of his other work
One reviewer speculated whether much of the storyline involving the married man, played by Rickman, cheating on his wife, played by Dame Emma, 'had ended up on the cutting floor'
The reviewer wrote: 'I have no doubt the film will make a lot of money from its heavily hyped pre-Xmas (sic) release, but for me the law of diminishing returns has taken its revenge. The structure is both two-dimensional and overly ambitious: multiple parts spread the interest too thinly, while everyone goes through the expected steps in a thoroughly contrived way. Irritating incongruities (what kind of idiot types his book outside on an old-fashioned typewriter on a windy day with no copies!).
The same reviewer also speculated whether much of the storyline involving the married man, played by Rickman, cheating on his wife, played by Dame Emma, ”had ended up on the cutting floor.”
They found the tense reunion between husband and wife in the final scene of the film, which takes place at an airport, particularly confusing.
They wrote: 'Where does Alan Rickman ultimately come from?'
Although the reviewer felt that the film was “not half as good as it should be”, they admitted that they did laugh at times and noted: “Curtis knows how to make you laugh and the film made me smile and laugh out loud every now and then, so that's not possible. be all bad.”
The reviewers all agreed that the film should be given a 15 certificate due to its strong language, comedic references to sex and drugs and “a tired joke” involving two porn stars played by Martin Freeman and Joanna Page who fall in love with each other. .
Love Actually is one of the most successful rom-coms of all time, grossing over $240 million at the box office.