Which story lines would you cut? - Love Actually (2003) Discussion

[–] Alexej 10 years ago

The Milwaukee bar with a neon Budweiser sign.  Besides, the whole idea that Wisconsin girls would dress like Texans is just ridiculous. Especially around Christmas.

My name is Colin Creevey
and I’m a photoholic.

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[–] Jackie_Michele 10 years ago

Only Texans can wears Cowboy hats and boots?

I voted for Frenchie and Dia like a sex donkey on Xanax.

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[–] Alexej 10 years ago

It’s not that they can’t. It’s that they don’t. Especially not at Christmas. They would freeze to death. And I was not talking about their hats (though they are uncommon here, people definitely prefer Green Bay Packers hats all over Wisconsin), but their entire outfits. Too cold for that here in December.

And they wouldn’t have a Budweiser neon sign in a Milwaukee bar, because they would not get any customers in the city whose economy relies so much on making Miller Beer. Or at least did back then.

Even the director admits on his track how naive he was to place that scene in Wisconsin.

My name is Colin Creevey
and I’m a photoholic.

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[–] EerieForest 10 years ago

I'd cut all of the scenes with Laura Linney. I thought her scenes dragged and they bored me. Second choice is probably Colin Firth's storyline, because it just felt like it belonged to a completely separate movie. Maybe because of the setting? I'm not sure.

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[–] MirinF 10 years ago

I'd cut the dead wife storyline. What was the point of that anyway?

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[–] whoiamnow 10 years ago

Liam Neeson, Claudia Schiffer. It was too convenient and contrived for me.

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[–] MicaMicaela 10 years ago

I agree with OP. Martin Freeman/Joanna Page's story and Colin going to the US. The stories are not bad, but they are the least memorable ones.

"Creativity is intelligence having fun." - Albert Einstein 

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[–] louiseculmer 10 years ago

the irritating little boy and his stepfather. and the dopey girl who can't switch her phone off when having sex.

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[–] 10 years ago

[deleted]

[–] GreenFace21 10 years ago

I won't cut anything out. Every story has its own version of love. Cutting one means loosing a version, and that would reduce the movie's meaning of universal love. There's love between husband and wife, sister and brother, friend to friend, father and son, man and woman, man and women, men and woman, employer and employee, etc, etc, etc...

~ It's not a good critics, until you let others criticize your version on how it should be done ~

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[–] laurann83 9 years ago

I liked all of the story lines pretty good. I guess I would cut Colin - if I had to choose one. While I thought he had a couple funny lines in the beginning of the movie, it sort of ended there. It was just a collage of "It" American women (well "It" circa 2003) after that. Plus I hated Shannon Elizabeth and Denise Richards awful accents.

"Perhaps we can learn a lesson from this tragedy like don't steal and don't be disturbed."

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[–] andromache3 9 years ago

As everyone else said, the loser who goes to America to get laid. That was not about love.

The only other thing I can think of is, not to cut it but give a decent ending to, Laura Linney's character's story. There was no real closure. Give her a guy who wasn't as wimpy as the pretty boy she lusted after and there would have been a better story and ending to it.

Don't let anyone ever make you feel like you don't deserve what you want.

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[–] geode 9 years ago

I have only seen it cut. I saw it in Thailand and the scenes with Jon and Judy who act in porn films were cut from the version that showed here. My personal impression when I saw it was that there were too many stories even with one set already cut. I would have embellished the High Grant segments into a central, main plot line and perhaps have retained one more as a subplot.

Oh Lord, you gave them eyes but they cannot see...

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[–] Suzume-san 9 years ago

But that was the point of the film, wasn't it - a load of stories all different and all intertwined. All the characters are connected somehow and the plots all mesh towards the end. That's part of the fun. Do bear in mind that it's a comedy, not a drama. A Christmas fantasy.

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[–] louiseculmer 9 years ago

Quite a lot of it is not comedy. The man who's lost his wife, the woman who discovers her husband is unfaithful, the woman whose devotion to her mentally ill brother prevents her having a relationship with anyone, the man who is in love with his best friend's wife - none of these are in the least comic. The film is a mixture.

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[–] Suzume-san 9 years ago

Yes, I agree with you, but there isn't really a term for it. It's like Shakespeare's 'comedies' - not that I'm comparing this to Shakespeare! but you know what I mean - The Tempest, Measure for Measure, The Winter's Tale are classified as comedies, and certainly have plenty of comedy in them, but also elements that are not exactly laugh-out-loud. Jealousy, obsession, blackmail, revenge... But usually a happy ending.

Hmm. Light drama? Romance?

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[–] coulda_woulda_shoulda 9 years ago

I'd cut all but the Nighy, Freeman, Atkinson and Rickman roles entirely, re-write the script, and produce The Ultimate Non-Romantic Comedy.

I'd certainly keep the Christmas Is All Around recording gag/Moody Bluesy parody (which really is sh^t, but good sh^t) as it is the high point of the film -- 'cause after that baby, it's downhill all the way.

I did not say this. I am not here.

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