Wolff rating: NOT BAD
Plot summary: Airly, light romance about a bookshop owner on the aforementioned hill and a beautiful movie star.
Biased, pithy comments: Romances are all about charm and believability. The woman must appeal to all men, and the man must be charming to sweep the women in the audience off their feet, and their romance has to smolder and burn. As such, both Julia ``Pretty Woman'' Roberts and Hugh ``I got caught with a hooker'' Grant are ideal for their roles, except that Roberts comes off a little cool---pretty, yes, but not vibrantly alive like she has been. The dialog is sometimes clever, the supporting cast are working so hard you can almost see them sweat little beads of British charm, and the concept is fun. What sort of killed it for me, though, was the editing---with long, pregnant pauses and no real plot twist, it strains at lasting over two hours. The final manic bit at the end seems gratuitous, but I admit to enjoying myself. (I also admit to being a romantic sap at heart, too, so your mileage will definitely vary.) Disposable diverting entertainment, but nothing in it exactly that sticks with you.
Other Notes: I lied. The one line from the fruitarian has stuck with me, but otherwise it was forgettable.
How many times I have seen it: x1
Starring: Julia Roberts, Hugh Grant, Richard McCabe, Rhys Ifans, James Dreyfus.
Directed by: Roger Michell