LOVE Actually was one of the first modern Christmas movies to switch out Santa in favour of romance.
However, long-time fans of the film, as well as some of the actors who feature in it, have pointed out some issues with the intertwining plots.
While the film as remained a Christmas classic both in the UK and abroad, there are some aspects which have left viewers scratching their heads over the years.
Fans have pointed out logistical errors as well as plot lines which have not aged too well since the movie’s 2003 release.
Record low
One of the plot line’s follows the life of Alan Rickman’s character Harry and his wife Karen, played by Emma Thompson.
Anyone who has seen Love Actually is all too aware of the devastating scene involving a Joni Mitchell CD.
Harry gifts it to his wife Emma, an avid fan of the singer, who then realises that the expensive necklace he has been hiding must be for another woman.
However, viewers were quick to point out that Karen, who is describes herself as having a “true love” for Joni Mitchell, would likely already own the record.
This makes Harry’s gift all the more devastating for his heartbroken wife.
Phone-y friend
And while Karen may have one of the saddest relationships in the film, some viewers have pointed out she’s not exactly innocent herself.
At the beginning of the film, we see a quick phone call between Karen and her close friend Daniel, played by Liam Neeson.
Daniel, who has just lost his wife, rings his his friend for support but she swiftly ends the conversation as she has to attend to her children.
The busy mum finishes the phone call by saying: “It doesn’t mean I’m not terribly concerned that your wife just died.”
This is all well and good, after all people can’t be expected to drop everything all the time for their loved ones.
That is until we learn that this conversation takes place the morning of Daniel’s wife’s funeral.
While viewers later see Karen lend a sympathetic ear as Daniel struggles with how to help his stepson Sam, her sympathy doesn’t last long.
A couple of scenes later, she tells Daniel: “No-one will shag you if you cry all the time.”
“This is my favorite part of Love Actually, when Liam Neeson is feeling sad about his dead wife and his best friend Emma Thompson tells him to get over it,” wrote one X user.
The UK's highest-grossing Christmas movies of all time
1. The Grinch (2018) – £424,000,000
2. Home Alone (1990) – £376,000,000
3. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) – £283,000,000
4. Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (2000) – £273,000,000
5. A Christmas Carol (2009) – £256,000,000
6. The Polar Express (2004) – £250,000,000
7. Elf (2003) – £180,000,000
8. The Holiday (2006) – £162,000,000
9. The Santa Clause (1994) – £150,000,000
10. The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018) – £137,000,000
Figures accurate as of November 2024
Prime opportunity missed
And Karen’s brother David, played by Hugh Grant, also experiences his own love story shortly after taking office as the Prime Minister.
While being introduced to the staff at Number 10, he instantly falls for quirky Natalie from “the dodgy end of Wandsworth.”
So when it comes time for his big romantic gesture, David heads to the area, knocking on doors until he finds his employee.
However, as Hugh Grant has pointed out, the Prime Minister is probably one of the most qualified people in the country to find a member of the public’s address, especially if they’ve worked for him.
“You watch these things and a lot of it is utterly preposterous,” he said in an interview with Vanity Fair.
“Of course the Prime Minister would have some civil servant who could find out exactly where she lived on the street, as many people have pointed out.”
As well as this, it seems highly unlikely that the PM would be allowed to wander the streets with limited security detail on a whim.
Catch flights and feelings
And speaking of security risks, the young Sam, played by Thomas Brodie-Sangster, makes an equally unlikely romantic gesture towards the end of the film.
Not wanting his crush Joanna to return to the States without knowing how he feels about her, he persuades his step-dad to drive him to Heathrow airport.
Also, his step-dad reveals he “knows a shortcut” to the airport, which a lot of Londoners would likely debate.
However, the pair don’t manage to catch Joanna before her family have almost reached the gate so Daniel encourages his step-son to sneak past security.
Sam runs past the queue and even leaps over a worker as he passes through the metal detector.
While Heathrow security give him a good chase, the simple slap on the wrist he gets as a results seems highly unlikely in a post-9/11 world.
For a film that directly addresses the terrorist attack in its opening monologue, the blunder is all the more glaring.
“The ending of Love Actually is RIDICULOUS. The boy running through the airport would be rugby tackled by police and arrested for terrorism,” pointed out one X user.
Love language…barrier
Colin Firth’s Jamie is yet another prominent character in the film, who jets away to the French countryside to mend his broken heart after walking in on his girlfriend and brother in bed together.
He uses the alone time to work on his novel, a crime thriller, accompanied only by Portuguese cleaner Aurelia, played by Lucia Moniz.
While Jamie can manage a handful of French, he has no Portuguese while Lucia doesn’t speak a word of English.
This leads the pair to communicate, bond, and eventually fall in love through hand gestures and lots of nodding.
After parting ways, Jamie returns to London and immediately enrolls in language classes.
He then flies to Portugal and tracks Lucia down at her job as a waitress, stopping by her family home along the way.
This grand romantic gesture makes you question how a writer had the capacity to track down his love interest abroad while the Prime Minister struggled to do when given the street address.
The author then proposes to his former housekeeper, despite having only shared a handful of sentences with her.
“Colin Firth in Love Actually will marry the Portuguese housekeeper he had two half conversations with within a couple weeks,” wrote one confused X user.
Wrong cue
And perhaps the most iconic scene from the ensemble film is Andrew Lincoln’s Mark declaring his love for his best friend’s wife Juliet, played by Keira Knightley.
While the actress spoke about how creepy she found the concept in an interview with the Today Show, viewers pointed out a glaring issue with Mark’s plan.
Many fans of the movie have pondered what would’ve happened if Juliet’s husband was the one to answer the door.
“Thinking about what Andrew Lincoln would’ve done if Keira Knightley’s husband would’ve opened the door in Love Actually,” wrote one X user.
“In case the husband answered the door instead of Keira Knightley, the guy in Love Actually also had a card that said: ‘Hi dude! Good to see you! Got to head home now but thought I’d pop by to say hey,'” said another person.
Keira also commented on the close proximity of the already questionable move.
“It is creepy, I mean, it’s sweet but it is kind of creepy,” Keira said as she shared her thoughts on the gesture.
“It’s a little bit stalkery and also my husband is sitting just behind me.”
It’s also worth noting Mark recorded the entire wedding, zooming in on Juliet the entire time, but for some reason never thought his friends would ask to see the footage of their own nuptials.
“
