23 Years Later, Love Actually's Most Romantic Line Is Still The Greatest Christmas Quote Ever
by Nina Starner · /FilmAdd SlashFilm on Google:
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It's an annual tradition for some people to watch "Love Actually," the 2003 Christmas "classic" written and directed by Richard Curtis that puts several seemingly separate love stories together to explain why love actually is all around. (That's the way the film phrases it, okay?) So, if there's one line that people remember from this movie, it's probably one of its famous confessions of love ... but let's back up.
"Love Actually" marries (pun intended) several vignettes about love in different stages (longstanding marriages, the newlywed phase, people flirting in workplaces, you name it), all of which eventually converge, and to call its cast star-studded is ... an understatement. Keira Knightley, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Martin Freeman, Bill Nighy, Andrew Lincoln, Laura Linney, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, and Rowan Atkinson, just to name a few, appear in various configurations throughout the film, whether Brodie-Sangster's youngster Sam is pining after one of his classmates, Linney's Sarah wants to pursue a relationship with a coworker despite family troubles, Rickman's Harry considers stepping out on his wife Karen (Thompson), Freeman's John meets his eventual girlfriend while working as a nude stand-in on a movie, and Grant's David, the Prime Minister, romances one of his junior staff members. (He also does a very silly dance that Grant was not keen on performing.)
Let's talk about the love triangle between Ejiofor, Knightley, and Lincoln to illustrate why the love found in "Love Actually" might not be healthy, actually. At the start of the film, Juliet and Peter (Knightley and Ejiofor) have a glorious wedding attended by several of the movie's other characters ... and throughout the festivities, Peter's best friend Mark (Lincoln) seems sort of miserable. Why? Well, he's in love with Juliet, which brings us to the quote itself.
The quote from Love Actually that may or may not stand the test of time
Here's the deal. Mark shows up at Peter and Juliet's door, tells Juliet to pretend that it's a group of carol singers, and unveils a series of notecards confessing his feelings — one of which says "To me, you are perfect." After he tells her, via notecard, that he loves her, he walks away ... and Juliet follows, gives him a kiss, and then runs home to her husband.
"To me, you are perfect" is a genuinely beautiful thing to say to someone you love. There's a problem, though. "To me, you are perfect" would be a lovely sentiment under any other circumstances than the ones depicted in this movie. Mark, that is your friend's wife! This sort of thing happens quite rampantly throughout the film, too, with this particular "Love Actually" scene being but one example.
Case in point: In a moment that Alan Rickman did not love filming, Harry buys a necklace for a woman who is, notably, not Karen (instead, it's for his walking HR violation of a secretary, Heike Makatsch's Mia). Similarly, David, ends up falling head over heels in love with his employee Natalie (Martine McCutcheon), and despite that being extremely inappropriate, I'll admit that they're cute together. Meanwhile, Colin Firth's Jamie has a whole storyline where he falls in love with a woman who does not speak any English — Lúcia Moniz's character Aurélia — and by the time they get engaged, they still can't functionally communicate. To be sure, "Love Actually" is chock full of unhealthy entanglements, and Juliet, Peter, and Mark are no exception.
... Sorry if you really love "Love Actually." It has its moments! Anyway, what are some other great quotes from this beloved holiday film?
Other memorable quotes from Love Actually
- "Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there: fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge — they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love actually is all around." — David
- "Hiya kids. Here is an important message from your Uncle Bill. Don't buy drugs. Become a pop star, and they give you them for free!" — Billy Mack
- "The trouble with being the Prime Minister's sister is, it does put your life into rather harsh perspective. What did my brother do today? He stood up and fought for his country. And what did I do? I made a papier maché lobster head." — Karen
- "Would you wait around to find out if it's just a necklace, or if it's sex and a necklace, or if, worst of all, it's a necklace and love? Would you stay, knowing life would always be a little bit worse? Or would you cut and run?" — Karen
- "Okay, Dad. Let's do it. Let's go get the sh** kicked out of us by love." — Sam
- "There was more than one lobster present at the birth of Jesus?" — Karen