Last year, for talk of Hugh Grant, it was all about About A Boy. I loved the movie mainly because I loved watching Hugh Grant. I think he is the very best at romantic comedy and considering he is so good there, one of the best actors right now period. I just can't believe I missed Two Weeks Notice because I realized it is an infinitely better movie for the admiration of Hugh Grant.
Hugh Grant's greatness comes from his achievement in being interesting with his reaction to every little situation. In all the interviews co-stars give about him, they always mention his hard work in focusing on the very little things. Louise Brooks once said she could not stand to watch W.C. Fields on film instead of on stage because it didn't allow her to see him react to everything that was being done in the scene. For her, his greatness was in him responding to everything and editing didn't allow it and it doesn't allow us to revel in the achievement that Hugh Grant has in making every reaction interesting and unique. Two Weeks Notice comes the closest of any of his films for the main reason he does inhabit most of the shots in the film.
Also, there is a sense his comedy is best suited in this role of the absurdist business mogal who charms everyone by his power. He runs a fine line between mocking this ultra serious world and having a goofiness that is not understanding of it. What makes the film work even more is that Grant's opposite in this film is someone good at comedy in a role prolly best suited for her. In all of Sandra Bullock's comedies, she nicely conveyed panic and hostility without ever getting too serious. Here she gets the role of the ultra liberal, work ready woman to who has to deal with Grant's personality head on and nearly collapse in the process, but while still being funny.
The film is nicely structured to really stay close to just them interacting together. It doesn't hurt that the writing keeps up with good jokes that are always kept in check with nothing too big or desperate to be funny. It understands the film is best with just focus on what the actors can do. I've seen the movie 3 times in the last months. Good classic romantic comedy, but also the best vehicle so far for one of the best actors going in film today.
What? Are you serious?
Since when are we doing self-parodies?
I really like Hugh Grant... Love Actually is also great... but he doesnt do much
This is what happens when we all pitch in for a banner ad at eonline.com. I knew it was a bad idea.
I really hated every inch of this movie. What a bomb!
is it ok if i don't care about this movie?
haha CSG, u so crazy.
i'm beginning to think this content area thing is a really really really bad idea.
Someone just ban my IP. These are the worst replies yet. I don't think I could keep myself away from here. Seriously someone ban me now.
snap out of it, goatie.
Quote from: The Gold TrumpetSomeone just ban my IP. These are the worst replies yet. I don't think I could keep myself away from here. Seriously someone ban me now.
oh gt, come on. u take it too seriously.
Quote from: The Gold TrumpetSomeone just ban my IP. These are the worst replies yet. I don't think I could keep myself away from here. Seriously someone ban me now.
would u like to be spanked too?
seriously tho, what do u expect, u diss Scarlett Johansson and then make a short essay on Hugh Grant, it's funny is all.
Quote from: Pseriously tho, what do u expect, u diss Scarlett Johansson and then make a short essay on Hugh Grant, it's funny is all.
Why do you make my thoughts on Scarlett Johansson seem like I only insulted her without being fair or explaing myself? I don't care if you disagree with me, but your justification to laugh at what I said here is unfounded. You continually complain about list making destroying the board because they don't promote discussion when all you do is slyly attack people who disagree with you. I rarely see you discuss anything and when you do, you are quite capable of being smart but you seem unwilling to ever discuss anything.
People may think I'm taking this too serious. I don't care. I'm not isolating this one incident as reason to leave. This has been building up for a while. Also, I don't feel like taking out my dirty laundry and saying my grievances with everyone. They have their words and I have mine and my option to leave. That's that. I don't want the drag out fights that happened with every other recent banning. I just argued P because he did try to argue me. I'm hoping I'll be banned soon so I don't get guilted into replying to any other message saying I'm dumb for what I'm doing. So if any administrator can do the honors, please do so. I've already private messaged Xixax asking to be banned so you should feel able to do so.
you WANT to be banned because you have no willpower to just simply stay away? :?
also, hugh grant is charming, but he hardly has any range. its either likable scoundrel or unlikable scoundrel. how do you justify calling him one of the best actors around right now?
Yeah, come on GT. Stay with me, my love.
Addiction of any kind is tough. If this website is not available to me on easy access, I will stay away.
hugh grant's lazy eyes are his secret weapon.
GT, do you think the reactions would have been different if you used your GT persona instead of your 'alter ego'?
Quote from: MacGuffinGT, do you think the reactions would have been different if you used your GT persona instead of your 'alter ego'?
Like I said, this has been building up for a while. Also, I do think the reactions would have been the same. I don't care for the replies that said they just didn't like the movie. That's fine. All the ones that did annoy me came from people who knew who I was.
Also, modernage, I do think Hugh Grant has a lot of range. You must remember he started his career out in Shakespearean drama and did dramas on film in the beginning of his career. Only later in his career did he develop into a comedian actor primarily. Also, his style of acting may be sly to revealing that he has range. Unlike most actors today, he doesn't follow the teachings of Stanislavsky (sp?) who developed the Actors Studio method of the actor beginning from the inside of his character and working his way out. Its easy to notice the differences in roles with this method. What Hugh Grant does is begin from the outside (mannerisms) and work his way in. I think this is much harder to detect in how they are different because mannerisms are much more jumbled in differences to each person. Also, I would agree Hugh Grant has a general personality to him that is appealing to many people. I'd call this his signature.
In Two Weeks Notice I always felt like I was watching the product of a director and his actors. It's almost like they found a script, decided to produce it, and when the sets were built, the actors would recite the lines from memory as they were being filmed. It seems like the characters in the film were only there to further the story. And conversely the story was only there as a platform for the characters to play out their idiosyncracies.
It's like Woody Allen said, "Life doesn't imitate art, it imitates bad television." But in this case, it felt as if I was watching a bad sitcom sans the laugh track, only with better production values, rather than something that resembled real life. Hugh Grant is an actor who gets paid to act, and the same could be said of Sandra Bullock. Charlie Chaplin once said "All I need to make comedy is a park, a policeman and a pretty girl." And I feel like as formulaic as this film was, maybe it should've been boiled down to it's essential elements to find the true comedy in every situation, rather than something so scripted.
When George Wade says in the film "Is this belt tacky or beltacular?" only the words of noted critic Stanley Kauffman came to mind, "This is the worst moment in the film," and it truely was. Also, the ending of the film was just a way of saying 'the movies over, here are a list of the people who made it', like most movies, which was a real turn-off. When the lights came up after the film was over, I almost felt like walking out. I think noted critic Andrew Sarris said it best "I think [film's] an emotional medium, above all," and the main emotion I felt throughout Two Weeks Notice was nausea.
Quote from: themodernage02Charlie Chaplin once said "All I need to make comedy is a park, a policeman and a pretty girl." And I feel like as formulaic as this film was, maybe it should've been boiled down to it's essential elements to find the true comedy in every situation, rather than something so scripted.
Getting past modern day advances in the romantic comedy department from Chaplin to now, I really didn't feel the weight of the film getting away from the essentials of romantic comedy. The movie was directly focused on the two leading actors and the chemistry between them. Being so scripted....I guess you noticed it as that while I didn't. I'll agree some lines were dumb like the example you gave said, "Is this belt tacky of beltacular?", but the charm and appeal of this movie is the presence of Hugh Grant running around in almost every single scene of romantic comedy distress with Sandra Bullock and him being able to interact to all of it. I did call this "the best vehicle for Hugh Grant yet..." so I'm not putting that much greatness on the film as a film. The writing was good enough not to spoil Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock kept up.
Quote from: themodernage02When George Wade says in the film "Is this belt tacky or beltacular?" only the words of noted critic Stanley Kauffman came to mind, "This is the worst moment in the film," and it truely was.
I just did a quick check of Kauffmann reviewing Hugh Grant films and this film doesn't appear as one he reviewed so I don't know where you got that from.
it was never any secret that CSG was u, if u think back u'll remember that u announced him as ur new username cos GT was banned for a while as a joke, back in the day. i'm sorry u had to single out my comment out of the whole page full of others which didn't take u seriously. i should've elaborated that i hav no problem with the hugh grant praise, i also think he is charming, but to say that he has any more "range" than scarlett is undefendable. and anyway, this has nothing to do with that, i was just pointing out the irony of the situation, which u once again took wayyyyyyyyyy too far. also i thought it was funny that u randomly brought back CSG to talk about hugh grant.
dude, no one wants u to leave. believe it or not, despite ur handiclap in english, ppl actually like reading what u hav to say. me included. and what's this about me not discussing anything? that's not true at all. i just keep my points concise and easy to read.
i agree
gt, what you say about hugh makes sense. you've definitely made me want to see 2 weeks notice. it seemed kind of slight and cutesy. but i remember how quickly my preconceived notions were destroyed when i was charmed by both about a boy and miss congeniality, movies of what appears to be the same vein. i'll give it a try. dont give up on xixax
grant is interesting when he's playing bad guys now. I think we've seen all possible variations of confused guys.
Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock are the Tracy and Hepburn of our age. A great romantic comedy team. I especially enjoyed the scene when Bullock had to go really badly while they were stuck on the bridge. It was the best scene of its kind since Buffalo 66, when Vincent Gallo had to retain his water for a long bus ride.
how can they be the tracy/hepburn if they've only made one movie together? and they're not having an affair in real life?