Film Club goes mainstream

We don't only do arty-farty foreign or silent films. Last night we sat and thoroughly enjoyed the 1999 rom-com "Notting Hill".

I strongly suspect that a vast majority of readers will have already seen this one (as had Shazzerooneypoos), but Mrs The Millbrooker and I were Notting Hill virgins.

The plot is an implausible piece of bunkum and the acting is never challenging (it's Hugh Grant for chrissakes, so what could we expect?) Rhy Ifans, though was a comic revelation as Spike, the lodger from hell.

This would be a very easy film to target for all sorts of negative criticism, but to do so would miss the point completely. It's fun; it's very well scripted with a few superb one-liners. The pacing is perfect and Julia Roberts is, of course, easy on the eye.

At some point during the viewing every one of us laughed out loud at a ridiculous set-piece or bit of word play. If you haven't already seen it, approach this one with brain in neutral and just enjoy a gentle romantic comedy with no hidden extras. Great stuff.