Love Actually (2003)

Count the love stories in Love Actually and you get about ten. Count the ones that would get somebody called into HR and you get three. The Prime Minister falls for the junior staffer who serves his biscuits. A married boss flirts with his secretary. A writer falls for his housekeeper without sharing a language. Then there’s the guy holding cue cards at his best friend’s front door, which is either the most romantic thing ever filmed or a very awkward Christmas for everyone. The movie wants you swooning too hard to notice. Some of it works. Bill Nighy as a washed-up rocker is a gift, and Emma Thompson gets one scene with a Joni Mitchell song that’s better acting than the rest of the movie combined. But 135 minutes split that many ways means most couples get a sketch, not a story. A 5.6 because the highs are high and the rest is wrapping paper. $314 says you rewatch it next December and complain about the cue cards the entire time.

What works: Bill Nighy’s rocker, Emma Thompson’s quiet heartbreak and a big, warm holiday mood that’s hard to fight.

What doesn’t: Too many couples for 135 minutes, and several of the romances only work if you ignore the power gap or the creep factor.

Who it’s for: People who rewatch it every December, and anyone who wants to start an argument at a holiday party.