I know I’ve reviewed this before, but humor me with a little thought experiment. Let’s say ’Love Actually’ has a different score. I’m not just talking about Mariah Carey’s insufferable “All I Want for Christmas is You”, nor am i referring to Billy Mack’s “Christmas is all Around” satirical song that’s actually quite good for what it is. I mean the music behind what you see. It’s amazing. And it elevates this movie to higher levels that it rightfully should. ‘Love Actually’ has all the earmarks of a Hallmark Christmas movie. The sentiment, the stupidity, and the shallow characters. And honestly, it’s only NOT that because every famous actor in it needed a paycheck. Make no mistake; this film is HOT GARBAGE! It’s trite, mysognostic, emotionally manipulative bullshit, but it’s so god damn sure of itself and what it is that it’s almost impossible to hate. And so I return to it every year because at the end of the day I’d rather be entertained by a silly, earnest Christmas movie than annoyed by self-deluded pretension. Rating: B+ #concisereviews