Notting Hill

Now who hadn’t had a celebrity crush when they were teenagers? Don’t  deny it! Didn’t you glue your eyes to the black and white TV set whenever your ‘hot’ crush of an actor/singer was on? Didn’t you buy Tiger Beat, or, if you were like me who had no money for imported mags, collected pictures of Scott Baio, Shawn Cassidy, Leif Garret, and the Menudo? Didn’t you also secretly wish that he would drop down from heaven and sweep you off your feet? In your dreams!

But seriously, have you seen your idols now? Let’s take a look at them, shall we?

Scott Baio...Hmmm, Papa-ble pa rin!

Shaun Cassidy..Gone is the soft, shiny hair!

Leif Garrett...Mug shot!!!

So, would you still have married your dream boy?

Movie Recall: Nottinghill (1999)

The Story: Every man's dream comes true for William Thacker, an unsuccessful Notting Hill bookstore owner, when Anna Scott, the world's most beautiful woman and best-liked actress, enters his shop. A little later, he still can't believe it himself, William runs into her again - this time spilling orange juice over her. Anna accepts his offer to change in his nearby apartment, and thanks him with a kiss, which seems to surprise her even more than him. Eventually, Anna and William get to know each other better over the months, but being together with the world's most wanted woman is not easy - neither around your closest friends, nor in front of the all-devouring press.

My Review: This is one of those romantic comedies that I would be willing to watch over and over again. It never fails to make me feel giddy. It never fails to make me laugh. It never fails to make me believe that we, mortals, can still reach for the stars.

Trivia:

During the birthday dinner scene, Anna Scott is asked how much she made on her last film, and her reply is $15 million. This is the amount she (Julia Roberts) was paid for her role in Notting Hill (1999).

The house with the blue door where William lives is real; it once belonged to Notting Hill screenwriter Richard Curtis. The house with the blue door used in the movie was sold the year following the release of the movie. The original blue door was removed and auctioned. The replacement door was painted black so that no one would recognize it. Soon however, someone later spray painted on the wall next to the door, "This is the Hollywood door." A different house was used when Thacker and Anna are practicing her lines on the roof.

The long shot where William Thacker walks through Notting Hill during summer, fall, winter, and spring was actually four different shots, all filmed the same day. Computer technology morphed Hugh Grant seamlessly from one shot to the next.