If you haven’t heard that Love Actually is returning, then I’m sorry, you’re not a true fan. For me personally, this news has kicked back to life my unhealthy obsession of this Christmas delight which I shamelessly watch all year round. Rejoice! 14 years after the iconic movie was released, director Richard Curtis is creating a 10-minute mini-sequel in aid of Comic Relief, quite imaginatively named ‘Comic Relief Actually’.
What will we learn in this quick catch up with the characters? Who will be back on the screen and whose stories will be left in the past? Many people pointed out that so soon after Alan Rickman’s tragic death, such a reunion is insensitive and that his absence will be an unavoidable void in the film. Emma Thompson, who played his wife in the movie, will not be featured in the sequel with the director announcing that “she just can’t do it”. But, there’s still a big host of stars who will be returning including; Hugh Grant (swoon), Colin Firth (swoon), Liam Neeson (bigger swoon), as well as Keira Knightley, Bill Nighy and Rowan Atkinson amongst others.
The scriptwriter has been asking for ideas for the plot, with many people urging that we see Rowan Atkinson’s character find some of love of his own at that till where he so artfully sprinkles the entire contents of a woodland floor into a decorative bag. Sadly though, scriptwriter Freud confirmed that this would be off the cards. So this begs the question, what can we expect to happen?
When we last left them, there were a lot of loose ends. Jamie and Aurelia (Firth and his house keeper) had just got engaged after he learnt some somewhat sketchy Portuguese in order to confess his love for her in the restaurant where she worked. (Unfortunately this was translated by most of the village as him wanting to murder her). Did they get their happy ending? Will Jamie’s Portuguese have improved? I certainly hope so. 14 years down the line, I’m also hoping they have half a dozen beautiful bilingual babies and that Jamie made up with his niece who professed ‘I hate Uncle Jamie!’ after his hasty exit that Christmas.
What about David the Prime Minister and his assistant Natalie? Being caught kissing at the local Christmas concert must have been a PR nightmare, did he ever manage to live it down?
As for young Sam, who ran after his true love at the airport and was rewarded by a small peck on the cheek, did their romance blossom in the years that followed? I personally am hoping that Joanna became a teen pop sensation rivalled only by the success of Justin Bieber. But would she have stayed with Sam? Or left him for another BRIT award nominee like James Bay with his dreamy flowy locks?
Billy Mack aka Bill Nighy, the washed-up pop star with an unlikely comeback, most likely became one of the judges on The Voice. He’s the equivalent of Tom Jones in that all the mums want to be on his team and all the young people find him a bit irrelevant. I hope he’s still best pals with his faithful manager though and that their bromance continues to blossom.
The saddest story of them all, however, is the Mark, Peter and Juliet love triangle. Poor Mark poured his heart out on Juliet’s doorstep after she married his best friend. She somewhat misleadingly gave him a quick snog on the street and then left him to get back to marital bliss. Did anything ever develop between them, and did poor Mark ever get over Juliet, or continue to watch the slightly creepy wedding video he shot that is solely of her on repeat whilst crying into his bowl of ice cream?
So many questions! I’m sure many will be left unanswered as the sequel is very mini indeed, but so long as the infamous turtle necks make a comeback, I won’t feel cheated out of my ten minutes of heaven watching my favourite characters being brought back to life for a very, very good cause. Bring on March 24th!
Edited by Susan Akyeampong
Sources:
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