The original version of this article was written by Jess Bacon and published on 22 May 2024.
In 2003, Richard Curtis revolutionised the festive film landscape with the romantic comedy Love Actually. With a cast like no other, Curtis brought together some of Britain’s greatest actors to tell ten interlinked love stories in the countdown to Christmas.
Set and filmed predominantly in London, Love Actually boasts a staggering ensemble of household names, including Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Bill Nighy, Alan Rickman, Liam Neeson, Rowan Atkinson, Keira Knightley, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Andrew Lincoln and Martin Freeman. There are even cameos from British TV royalty Ant and Dec and Michael Parkinson. Alongside this, notable American stars make an appearance, such as Billy Bob Thornton as the US President and Laura Linney as the hopeless romantic Sarah.
Upon release, Love Actually received mixed reactions from critics, but on a modest budget of $40 million, it grossed over $248 million at the worldwide box office and remained in the top ten for five weeks. For many, Thompson’s performance as Karen remains the most poignant moment of the film, but Bill Nighy’s BAFTA-winning turn as washed-up rockstar Billy Mack is just as great. There are many similar titles to enjoy that will offer the same warmth, romance and hope—including the short charity sequel, Red Nose Day Actually. Here are ten of the best, in no particular order.
Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
Four Weddings and a Funeral is the Richard Curtis movie where it all began, so if you’re a fan of Love Actually and want to see the blueprint for it, or how Curtis and Hugh Grant began their long collaboration, it’s one you’ll not want to miss.
It’s worth noting that there are some heavier themes here—so if you don’t appreciate the more dramatic chapters of Love Actually, like the ones featuring Emma Thompson and Laura Linney’s characters, it might not be for you.
Four Weddings is a classic for many reasons: introducing Grant to American audiences, the ingenious screenplay (which earned Curtis his first and only Oscar nomination), but most importantly, John Hannah’s recitation of Auden’s Funeral Blues—one of the great tearjerker moments in cinema.
The Holiday (2006)
If you’re a fan of Love Actually’s clash of British and American sensibilities around Christmastime, The Holiday is a movie you’ll be putting under your tree for the rest of your life.
The story follows two couples who meet serendipitously after an English writer (Kate Winslet) and a Hollywood producer (Cameron Diaz) decide to swap homes over the festive season. Jack Black and Jude Law play the unlikely fellas. It’s written and directed by the great Nancy Meyers, so if you like Meyers’s later work, in particular (think Something’s Gotta Give or It’s Complicated), it’ll feel like a cosy blanket.
Notting Hill (1999)
While we’re on the subject of unlikely lads, Richard Curtis, British classics, and rom coms in general, you could make an argument that Notting Hill is the best to ever do it. Love Actually fans, and also fans of The Holiday, will love the spark between Hugh Grant’s bumbling Englishman and Julia Roberts’ movie star here. The actress’s smile has never been more dazzling.
Bonus points for the goofy supporting players (another key Love Actually theme), not least Rhys Ifans’ iconic performance as Spike and Hugh Bonneville as Grant’s best bud.
Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)
Still looking for another movie in which Hugh Grant plays the delightfully bumbling love interest of an American actress (if one where the American, Renée Zellweger, is also playing an English person)? Look no further than Bridget Jones’s Diary and its subsequent sequels. Fans of Love Actually’s humour and goofy romance will feel right at home here, as will fans of Colin Firth, who rounds out the movie’s central love triangle.
The first film became a phenomenon to the point that, now over 20 years on, the character and Zellweger’s performance as her are both still with us. For context, that’s almost as lasting as Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine.
Valentine’s Day (2010)
If you liked Love Actually for its blend of seasonal comedy, ensemble casting and interlinked storylines, you might enjoy this trilogy of movies from rom-com legend Garry Marshall. Taking place on Hallmark’s favourite holiday, the cast features Academy Award winners Jamie Foxx, Shirley MacLaine, Julia Roberts and Kathy Bates alongside romantic favourites like Patrick Dempsey and Taylor Lautner. Even Bradley Cooper appears.
New Year’s Eve, Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day are about as close as you can get to movie critic kryptonite (not one has a score higher than 17% on Rotten Tomatoes), but Valentine’s is easily the best of the bunch.
About Time (2013)
A more recent movie to succeed with the classic mix of British man (though played here by an Irish one) and American woman is About Time. This is a movie for any fan of Love Actually who likes the idea of blending a little science fiction and fantasy into the mix—think movies like The Time Traveller’s Wife.
The story follows Tim Lake (Gleeson), who has inherited the ability to travel through time and uses it to pursue his love interest—and yes, some aspects of that have not aged the best. Luckily, the movie is mostly very charming and, best of all, it features the great Rachel McAdams—so if you are a fan of The Notebook, it’s one you’ll want to see.
Crazy Stupid Love (2011)
Crazy Stupid Love is another of the more recent entries on this list and the least British-inflected so far. Fans of Love Actually’s humour will definitely enjoy it, but it’s probably a little more on the mature audience side of things. Depending on the viewer, it’s perhaps not the first thing to throw on as the aunties and uncles are sitting around digesting their turkey and stuffing…
What it does have is chemistry to beat the band, especially between celeb BFFs Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. If you liked what the two of them got up to five years later in La La Land, you’ll want to see their first time together on screen.
Mamma Mia! (2008)
If you liked the iconic musical moments in Love Actually or are in any way a fan of ABBA or Meryl Streep, you’ll adore Mamma Mia! and even its sequel, Here We Go Again. The movie doesn’t feature a love triangle, like in Bridget Jones, but a love square: with Meryl being wooed by Actually alumni Colin Firth as well as fan favourites Pierce Brosnan and Stellan Skarsgård—three old flames looking to rekindle.
All give lovely performances, even if none of the lads can quite match Streep and—playing her, and possibly one of their daughters—Amanda Seyfried’s voice. But hey, good on them for trying.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)
Whether or not this list inspired you to watch the similarly Aegean-sea-centric Mamma Mia!, if you’re a fan of Love Actually’s ensemble fun, you’ll love My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Despite featuring John Corbett (you might know him as Aidan, Carrie’s golden retriever boyfriend in Sex and the City), MBFGW can’t boast a roll call of familiar faces, but there are plenty of new ones to meet and fall in love with.
As for the plot… Well, it’s exactly what it says on the tin!
The Family Stone (2005)
The Family Stone rounds out our list as another festive favourite that, like Love Actually, was under-appreciated upon release. Starring Jennifer Aniston as a buttoned-up fiancée who must learn to adapt to her partner’s more free-spirited clan, it’s a holiday movie that delivers all the reliable tropes: love, family, and our ability to change our entire personality over the course of 48 hours… Alas, if only.
This is one for fans of Love Actually’s slightly gooey but ultimately undeniable appreciation for our tendency to all get a bit loved up around Christmas.
