Love Actually
It’s Christmas time! And what better way to celebrate than to watch Love Actually on a loop everyday non-stop until Christmas? Yes that’s right — that’s my tradition and I’m sticking with it.
But not necessarily for the reasons that are apparent.
Actually there are two reasons I watch this movie.
Airports. And Love.
Airports
I was really lucky as a child; my family got to travel as a result of my dad’s job. And as a result of that, I got to be in lots and lots of airports.
I loooove airports. Always have. As far back as I can remember. And it’s for exactly the same reason Hugh Grant’s character talks about, at the start of Love Actually. I love the excitement and hub-bub of arriving at an airport. And I particularly enjoy seeing other people arrive and greet each other.
Airports hold a special place in my heart because I connect them with the joy and happiness I felt with my family growing up when we would travel on vacation.
Love
While many of the romantic stories in this movie are wonderful, cute, and sweet, that’s not the kind of Love I’m talking about. Once again I’m talking about the love that Hugh Grant’s character talks about at the beginning of the movie.
The kind that’s all around us, all the time. The kind that maybe isn’t newsworthy, or Instagram-pretty, or for Facebook/Metaverse (what are they called now?). Fathers and sons, mothers and daughters and all the rest.
The second reason I watch this movie is because this movie is so full of cheesy, witty, silly, subtle humour. And my dad used to fill our home and our lives with his humour. He’d laugh in Japanese airports, Singaporean airports, Zimbabwean airports and all kinds of airports in between. My dad was the funniest man I knew and the humour in this movie makes me guffaw the way my dad used to make me laugh. And to me — that was Love.
Love Actually isn’t just about the sweet romances. For me, it’s a reminder of the happiness and joy I feel around Christmas because Christmas was always a happy time with my family.
When I really look for it, at Christmas, I do find love all around. It’s in the way I see people start to relax, sit around, tell a joke, share a funny story or memory, or smile. Not just with their friends or loved ones. But with strangers too.
This Christmas I wish you all joy, happiness and love. I hope you find love all around you.
