Line #43 Film/NottingHill


1	[[quoteright:305:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/notting_hill_1999_poster.jpeg]]
2
3	->''"I live in Notting Hill. You live in Beverly Hills. Everyone in the world knows who you are. My mother has trouble remembering my name."''
4	-->-- '''William'''
5
6	A 1999 RomanticComedy written by Creator/RichardCurtis, directed by Roger Michell, and starring Creator/JuliaRoberts and Creator/HughGrant as the two leads. Creator/RhysIfans, Creator/HughBonneville, Creator/GinaMcKee, Creator/EmmaChambers, and Creator/TimMcInnerny costar.
7
8	Anna Scott (Roberts) is a staggeringly successful and internationally famous movie star who happens to meet travel bookstore owner William Thacker (Grant) in the eponymous London neighborhood and enters into a somewhat rocky relationship with him. They want to be together, but her megastardom constantly intrudes on their happiness. Along their road to love, there’s plenty of quirk and British accents to add a bit of fun and flavor.
9
10	The film is notable for taking several shots at show business, in particular how the industry treats its female stars.
11
12	----
13	!!This film provides examples of:
14	* AmicableExes: Will and Bella dated briefly and never seriously in the past. He counts her as one of the girls he loved that got away but they are able to laugh about it (in her husband's presence no less) and it hasn't affected their deep friendship with each other.
15	* AnguishedDeclarationOfLove: Anna asking William for another chance doesn't seem particularly emotional at first, but given her [[SugarAndIcePersonality personality]], it speaks volumes, as does her thoughtful present for him. [[spoiler:Which makes his rejection all the more painful.]]
16	* AppealToWorseProblems:
17	** William has the habit of doing this, enough that Spike, who's often the target of it, picks it up at one point, and lampshades it to Anna at another:
18	--> '''Spike''': What he's going to say next is that there's people starving in the Sudan.
19	** William actually agrees with the last one and tries to diminish what Anna is about to go through after being caught on camera by paparazzi answering Will's doorbell with only pajamas on, by comparing it to how Bella is stuck to a wheelchair for the rest of her life, and that in the great scheme of things, an actress' scandal is nothing. [[DefiedTrope Anna shuts it down pretty quickly though]]:
20	--> '''Anna''': You're right. Of course, you are right. It's just that I've dealt with this garbage for ''ten years''. You've had it for ten minutes. Our perspectives are very different.
21	* BabiesEverAfter: ImpliedTrope. After a montage showing [[spoiler:William and Anna wed and started a life together]], the last shot shows [[spoiler:Anna pregnant as she lays her head on William's lap]].
22	* BaitAndSwitch: PlayedForLaughs; at Honey's birthday party, every gives reasons why they are the biggest [[TheWoobie Woobie]] and should get the last brownie (Bella is in a wheelchair and can't conceive, Bernie is hopeless at his job and hasn't had a girlfriend in years, Honey is paid next to nothing at her job and has had bad luck with men, and William's wife left him and he is nicknamed "Floppy"), and Anna asks for her own shot; she talks about the [[TabloidMelodrama the way her personal life is splashed out over the media]], her plastic surgery, and the fact she'll have nothing once her looks go, and everyone realizes she can't act. Everyone seems to be taking her seriously...and then Max says, "Nah, nice try, gorgeous", and they all laugh and agree it was a pathetic attempt to get the brownie.
23	* BetaCouple: Supporting characters Max and Bella are William's happily married friends who remain supportive throughout his romantic tribulations.
24	* BookEnds:
25	** The movie starts with a montage of Anna on the red carpet and ends the movie with the same, except at the end [[spoiler:William is on her arm]].
26	** The last shot of the movie is in the place they kissed after the birthday party.
27	* {{Bookworm}}: William is this to an extent. He owns a travel bookstore and he also suggests that Anna do a movie adaptation of a Henry James novel. [[spoiler:Which she does]].
28	* BothSidesHaveAPoint: When the tabloids show up at William's house:
29	** Anna refuses to believe that William didn't tip off the press (it was Spike; albeit accidently) and declares she regrets their time together, understandably upsetting William.
30	** However, William is ''hugely'' insensitive to Anna's situation, telling her it'll blow over and that other people, like Bella, have it worse. It's not hard to blame Anna for being angry at him over this. Both seem to regret their behavior later.
31	* BreakfastInBed: William wakes up to Anna bringing him breakfast in bed.
32	* BreathlessNonSequitur: "I'm sure you meant no harm, and I'm sure it was all just friendly banter and I'm sure you all have dicks the size of peanuts. Enjoy your meal the tuna's really good."
33	* BrickJoke: When William goes to the interview with Anna, he claims to be from "Horse & Hound". [[spoiler:At the end of the film, when William tries to ask Anna for forgiveness at her press conference, her manager identifies him as "the horse guy".]]
34	** In the introduction to the movie, we see stained glass depictions of [[WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButtHead Beavis and Butt-Head]] for sale in one of the stalls. [[spoiler:Towards the end of the film, William tries to find Anna at the Ritz and guesses “Beavis” and “Butt-Head” as a pseudonym she could have used.]]
35	** When William and Anna discuss breasts after having sex, William remarks that Music/MeatLoaf had ample breasts. Meat Loaf’s most famous songs were written by Music/JimSteinman, who wrote the lyrics to Boyzone’s “No Matter What”, which is heard in the credits.
36	* CelebrityIsOverrated
37	-->'''Anna''': You know the fame isn't real.
38	* ChickFlick: With a distinct [[TheNineties 90s]] feel no less.
39	* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Oh, Spike. Honey is this to an extent as well, but Spike just takes the cake.
40	* CordonBleughChef: Max tries to make gourmet meals, but the results are almost always inedible. At Honey's birthday dinner, his attempt at roast guinea fowl results in smoke pouring out of the oven, while after one of William's blind dates, he is sheepishly apologising about the failure of the lamb dish he tried to make.
41	* CrashIntoHello: William and Anna met when she bought a book at his store, but they literally run into each other later that day in the street and he spills orange juice all over her.
42	* TheCuckoolanderWasRight: Played hilariously towards the end. When Will tells his friends that he turned down Anna Scott, they all attempt to comfort him and consent that he made the right decision. Cue Spike's reaction.
43	-->'''Spike:''' ''(arriving)'' I was called. I came.\
44	'''Honey:''' William was just telling us that he turned down Anna Scott.\
45	'''Spike:''' ''(gapes at William for a moment)'' '''You daft prick!'''
46	%%* DefrostingIceQueen: Anna.
47	* TheDitz: Spike, whom William describes as the stupidest person you can imagine...then doubled. In his EstablishingCharacterMoment he asks William to choose between three inappropriate shirts for a first date, and he inadvertently [[spoiler:blabs about Anna being in their house]], causing drama when it reaches the press.
48	* FunTShirt: Spike has a few including "You are the most beautiful woman in the world... fancy a fuck?"
49	* FunnyBackgroundEvent: When William spills orange juice on Anna's shirt on the street, there's a big bald man in the background wearing sunglasses and a fur coat leading a little girl in a blue pinafore by the hand.
50	* TheGrovel: And how! At the press conference at the end where William is begging Anna to give him another chance [[DoubleMeaning while pretending to be a reporter asking her questions]], she ''definitely'' puts him through the ringer ... but ultimately accepts his apology.
51	* HappilyMarried: Max and Bella. Absolutely devoted to each other and when she starts to tear up when telling the group about their inability to have children he tears up right alongside her and makes a big show of cheering her up by putting the spotlight on Will.
52	%%* HeelRealisation:
53	* HorribleHollywood: Anna says that Hollywood is a materialistic superficial world full of former boyfriends who mistreated her, painful plastic surgery operations to give her her looks, etc.
54	* HugeGuyTinyGirl: Spike and Honey.
55	* IdiotBall: The only possible reason why Anna would answer the door to Will's flat, when she had previously made such an effort to keep a low profile. Will gets it as well for not outright stopping her from opening the door.
56	* InformedAbility: Subverted. Anna is the most popular actress working in the Hollywood of the movie and while we never see her act very much, Anna herself claims that she's not very good.
57	* IWasYoungAndNeededTheMoney: Anna [[spoiler:took some sexy pictures]] in her younger days that she very much regrets. She tells William that she was poor at the time she did it.
58	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Spike may have all the social graces of an overturned dustbin (witness the obscene T-shirts he thinks are appropriate first date attire), but his heart's in the right place, as we see when ''he'' is the one who makes William realise he made a mistake turning Anna down, and then he jumps out of Max and Bella's car and directs traffic to allow them to get to Anna's press conference before she potentially leaves their lives forever.
59	* LapPillow: [[spoiler: Anna lays her head on William's lap]] in the final shot of the film.
60	* LonelyAtTheTop: Anna is one of the world's most acclaimed and beloved actors. She is also a regular media punching bag and has been dragged through the grinder by the Hollywood machine leaving her isolated.
61	* MiseryPoker: After a dinner during which Anna meets all of William's friends, everyone in attendance competes for the last brownie by detailing the various ways in which they themselves are the saddest person at the table.
62	* ModestyBedsheet: The morning after sex, Anna muses about why men love breasts, while keeping her own safely covered under the sheets.
63	* MonochromeCasting: Aside two of Anna's co-stars, there are no racial minorities to be seen. What makes this stand out is that Notting Hill in real life is known for its black community.
64	** Parodied [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKSGdByaUIA here]].
65	** Comments he got about this made Richard Curtis to be more circumspect and present a more multi-ethnic cast in his next film, ''Film/LoveActually''.
66	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: After rejecting Anna's attempt at reconciliation near the end of the film, William is commiserating with Max, Bella, Bernie, Honey, and Tony at the last-named's soon-to-be closed restaurant, and they all agree that he made the right decision. Then Spike arrives and reacts to the news with "'''You daft prick!'''". It isn't long before everyone, William included, has this same reaction:
67	-->'''Bernie:''' But she said she wanted to go out with you?\
68	'''William:''' Yes... sort of...\
69	'''Bernie:''' That's nice.\
70	'''William:''' What?\
71	'''Bernie:''' Well, you know, anybody saying they want to go out with you is... pretty great. Isn't it?\
72	'''William:''' It was sort of sweet, actually. I mean, I know she's an actress and all that, so she can deliver a line, but she said that she might be as famous as can be... but also... that she was just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.\
73	''[{{Reaction Shot}}s of the other six, their expressions slowly shifting to mirror Spike's declaration: "You. Daft. Prick." And soon, William himself has that same expression]''\
74	'''William:''' Oh, sod a dog. I've made the wrong decision, haven't I!?
75	* NiceGuy: William. His roommate Spike may also count.
76	* OhCrap: Twice at Honey's birthday party; once when Bernie realizes he was talking to Anna without recognizing her ("Oh, God. Oh goddy God"), and once when Anna tells Belle that she's a vegetarian ("Oh, God").
77	* OldShame: [[spoiler: (Invoked) How Anna feels about some risqué pictures of her. And possibly how she feels about her on-again/off-again movie-star boyfriend.]]
78	* OpenTheDoorAndSeeAllThePeople: Spike with the press.
79	* PopCulturalOsmosisFailure:
80	-->'''William''': Is this your first film?\
81	'''Child Actress''': Well ... actually, it's my 22nd!\
82	'''William''': Any favorites among the 22?\
83	'''Child Actress''': Working with Leonardo.\
84	'''William''': [[Creator/LeonardoDaVinci DaVinci]]?\
85	'''Child Actress''': [[Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio DiCaprio]].\
86	'''William''': Of course. And is ... is he your favorite Italian director?
87	** Also, an InUniverse example; Bernie's inability to recognize Anna at first.
88	* PrecisionFStrike: Honey's memorable reaction upon meeting Anna the first time: "Oh, holy fuck!"
89	* RaceForYourLove: William and his friends race around trying to find Anna before she leaves for America. Do they find her in time? [[spoiler:Of course they do]].
90	* ShoutOut: The SF movie Anna starred in has a ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey'' feel to it, with claustrophobic corridors, space helmets and the evil robot.
91	* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: Behind the Hollywood sheen, Anna is lonely. She becomes attracted to William for his kindness, his ability to mostly be unintimidated by her fame, and for him treating her like a person.
92	* SpaceClothes: One of Anna's movies has her as a retro-space babe in a flattering astronaut suit.
93	* StepfordSmiler: As her profession requires, Anna often has to smile at uncomfortable or unpleasant situations. Most notably [[spoiler:when William turns her down after her [[DefrostingIceQueen emotionally baring herself]] to try to get another chance with him, she smiles widely, though she's clearly pained and heartbroken.]]
94	* StockBritishPhrases: It ''is'' set in England after all.
95	* TabloidMelodrama: As might be expected for a movie-star, the tabloids swarm all over Anna throughout the movie.
96	* TextualCelebrityResemblance: Will mentions that his wife ran off with a man who looks like Creator/HarrisonFord.
97	* TimePassesMontage: They do this so subtly that you could almost think they randomly tossed a music video of the protagonist walking down the street through a spot of bad weather. And then you realize that the woman holding the baby was pregnant at the beginning of the song, that other woman broke up with the boyfriend she was delirious about three minutes ago...and did that spot of bad weather have a Christmas tree and Santa in the middle of it!? It's actually four different takes that were extremely well planned out and edited together. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nIxppYXonE Go watch and marvel.]]
98	* TheThingThatWouldNotLeave: Spike the "masturbating Welshman".
99	* ThirdActMisunderstanding: Two misunderstandings — first, Anna believing that William had betrayed her by going to the press; and second, William overhearing comments Anna made while filming.
100	* TrailerSpoof: An excessively meta version; one trailer pretended to be for ''Film/AustinPowers'' (itself well known for this device).
101	* UptownGirl: Anna (internationally famous movie star) and William (ordinary bookstore owner) fall in love with each other.
102	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The last of William's blind dates turns out to be a perfect match for him. After her scene, no further mention is made of her. As the conversation with Max and Bella immediately afterwards shows, William considers Rosie "perfect", but not a match for him, so it already is clear that he has no intention of picking up on her suggestion to meet again.
103	* WhatTheHellHero: '''"You daft prick."'''
104	* WhenSheSmiles: Anna wears plenty of bland, forced smiles throughout the film due to her profession, but her genuine, thrilled smile [[spoiler:after William essentially proposes at the press conference]] is beautiful, and the camera lingers on it to show how much of a difference he makes in her life.

Context Film / NottingHill