There are two kinds of romantic comedies: ones that compromise on the laughs, and ones that compromise on the mush. Love Actually is the first kind. Not because it doesn't have its shining moments of comedy, but because the aww-factor is much higher. This movie's hit theaters a week too late; it would've made a good Valentine date. Unless, of course, your girlfriend is a heavy-metal fan who thinks Hugh Grant is a floppy-haired idiot. In which case, fortunately for the makers, she's in the minority.
The film is many love stories tangled up and running into each other and surfacing bit by....