Mariage à l'anglaise

found this film by mistake and wasn't expecting much, but was pleasantly surprised, a real gem of a movie. Cathy Burke singing was a surprise and she wasn't that bad, The characters were realistic and I know the area well so can attest to this, happy endings were not mandatory in this film which makes it more poignant. Could imagine another film with these characters being made five years down the line and still holding our interest. Dougray Scott was surprisingly attractive even with greasy hair, he showed a good understanding of the character. All in all the actors in this film showed why British film-making is up there with the best.

I first watched this movie in 1999 when I was 20. 10 years later it hasn't lost any of its relevance and stark reality that makes it one of the most enjoyable yet sadly poignant movies I have seen.

This Year's Love never intended to be the RomCom its unfairly been categorised into. It is a take on modern life, modern love, the loneliness of living in London, the breakdown of relationships and the forming of new ones. It is not supposed to represent debauchery, instead seeking to demonstrate the trials and tribulations so many of us experience in our quest for happiness, acceptance and of course love. Don't we all crave love yet loathe it in equal measures?? I identify with this movie in too many ways to disclose on IMDb; I just believe this movie should be granted more credit and accolade than it has.

Well, I have read other comments less than flattering but my wife and I loved it. I don't care about the coincidences and any small contrivances, the characters were so well portrayed that by the end I knew them all personally and could relate them to people in my past. Don't get picky, do you want more of this or more 'You've got Mail'? I know what I prefer.

Compared to its subsequent b****rd offspring ("Elephant Juice" and "Born Romantic") this is a faultless masterpiece. Is it really enough to get a few admittedly very good actors together, get them to do a few mildly funny, mildly touching scenes and then edit it all together? Perhaps it would be if this film didn't have ideas above its station. I'm all for having characters who are f*cked-up and mentally disturbed, but how dare the makers of "This Year's Love" introduce just such a character (Liam, played by Ian Hart) and have him involved with all the main female characters in the movie and then just remove him from the story when they can no longer think of what to do with him? This is insulting and offensive. The balanced, "normal" people are all okay, so that's all that matters. Disgraceful. Liam is the only one of the characters who can't cope with all this bed-hopping, being dumped, falling in and out of love and all the rest of it. Yes, all his girlfriends in this film deserve better, but what about him? Who cares? Clearly not the makers of this half-hearted film.

There are pleasures to be had - Dougray Scott is excellent as the serial womaniser and complete git. His scene with Sophie towards the end ("Yes - meeeee!") is great. And Sophie has a superb monologue directed at the hapless Liam ("coming faster than a speeding bullet") which ends with her son waving "Bye Bye" to him. A fine scene. Henshall and McCormack are also good as ever. Though I wish someone would explain to London film-makers that people who work on supermarket tills rarely if ever get taxis from Camden to Heathrow. It would have been much funnier to show her getting on the tube and being endlessly frustrated at delays, crowds, breakdowns, broken escalators. See the end of Kingsley Amis's "Lucky Jim" for details of how this sort of scene can be done. Kathy Burke is, of course, superb. For some inexplicable reason, however, the band she plays in is fronted by the ever-loathsome David Gray. The scene where she takes centre stage is hilarious as Mister Gray fights to hog the limelight, waving his head about and thrashing his acoustic for all it's worth - thankfully the film-makers seem quite aware of how vile he is, and track in to the lovely kathy, forcing him out of the frame. Well done.

There are worse ways to spend two hours of your life (actually going to Camden, for example) but this film could have been so much better. Then again, on the evidence of the follow-up, "Born Romantic", they could also do a whole lot worse.

I hope those who were enticed by the rather crass UK television promotion of This Years Love weren't disappointed by what was actually quite a well structured romp through a north London location as yet theatrically free of cliched gangsters or bright red buses. I was particularly impressed by the nerve of suggesting that somewhere outside Alba should be inhabited by more than one Scot! Come on! They're everywhere. In hoards! Those not in the know may also have been taken in by the "fat bird" lines of Dame Kathy Burke. Don't be fooled. Look out for her canonisation before the end of the year.