Around this time last year, I noticed that Love Actually, aka Notting Hill With Added Black People! was a trending topic on Twitter. I’d seen that it was showing on ITV1 that evening, so of course, I clicked the hashtag to see what people were saying about it. Somehow this innocuous little movie manages to divide people as if it were something serious like, I don’t know, circumcision. Predictably, I found a veritable ocean of bile, anger and general bitterness towards this film and its writer-director – basically, it read like a thread on Comment Is Free. Everyone seemed to be upset by the film’s popularity; the way its schmaltzy content had found a home in the hearts of so many. The general argument, simplified for the purposes of this post, was that anything popular with the Great Unwashed could not possibly be art and was without artistic merit. That is, quite obviously, daft. The equally daft counter-argument was that, and I quote loosely, “Millions of people can’t be wrong.” Join me now, in a panto-style “Oh yes they can!”
Dan Brown’s books. Star Wars Episodes I-III. My Hero. All hits. All with negligible artistic merit. General acceptance into the hearts and homes of the nation does not a masterpiece make – at least not always. Accordingly, the reverse isn’t true either. If something is difficult to follow, largely inaccessible and about a Serious Issue, it doesn’t mean it is worthy of praise as art.
Me personally, I love Love Actually. I love it in spite of its many flaws. I enjoyed the silly bits like the sex scene stand-ins, and I was moved by the emotional Emma Thompson storyline. I think it’s a charming film, but certainly not a shimmering, glowing star in the cinema firmament*. But I reject the stupid notion that what is popular cannot be art. Richard Pryor Live In Concert – popular and genius, Singin’ In The Rain – popular and genius, The Watchmen – popular and genius. Citizen Kane – revered, popular on the surface and… um, just okay?
Yeah, I said it.
*Can you name what movie that line is from? Extra Christmas cheer to all those who guess correctly!
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