Reliving Notting Hill

I am a hopeless romantic. Let’s have that out of the way before you continue reading this blog. If you have read my blog about Aiza’s rendition of I Won’t Hold You Back, this is sort of the epilogue, the blogs are not really related but the song led me to look for Anna Scott’s (Julia Roberts) famous line, “I’m also just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.” Ouch…

Well, let’s not be unfair to William Thacker (Hugh Grant). He is an unbelievably nice guy, who does not seem to get mad at the movie - considering what he’s been through. He had his heart broken by the same girl 3 times in the movie, I believe.

Let’s take a look at the story first. It is not your typical love story, somewhat predictable but very interesting. It does not happen all the time as well. I mean, come on, what are the odds of John Lloyd Cruz eating at my store, spilling his shirt with a drink and offering him our house so he could change? Hmmmm.. well now that I think about it… Pwede.. but that would be an entirely new blog.

Anyways, Anna Scott is a huge Hollywood star, she met William Thacker at the latter’s travel bookstore. They said their goodbyes. But unfortunately for Scott, Thacker accidentally spill orange juice on her shirt later that day. Thacker, whose house is nearby (just across the street) offered his house so that Miss Scott could change. She said yes, of course. The story would have ended if she said no. Then after she changed, she left. She returned because she left her other bag. And before she leaves again, she planted a kisssss (since it was sort of a 5 to 10 second kiss) on Thacker’s lips. Now the story can actually begin.

Obviously they had something special going on. Thacker could not even believe it is happening to him. When they were about to sleep together, Thacker finds out that Ms. Scott has a boyfriend. Thus, his first heartbreak (I’m only counting his heartbreak caused by Ms. Scott, by the way).

After a few months, Anna Scott showed up in his doorstep. She was confused and hurt because of the current scandal she faces. Of course, Thacker, being the nice guy that he is, welcomed her and looked after her. It was a perfect time to relive their romance. But then the press discovered where Anna Scott was, mayhem followed. She panicked, said some nasty words and just been totally ungrateful, breaking Thacker’s heart for the second time.

Poor Thacker, he has to deal with his broken heart. Well the movie is a little bias though, because Thacker was telling it. It did not show Anna’s side of the story after she left. But nevertheless, she left him with a broken heart.

Seasons changed and Thacker was still trying to move on. You have to applaud his friends for trying to help him though. They set him up with a few dates. But when the heart is not ready, you cannot force it to like someone, no matter how likable a person is.

And then Anna Scott returned to London for another movie. Thacker learned about it from his friend and decided to visit her at the set. She asked him to wait, and so he did. When Ms. Scott was asked by her co-actor in the film about him, her words were: “No one, some guy from the past. That’s a bit awkward situation really. I don’t know what he’s doing here.” Another Ouch… Well that’s all right actually, if Thacker did not hear the conversation. But he did, and he got his broken for the third time. So he strikes out.

Those my friends, were events before he said NO to famous Anna Scott, leading to the more famous line, “I’m also just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.”

Of course the story did not end there. That would be a disaster. All hopeless romantics want a happy ending so here is what happened after that. Thacker told his friends about the conversation. He was trying to convince himself that he made the right decision. His friends tell him that it was the right thing to do, until his good for nothing house mate, Spike, showed up.

After realizing he made a huge mistake, he looked for Ms. Scott and found her in the middle of a press conference. Here’s the epic scene that led to their happily ever after. 

Relive Notting Hill.. It's a delightful movie to watch over and over again.. :)