Notting Hill (15)

Julia Roberts delivers a career-best performance as she falls for Hugh Grant in Richard Curtis’ enduringly lovely romcom.

Grant is William Thacker, owner of a vaguely unsuccessful travel book store, divorced, and living in his former marital home with the rodent-like Spike (Rhys Ifans). Life seems relatively normal until Anna Scott (Roberts), the world's most famous film star, visits the shop - and falls for Thacker's foppish Brit charms. But the path of true love runs even less smooth than usual, given that it's littered with intrusive press photographers, unexpected film star boyfriends and, of course, the matter of the human hedgehog flatmate, whose actions may very well result in trouble. This is pleasingly familiar territory: aesthetically-pleasing flats (how do these people afford them?), stiff-upper-lipped Brit humour, and a bunch of comedy mates to rally round our protagonist in times of need.

The Englishness of this film is what strikes you now: the nonchalance, the irony, the emotional reserve, all of it illuminated by the central American love affair. For all its cheesiness however, Notting Hill still delivers a very great deal of pleasure.