Thank you to #NetGalley and #ParthianBooks for giving me an ARC of #HowLoveActuallyRuinedChristmas by #GaryRaymond in exchange for my honest review.

5 Stars

I firmly fall into the camp of people who love, love, love Love Actually so when I read the blurb of this book I absolutely had to read it. Gary Raymond takes us through the film, scene by scene, critically appraising everything from the characters, the actors, the acting and the writing of this film that seems to have become something of a Christmas Classic. This status seems to baffle Raymond who states that “Love Actually is a bad movie”.

This book was absolutely hilarious! I read it firmly in one sitting and there were moments that I laughed out loud much to the bemusement of my husband. As a lover of the film I particularly enjoyed the behind the scenes extra information that Raymond adds into the footnotes of the book (for example, did you know that Rowan Atkinson’s character was supposed to be an angel?) I would definitely recommend this book to both lovers and haters of Love Actually, it is an all-round funny, insightful exploration of a much loved Christmas film.

Confession time as soon as the John Lewis Christmas advert appears on screen, I’m in full Christmas mood. One of the first things I like to do during this time is buy a Gingerbread Latte (in a red cup) and drink it whilst watching “Love Actually”! It is part of ritual to get my excited about the upcoming season. 

Now I know “Love Actually” is filled with flaws and problematic characters (Andrew Lincoln’s character is just awful). And the editing and time line is very confusing but for me it is the perfect movie to get me into the Christmas mood. 

So why was I drawn to Gary Raymond’s book “How Love Actually Ruined Christmas”? Because, I knew the movie was like marmite and I wanted to know why someone would hate it so much to claim it ruined Christmas. 

Raymond, divided the book into the timeline of the movie and dissects each scene in turn. In a comical and thought provoking way.  This is also sprinkled with fact and additional commentary about the movie. Was Hugh Grant’s character based in Tony Blair or Boris Johnson?

This book will not stop me from enjoying my yearly ritual, it did make me watch the movie with fresh eyes! And provide a fun commentary on this Christmas movie. 

I received an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

As a fan of Love Actually, but with an of awareness of the fact it isn't perfect and it has it's flaws - as soon as I saw this I wanted to read it to truly get the view from the other side of the coin. While I do feel Gary Raymond had some interesting points it also feels self indulgent, like it's written by someone whose friends are possibly a bit fatigued with his rants about a Christmas romcom. He literally writes that the book is here to serve his ego, and you really pick that up from the get go.

I found his perspective on Harry and Karen well thought out - maybe their story arc isn't quite as straight forward as we initially would be led to believe with there being more to it than Harry just being a "classic fool". His opinion on Colin as "the most repulsive sex pest" is spot on as well.

Gary Raymond is, however, a little misguided in his complaining - he mentions numerous times how offensive a lot of it is, and how fat jokes shouldn't be allowed but in the same breath comments on the appearance of an actual child (calling his looks "creepy"). It just didn't sit right with me.

He also spent so much time mentioning the fat jokes and offensive humour that he failed to spot one of the most glaring plot holes in the film, which is slightly disappointing as someone that spent hours upon hours watching it to find things to complain about.

There are some genuine funny moments and overall it's an interesting, quick read for both fans of Love Actually and those who aren't.

As a regular viewer of ‘love actually’ I was interested to see how this book would develop.  

Whilst I’m critical of stuff in life, i have generally watched movies for enjoyment.   I loved 4 weddings and a funeral, I watched it countless times before Love Actually was released, so I loved this movie too.   I was interested in how the odd things in the film (which I think don’t bother me as I watch it at Christmas when I’ve turned off those bits of me) present to others.  The author was funny and it was an enjoyable read.

Will the book put me off settling down to rewatch Love Actually?   No.  I’m sure I’ll watch it for many years to come.

Thanks for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.  Thanks to Netgalley, Gary Raymond and the publisher.

As a yearly watcher of Love Actually, I picked this book up out of curiousity. I didn't think it was going to change my feelings about the movie (which are generally positive), and I was correct. But it did make me think more about the sensitivity of some scenes.

There are a few parts of Love Actually that have always been problematic -- the "cue card" scene, the "fat jokes", etc. Raymond goes further by basically dissecting each scene with his analysis, but some of his comments were so snarky that it was hard to take them seriously. In a bookstore, I wouldn't know if this book would be shelved in the humor section or in film criticism. But he did have some valid points that hit home for me (particularly about the Prime Minister). 

So I will still be watching and enjoying Love Actually in December, but I might look at some scenes in a new light.

MY RATING - 3

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Ophelia Sings's Reviews > How Love Actually Ruined Christmas

How Love Actually Ruined Christmas (or Colourful Narcotics)
by Gary Raymond

Ophelia Sings's reviewNov 18, 2020  ·  edit
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As one who loathes the festive behemoth that is Love Actually, I realise I'm in the minority. It's a lonely place, particularly at this time of year, these LA-denying lowlands. So I approached How Love Actually Ruined Christmas in the hope of solidarity and vindication, and for the most part, I found it.

Even those who are diehard (now THERE'S a Christmas film) Love Actually aficionados admit that it's (over)loaded with schmaltz and saccharine tropes, and for some, that's kinda the point of it. Daft escapism and soppy silliness. Fine, wonderful, nothing wrong with that if it's your cup of eggnog. But as Gary Raymond points out, there's a darker, more troubling strata to the movie which plunges it into the realms of pretty bloody horrible, actually. And let's not fall back on the 'things were different 17 years ago' argument - some of this stuff was as ghastly then as it is now.

So. Raymond and I are broadly in agreement. So far, so good. What I find perplexing, however, is in a book which claims to highlight the problematic misfires in Love Actually, the author himself makes several of his own. He passes judgement on the appearance of a child actor (creepy, apparently) and the character he plays, unmoored by the death of a parent, is seen as a 'psycho'. Plus there's the use of tired misogynist slurs such as 'Karen' and bitch. Charmed, I'm sure.

There's plenty of jolly laughs here and yes, Raymond is right, LA is not a fluffy festive funstravaganza and more a seething cesspit of sexism, fat shaming, classism and all the rest (with a dire script and messy production to boot). I did do many a lol and energetic agreement-nod whilst reading this short, snappy tome. However, some of it did seem a little joyless and preachy, and I'm the flakiest snowflake you're likely to meet. Why, I've knitted six yoghurts and hugged at least three trees just this morning. But still. There's a nagging feeling that Raymond is spreading his outrage just a little too far (I lost count of the number of times he uses the word 'offensive'). If he can make me, who loves nowt better than getting het up about social injustice and whatnot, feel this way, be must be over-egging just a tad. What makes it worse, though, is at the same time as (rightly) berating the problematic aspects of LA, he's not exactly free from tossing in the odd ugh-comment or phrase himself.

But, yes. It's fun and he's (mostly) right and HLARC works for those who love Love Actually (come see it through a different lens) and those who don't (come join me on lonely Denier's Island, it's so peaceful here).

My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As a fan of Love Actually, I was looking to read this for a bit of a giggle and achieve another perspective.
While I appreciated the authors views are his own, and are gleaned from an intellectual perspective over an entertainment one, I think at times there was a little more endeavour to be mean rather than funny. 

I did enjoy reading, and appreciated some of the provocations for thought it produced.

I probably wasn't the right target audience for this book as I am a fan of  the film. I was willing to be won over/convinced to change my mind. There were aspects of the book I appreciated and enjoyed but overall felt that it missed the mark.

***Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
A very in-depth look at this wonderful movie and the flawed characters it depicts.

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Parthian Books in exchange for an honest review.
I have no strong attachment to Love Actually. I saw it for the first time two years ago and found it pretty ridiculous but one of the better Christmas movies (honestly there are few Christmas movies I actually like, which in itself is a kind of crime). The second I saw this book though, I was excited. I love sarcastic takedowns of romcoms and honestly, one of the things I love about the genre is how insane the plots can get and how unrealistic they are. I was not disappointed with this book!

This review will be short because honestly, the cover tells you everything you want to know. I was worried this book would be bitter, an adult man cheerlessly tearing apart a movie aimed at women with no awareness of his lack of a place in doing that. Thankfully this book was extremely funny and one of the reasons the author dislikes the movie is the misogyny contained in the film so there was no trace of 'girl hate'. The best way to describe this book is imagine you're watching the movie along with a funny friend who hates it. It is framed as a scene-by-scene recap with comments inserted about the film/plot/production. No deeper analysis is offered particularly (except for a brief intro dissecting the cultural impact of the film) but it isn't needed. This is clearly a book written for entertainment rather than academic merit.

Overall, if you want a fun nonfiction Christmas book to entertain you while the TV shows Love Actually for the fourth time this year, then you can't go wrong with this. I loved the light, humorous style and I think the author did a fantastic job of getting the balance right between hatred and entertainment.

Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

Love Actually is certainly not a great movie, but it's a movie that many people really love. And why? It's 2+ hours of questionably romantic stories, including people falling in love during their work as sex stand-ins and a non-attractive British man successfully wooing multiple very attractive American women - all because he says "bottle" with a British accent. And the flashcards, don't forget the flashcards.

I wouldn't save that Love Actually ruined Christmas, but I'm ambivalent enough about the movie to have been intrigued by this book. Gary Raymond is certainly funny, and he does a good job pointing out the casual misogyny and nonsensical plot lines dreamed up by Richard Curtis. The book is essentially a snarky recap of the movie, jumping around to each plot in order. These quick shifts seem more frenetic on paper than on screen, and I think the book would have been stronger if Raymond had devoted a chapter to each thread of the story rather than switching between them. But it was still a fun, quick read and a great look back at 2003, a time that seems very far away now.

Thank you to Parthian Books for providing an ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

What is there to say about this book? I admit that I like Love Actually. It's a nice, fuzzy, gentle movie. Gary is right that there are problems in it, but I think he's poking more holes than it really needs.

I enjoyed reading this; I always like thoughtful reviews, and this is so detailed it was almost like watching the movie again. (He did miss the best joke, though..."Thanks, Ant or Dec" !) I think he was too mean on everyone, but especially Alan Rickman's character. However he clearly put a lot of work into it, and it was very easy to follow along with.

It's a good write up, and it's always good to think about things from the other side, but do keep an open mind while you're reading.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read a copy of this book!

I adore LOVE ACTUALLY while also acknowledging I have no idea why. My theory is that I imprinted on it as a teenager--multiple love stories and R-rated nudity. Anyway, I picked this book up because I wanted to get a nice snarky takedown, because like plenty of Internet citizens I love to read analyses trashing LOVE ACTUALLY just as much as I love to watch LOVE ACTUALLY.

The Foreword mentions the Lindy West Jezebel article about LOVE ACTUALLY, and that I think kind of primed me for expecting something punchy, article-length, when of course any 200-page book going through every single scene of a movie that's more than two hours long is going to by necessity need a bit more of endurance.

I wanted more punchlines, especially because some of my favorites got buried in the footnotes, like "LOVE ACTUALLY is the CITIZEN KANE of lazy shorthand." But I did appreciate the call-outs of really lazy and terrible references--fatphobia, misogyny, a throwaway transphobic joke, and plenty of things that were pretty tasteless even in 2003 and have only gotten worse as time passes.

I also feel like maybe I would appreciate this book more if I were British? There's quite a bit of analysis about Hugh Grant's Prime Minister and whether he's supposed to be like Blair, or after Blair, and there's stuff about Tories and I can never remember what those are...anyway, it probably means a lot more to people in the UK. For me, a clueless American, LOVE ACTUALLY takes place in a dreamland Britain that's as close to reality as that random Midwestern bar in the snow is to my experience of the US. I didn't even know that Blue was a real boy band, or those weird TV hosts are actual British TV hosts.

I guess I got what it said on the tin--a scathing analysis of LOVE ACTUALLY. But I still wish it had been funnier.

Didn't love it, but can totally see its appeal. In fact, I wish there were more books like this that dissected the intricacies of films and television programs.

My thanks to Netgalley and Parthian for a copy of “ How Love Actually Ruined Christmas “.

I’ve always had a problem with this film and was convinced , due to its popularity , that it was just me !
Gary Raymond has written this book with good humour and  has been able to put into words all the elements, and there are many, that don’t sit right with me.
Obviously with so many characters in the film it is hard to make them well rounded , but so many of them just annoy me .
A well written , humorous book that I would definitely recommend, even if you do like the film !

The first time I saw Love Actually, I didn't like it. I also don't like Four Weddings and a Funeral, so the fact I sat through Love Actually (and stayed awake) was rather surprising. I have watched it now numerous times and it has grown on me, but that doesn't mean that I still don't have issues with it. Gary Raymond's scene-by-scene analysis at times felt redundant, but then, so is the movie. I appreciate Raymond's wit while he is skewering Curtis and his awful script, muddled timeline, and widely inappropriate attempts at humor. If you love or hate Love Actually, Gary Raymond's book is the perfect reminder that it is not the greatest offering of modern cinema.

The authors put into words what may have made you feel uncomfortable about the movie, and offer some interesting insights about alternative meanings of some of the scenes and  scenes that were cut from the final movie.  I agree with the comments about the problematic scenes (like the placards) and  Laura Linney's role was completely wasted and her character should have had a much better ending.  This is a great addition to the Christmas haul for someone who didn't enjoy the movie, but cannot avoid it at this time of the year.

I confess that I do, actually, like Love Actually and watch it almost every year.  That said, in general I'd rather read about movies than watch them, so I did enjoy this amusing, if occasionally strident, book.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC copy for my review.

I really liked this book, I thought I was the only one who did not like the  movie, Love Actually.  It is nice to know im not alone.  This book is very funny.

How Love Actually Ruined Christmas by Gary Raymond was, admittedly, always going to be a hard sell to someone who habitually refers to the film as a perennial favourite.  Still, I was open to hearing what the author's objections to the film were, and I have to confess that they are, indeed, valid, well-researched and oh, so, so witty.  I was helpless with laughter, agreeing with all that this seasoned film critic had to say, and as much as I have always loved the film, I concede that all of his observations are not only shrewd, but very on the nose.  I found the commentary on the Karen/Daniel/Sam dynamic to be particularly astute.  Will I watch this movie multiple times leading up to Christmas?  Yes.  Will I be viewing it with a more critical eye to the bigotry, misogyny, and litany of fat jokes?  Absolutely.  

I would highly recommend this read for anyone in need of some levity in these trying times.  It is brilliant, snarky, and hilarious.  4.5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley and Parthian Books for the opportunity to read this ARC.