10 Greatest Films Written by Richard Curtis
Richard Curtis was born in New Zealand in 1956. When he was eleven, his family move to Britain. He majored in English at Oxford. It was while there that he began to collaborate with Rowan Atkinson.
Curtis and Atkinson created two brilliant television series together — Blackadder and Mr. Bean. They are equally impressive but very, very different forms of comedy. Curtis also co-created the classic sitcom The Vicar of Dibley and wrote one of my favorite Doctor Whoepisodes (“Vincent and the Doctor”).
His first feature film was The Tall Guy, in 1989. In 1995, he received an Oscar nomination for his screenplay for Four Weddings and a Funeral.
10. Trash (2014) — The film stars Martin Sheen and Rooney Mara, but the focus is on three kids living in a garbage dump. It’s a very different film for Curtis.
9. Bean (1997) — Mr. Bean works best in the smaller doses of the television series. The character is brilliant physical comedy on the level of Buster Keaton.
“Mr. Bean, are you presently on any kind of medication?” — Lt. Brutus
8. Pirate Radio (The Boat that Rocked) (2009) — I looked forward to this film when it was being made, because my Dad likes to tell the story of how when he was a teenager, his band had some of their songs played on an English pirate radio station. Besides the always wonderful Phillip Seymour Hoffman, the film includes some frequent Curtis collaborators such as Bill Nighy.
“Gentlemen, I’d consider it an honor if you’d join me on this historic night… in a salute… to The Fabulous Four; the glories of our age; the bringers of joy… to our future generations… cause’ there will always be poverty and pain and war and justice in this world, but there will, thank the Lord, always be… the Beatles.” — The Count
7. The Tall Guy (1989) — Emma’s first big screen role was written by Richard Curtis and co-starred Jeff Goldblum and Rowan Atkinson. It’s a silly, very funny film about a struggling actor that falls in love with a nurse. The embedded musical adaptation of The Elephant Man is not to be missed.
“Are you going to walk me home? Or should I just get murdered on my own?” — Kate
6. War Horse (2011) — Steven Spielberg directed this beautifully shot tearjerker that follows a horse through World War I.
“Some days are best forgotten. Today ain’t one of them.” — Rose Narracott
5. Notting Hill (1999) — This charming and funny romantic comedy managed to overcome my low tolerance of Julia Roberts. Roberts plays one of the biggest stars in the world. She tries to escape from the limelight for a moment and have a relationship with Grant’s character, a nerdy bookseller.
“I live in Notting Hill. You live in Beverly Hills. Everyone in the world knows who you are, my mother has trouble remembering my name.” — William
4. About Time (2013) — Tell me Richard Curtis wrote a film, and I’m there. This British comedy stars Domhnall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams, and Bill Nighy. Domhnall’s character learns from his father that the men in their family have the ability to travel in time.
“There’s a song by Baz Luhrmann called Sunscreen. He says worrying about the future is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life will always be things that never crossed your worried mind.” — Tim
3. Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001) — Much is owed to Helen Fielding’s source material, but this comedy showcases much of Curtis’ talent of ecstatic dialogue and ability to handle large casts.
“Resolution number one: obviously, will lose twenty pounds. Number two: will find nice sensible boyfriend and not continue to form romantic attachments to alcoholics, workaholics, peeping-toms, megalomaniacs, emotional fuckwits or perverts.” — Bridget Jones
2. Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) — This is one of those films that I saw in the cinema with no foreknowledge and walked out saying “Wow!” Mike Newell directs a great script by Richard Curtis in which we meet a large group of eclectic and eccentric people as they go from wedding to wedding to wedding to funeral to wedding. It’s the film that introduced America to Hugh Grant and unfortunately trapped the poor man into a long run of romcoms.
“Gareth used to prefer funerals to weddings. He said it was easier to get enthusiastic about a ceremony one had an outside chance of eventually being involved in. “ — Matthew
1. Love Actually (2003) — The film is a look at the subject of love in its many forms and a sign of its brilliance is that it can tell so many stories without losing any coherence. There is the story of the Prime Minister (Hugh Grant) that falls in love with his caterer (Martine McCutcheon), the story of the aging rocker (Bill Nighy) and his fraternal love for his manager (Gregor Fisher), the story of the young stepson of a recent widower (Liam Neeson) who has fallen in love with a classmate, the love of a tested marriage (Emma Thompson and Alan Rickman), and on and on.
One scene that involves a Joni Mitchell CD should have resulted in a best supporting actress Oscar for Emma Thompson. If you don’t feel her character’s pain, you have no heart.
“Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion’s starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don’t see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it’s not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it’s always there — fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge — they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaky feeling you’ll find that love actually is all around.” — the Prime Minister
What would be on your list?
