You know what time period I love in film history? The early 2000s. And, it's mostly because I think a lot of the movies were completely unhinged. One of my favorite unhinged movies is the 2006 American Idol satire film, American Dreamz, starring Mandy Moore, Hugh Grant, and a bunch of other noteworthy actors.

I’ve already discussed my love for the Crank series, and it must be remembered that the early 2000s was also the reign of Uwe Boll (who once beat up his critics. I'm dead serious).

What's interesting about American Dreamz, though, is that upon its release, it took a critical drubbing, which you likely wouldn't expect from a movie that also stars the likes of Willem Dafoe, Dennis Quaid, and Marcia Gay Harden. So, why do I love it then? Well, you're about to find out.

This Movie Came Out During The Bush Years And It Feels It

Do you know what I like to call the early 2000s? The 24 years. Not only is it one of my favorite TV shows of all time, but I think it also perfectly encapsulates that post 9/11 time period, where it seemed like everybody was focused on “the War on Terror.” In this era, terrorists were the bad guys. And, while most movies and TV shows took this seriously, there were a few that lampooned the current events (Like Team America: World Police).

Going back to Uwe Boll, in 2007, we got a video game movie from him that you might not have even heard of called Postal, and it actually begins with a 9/11 joke. Obviously, the movie is in poor taste, but it's one of the few films that dared to poke fun at something that was relatively recent, and American Dreamz pokes fun, too, though a lot more effectively.

In a nutshell, the film is about a talent show called American Dreamz, which is a parody of American Idol. Hugh Grant plays the host, Martin “Tweedy” Tweed, and even though he isn’t as prickly as Simon Cowell, you know that that’s who he’s taking inspiration from. American Idol is still around, of course, but I think it was at its peak in the early 2000s, and this film perfectly captures that mania.

That said, this film ALSO tackles the terrorism side of the early 2000s, which might be why people weren’t in love with this film at the time, since it’s like two different movies. However, that’s why I love it! But first, let me talk about the reality TV/talent show component.

This Movie Both Loves And Hates Reality TV In Equal Amounts

Reality TV has been around at least since the late 1940s when Candid Camera jumped from radio to TV, but it came back into major prominence in the ‘90s with The Real World, and then exploded in 2000 with Survivor. Since then, the whole concept of “reality” television has kind of been shown to be a farce. The actual “reality” side is often staged, and even though it’s often cheaper than producing scripted television, that doesn’t mean that reality TV isn’t also somewhat scripted, and this movie delves into that.

Mandy Moore plays a wannabe superstar, and she sees being on American Dreamz as her chance at stardom. When a film crew comes to her house to let her know that she’s been selected, she runs outside screaming and yelling, but is then told to do it over again since they weren’t filming at the time, to which she obliges, going even more over the top. This is obviously a dig at the whole nature of “reality” television, and the movie takes several more digs at it.

That said, you also kind of get a sense that the director/screenwriter, Paul Weitz, actually appreciates the whole ersatz nature of the medium. Even though people are getting absorbed by the stories of the contestants, you also kind of feel like Weitz finds something charming in a nation glued to their screens and united in something as silly as a talent show.

In fact, it’s the talent show that brings both Americans and jihadists (Yes, you heard that right) together in the end, which I’ll get into next.

A Key Plot Point In This Comedy Involves Sleeper Cells. I'm Serious

Okay, so while you have the whole reality TV/talent show aspect of the film, you also have the political side, as Dennis Quaid plays the President of the United States. Quaid is obviously a stand-in for Dubya, and he really plays up the caricature. Anyway, America is at war with the Middle East, and a character named Omer (Sam Golzari) loses his mother to an American attack.

Serious stuff, right? Well, yes, but not in this movie. Because Omer just so happens to love show tunes, so even though he joined a jihadist outfit that wants to scream death to America, he’s also too clumsy and awkward to be a proper terrorist. However, with the outreach for new talent for American Dreamz, the jihadists see their chance to blow up a lot of people during a taping of the show. And, with the President now being enlisted as a new judge, what better time than now to strap a bomb onto Omer?

Didn’t I tell you this movie was unhinged? But it goes further. Because Chris Klein (who once starred in the worst movie I’ve ever seen in my entire life) plays the boyfriend of one of the contestants, and even though he gets dumped, their relationship plays into the narrative that American Dreamz is trying to push.

That said, once he gets jilted again, he straps on a bomb, ending this movie on a kaboom. I’m telling you. This movie is crazy!

Luckily, The Cast Is All Game For The Lunacy

Even though the film didn’t do well at the box office, and it wasn’t a hit with critics, it sure does have a pretty stacked cast.

As mentioned in the intro, some of the big names that star in this film are Dennis Quaid, Willem Dafoe as the Chief of Staff, Mandy Moore as the singer, Sally Kendoo, Jennifer Coolidge (who played Stiffler’s mom in Weitz’s American Pie and now plays Mandy Moore’s mom in this film) Chris Klein as Kendoo’s boyfriend, Marcia Gay Harden as the First Lady, and Hugh Grant as the host.

And the thing is, they’re all game for the film. This is a really goofy movie, and all of the actors are just as goofy. I think Dafoe might be one of my favorites, as he’s constantly trying to clean up the president’s messes. He plays an understated, yet very larger-than-life performance.

In fact, this movie kind of makes me think of another satirical film I love, Don’t Look Up, in that it shows people with all the power in the world being utterly inept at their jobs. Nobody comes out of this film looking like a brainiac, and it’s all the better for it.

So, in the end, American Dreamz is honestly a hidden gem from the early 2000s. And, even though it’s pretty dated by today’s standards, it’s still a pretty funny time capsule if you remember this era.

From Bad Pitt to Ben Affleck to Chris Martin, Gwyneth Paltrow has been in many high-profile relationships. Now, new details about them are emerging in a biography, and that includes a story about a caviar-related problem she had during her relationship with Brad Pitt, and how it apparently led to her crushing on another very famous actor.

In the book Gwyneth: The Biography, Amy Odell covered the Shakespeare in Love star’s relationship with Brad Pitt in quite a bit of detail. In an excerpt published by People, it went over how she worked with the actor on one of the best movies of the ‘90s, Se7en, and the start of their relationship. Then, when she went to work on Emma, she apparently started having doubts, as the book claims:

To the actress’s point, she is from LA and the Ocean’s Eleven star is from Oklahoma. So, that alone shows the different upbringings they had. Apparently, that played into their relationship and going out to fancy places.

Amid all that, she allegedly had a crush on Hugh Grant, too. Of course, he was one of the romance genre’s finest in the ‘90s thanks to films like Four Weddings and a Funeral, Sense and Sensibility and Notting Hill. So, like the F1 star, he was a major leading man and heartthrob back then.

Now, going back to Pitt and Paltrow, after Se7en, she went on to make three more movies before releasing Emma in 1996. Then, about a year after they broke up, she released five films, including Shakespeare in Love, which she won an Oscar for. According to this book, when Emma came out, she was apparently worried about her relationship with Pitt and his thoughts on her rising success, so she was thinking about breaking things off:

Eventually, the two broke up in 1997 after a short engagement. No reason was given at the time, but in 2015, the actress did say that she “wasn’t ready” and the actor “was too good for” her. Now, it would seem there's no bad blood between them. Apparently, Paltrow and Pitt still love each other, and she gave his skincare products the Goop stamp of approval a few years ago. Plus, the actress even played a lighthearted game of fuck, marry, kill on a podcast regarding Pitt, Martin and Affleck (she said she’d fuck Pitt).

Now, they’ve both fully moved on and have had multiple relationships since their breakup. As of right now, Paltrow has been married to Brad Falchuk since 2018, and Pitt has been dating Ines de Ramon since 2022.

They’re also both thriving professionally. In fact, Pitt just released F1 earlier on the 2025 movie schedule, and later this year, Paltrow will make her return to acting in Marty Supreme.

So, all around, it seems like all parties have moved on from this caviar-related problem.

One of the best things about having subscriptions to all the best streaming services is the way in which each one often caters to a different audience, but also the way they can sometimes surprise you. This week’s list of streaming highlights has the wide variety of content you might expect, but not necessarily in the places you might expect it.

This week offers a movie that is sure to be fun for the whole family, but it’s not coming to Disney+, it’s on Netflix. No, Disney+ is instead the place where you’ll find the most mature and violent series of the week. This week’s new reality series offering home and gardening tips isn’t from a Discovery series on Max. Max instead debuts an A24 horror movie that is the scariest film of the week. Here’s a look at what to watch, and where to find it.

Daredevil: Born Again - March 4 (Disney+)

Following several cameos in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in everything from Spider-Man: No Way Home to She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, Charlie Cox stars alongside Vincent D’Onofrio in Daredevil: Born Again. The first of at least two seasons of a new Daredevil series that brings back nearly everything fans loved about the original Netflix series, only now you’ll need a Disney+ subscription to watch it.

With Love, Meghan - March 4 (Netflix)

Originally set to debut in January, the decision was made to push back Meghan Markle’s new Netflix series out of respect for those dealing with the devastating Southern California wildfires. The eight-part series will arrive March 4, and will see the Duchess of Sussex provide tips in areas including cooking and gardening.

The Traitors, Season 3 Finale And Reunion - March 6 (Peacock)

One of the most popular reality competitions currently in production, and one of the best reasons to have a Peacock subscription, sees its third season come to an end this week. Fans of The Traitors will be able to enjoy both the finale of the competition as well as the reunion special that will wrap up the season. Now the wait for The Traitors Season 4 begins.

Plankton The Movie - March 7 (Netflix)

Few kids' properties over the last quarter century have been quite as popular as Spngebob Squarepants. The popular TV show has seen multiple movies over the years. The latest movie will require your Netflix subscription. Plankton The Movie, focuses on the traditional villain of the story Plankton, as his computer sidekick Karen decides to do what Plankton has never accomplished, taking over the world.

Heretic - March 7 (Max)

Once upon a time, Hugh Grant was the go-to lead for your favorite rom-com, but he’s always been capable of surprising us. In last year’s Heretic Grant terrified audiences as a man who kidnaps two missionaries in order to test their faith in the most extreme way possible.

With more episodes of Daredevil: Born Again arriving for the next several weeks, MCU fans will have plenty to keep them happy. Everybody else can look forward to everything else coming to streaming.

SPOILERS are ahead for Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, now streaming with a Peacock subscription. No reading ahead in the diary until you’ve seen it yourself!

2001’s Bridget Jones’s Diary is not only one of the best romantic comedies I’ve ever seen, it’s also such a comfort movie for me. While the quality of the sequels have certainly been debatable, I was very excited to see Renée Zellweger back in the role after nearly a decade. I was, however, unprepared to learn that the premise of the movie includes Bridget coping with the death of Colin Firth’s Mark Darcy after having two kids together. But, I really wasn’t prepared for Mr. Darcy to be done dirty like this – especially for what is likely the conclusion to the franchise. Lucky for the movie, I really enjoyed it, and I’m beginning to forgive it for the lack of Darcy for a few key reasons.

Now, for some context, Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy is based on the 2013 novel of the same name from Helen Fielding. Just like the movie, it takes place two decades after the events of the first Bridget Jones storyline, where she is in her 50s and has been a widow for four years. It should also be noted that the events of the story are inspired by Fielding’s own experiences dealing with the death of her partner, TV writer Kevin Curran, who died at the age of 59 of cancer. They had two children together as well.

Between Fielding's motivations and the execution of Mad About The Boy, it’s not so much that I’m upset that Mark Darcy died at all, but more so the lack of Colin Firth. Here, I’ll share my complete thoughts on the subject.

How Do You Hire Colin Firth To Play Mark Darcy Again, And Give Him Zero Lines?

So, here’s my main issue with how Mark Darcy was handled. It’s one thing to make a plot decision to kill off a character in order to tell the story about grief and moving forward amidst it – which, by the way, I think Mad About The Boy does tell well. But it’s another to literally hire Colin Firth and bring him on the set of the movie alongside Renée Zellweger after 20 years of legacy with the beloved rom-com character, and not give him a single line.

I understand the character is dead, but even awarding audiences one more flashback sequence of the last year of their life or some funny quippy line to break the tension would have been most welcome. Instead, all we get is him standing next to her for a moment and then clapping from across the room later in the movie. Don’t get me wrong, his presence was effective, but it feels a bit wasteful for the Oscar winner, doesn’t it?

I’m Making Peace With The Blunder For One Big Reason

The main reason I can think of to forgive the movie for having Firth’s Mr. Darcy only being seen and not heard in his last appearance in the franchise is pretty heartbreaking. From a story perspective, if it’s been four years since the death of Darcy. So perhaps having him not talk to her from the other side is there to symbolize that at this point in the loss she only imagines and misses his presence rather than it being so vivid that she imagines him talking to her.

I’m also not necessarily fond of those movies where the dead character talks to them from the other side, or the widow and dead person have full-on conversations in one’s imagination – especially since it’s become such a cliché. That goes back to the frustration I have over there not being a little flashback scene with dialogue to at least give fans more closure on the character.

And, I Wouldn't Trade One Emotional Scene For A Bigger Darcy Moment

Another reason why I’m starting to make peace with Darcy being majorly short-sighted comes back to a scene in between Bridget and her father, Colin (played by Jim Broadbent). In the scene early in the movie, Bridget looks at a picture of herself and her late father, and looks back to a time when he was in the hospital and he asked her to promise him to “live.” I think it’s the scene that made me tear up the most because I could relate to my own experience with my grandfather imparting his own wisdom on me before passing away.

There was something powerful about Bridget’s flashback scene that inspired her to move forward in her life being from her father rather than from Darcy, so I wouldn’t necessarily choose a Darcy scene over that if I had to pick between the two. It makes me think that maybe there was a flashback scene with Darcy that was filmed, but the filmmakers cut it in order to balance out the emotions of the movie, which could lean heavy sometimes. But I also can't imagine poor Colin Firth being cut from a Bridget Jones movie!

At Least The Movie Dealt With Darcy’s Death In A Careful Way

While I’m still upset that Darcy didn’t get his own last word in the franchise, I was happy to see the storyline carefully handle Bridget and her kids’ grief in a way that felt true to life. Because it was four years after his death, it made sense to be somewhat removed from the characters being so in the middle of it that it turns into a drama film. I was especially touched by the ways in which the movie handled the kids’ storylines. I am not surprised at all that Fielding was pulling from experience considering the conversations within the movie about keeping Darcy alive within the family.

And, Hugh Grant Clearly Had A Blast Adding Some Humor To It All

Then, there is what we did get out of the romance of Mad About The Boy. I did really enjoy the movie keeping the lighthearted fun of a Bridget Jones movie as the character navigates online dating and attempts to put herself out there in the ways of love and romance. I was totally in regarding Bridget Jones’ love story with Chiwetel Ejifor’s Mr. Walliker. When she kissed him in the snow, my heart fluttered, and Ejifor's character was so sweet and earnest. But I especially loved seeing at least Hugh Grant’s Daniel Cleaver get to have some memorable scenes throughout! Another Bridget Jones just wouldn’t have been the same without one of them interacting with Bridget. I got such a kick out of Daniel coming over to babysit and teach the kids to make a “Dirty Bitch”.

All in all, Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy is one of my favorite 2025 movies thus far. I just wish I wasn’t so mad about the piping hot lack of Mr. Darcy.

Almost nine years after having a baby, and nearly 25 years since she started her diary, Bridget Jones is returning to the world in a 2025 movie. As Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy is set to debut for Peacock subscription holders this weekend, Renée Zellweger will be reuniting with fans of that adore Ms. Jones and her antics.

After watching Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy’s trailer, I was reminded how much I actually enjoyed Bridget Jones’s Diary when I first saw it. But seeing as this is the fourth picture in the lot, that reminded me of a deep dark secret: I had never seen either of the previous sequels to one of the best rom-coms known to humanity.

This meant I needed to run through both 2004’s Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason and 2016’s Bridget Jones’s Baby in short order. Now that I’ve done just that, there are some things we definitely need to discuss before Movie 4 jumps in front of our eyeballs.

Renée Zellweger Doesn’t Get Enough Credit As A Rom-Com Ace

The world has always known that Renée Zellweger is an actor of great accomplishment, but what I think we’ve forgotten over time is just how talented she is in the field of romantic-comedies. Even though I didn’t like either of these sequels nearly as much as Bridget Jones’s Diary, my admiration of Ms. Zellweger’s craft has not waned. Which reminds me, you people need to go watch Down With Love! That’s a vastly underrated gem of hers.

Bridget Didn’t Nearly Deserve The Fat Jokes These Flicks Lob At Her

Oh, I was hoping this would be improved upon in the sequels. My vague remembrance of Bridget Jones’s Diary did include the often cited fat-phobia that’s present in the films based on author Helen Fielding’s creation. The back-to-back cocktail of The Edge of Reason and Bridget Jones’s Baby certainly dug its heels a little deeper into this unfortunate trench.

I Draw The Line At Two Montage Needle Drops, Ms. Jones

In one short “Gotta Get Him Back!” sequence in Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason’s final act, we hear three different needle drops. Going from “Everlasting Love” to “You're the First, the Last, My Everything,” and landing on a “Crazy In Love” finale, it’s a bit much. So unless it’s a longer sequence or there’s more significance besides padding the soundtrack, let’s try to keep the jukebox to two needle drops max in a montage, ok?

How Does Bridget Distrust Mark, But Keep Letting Daniel Play Her For A Sucker?

I’d say 85-90% of the Bridget Jones series involves our modern woman protagonist presuming that Mark is cheating on her. Now I get that a number of factors inspire that, but after The Edge of Reason, Bridget should have realized this man, even after marrying and divorcing someone else in the process, does love her! My guess is because it keeps Mark Darcy in fighting shape since he's beat the ass of any guy who's tried to push him aside.

Bridget Should Have Considered Dating Rebecca

Speaking of Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, there’s a reveal towards the end that Rebecca (Jacinda Barrett), the woman thought to be an admirer of Mark, actually fancies her. The two kiss, and Bridget actually doesn’t seem to mind in a very progressive moment for a 2004 rom-com. After seeing that, I think Ms. Jones should have at least considered trying a relationship outside of her heteronormative routine.

Bridget Jones’s Baby Really Doesn’t Feel The Same Without Hugh Grant

Hugh Grant’s reasons for ditching Bridget Jones 3 were absolutely valid, especially in light of my criticism of how Bridget loves to dive into temptation every time she and Mark break up. That being said, the temporary death fake-out was just as awkward as not having Grant’s Daniel Cleaver in the cast. So seeing back for Mad About The Boy makes me rather happy, while also giving me concern.

Mamma Mia Helped This Three-quel Go Into Production, Didn’t It?

Who doesn’t love a rom-com involving a case of uncertain paternity? Seriously, it feels like Mamma Mia’s hit status in 2008 helped get this one onto the board. Which, in turn, must have helped 2018’s Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again come into being eventually. Either way, I’m glad to see Colin Firth working - even at the risk of my own sanity.

Patrick Dempsey And Colin Firth Need To Work Together Again

One of the bright spots of Bridget Jones’s Baby has to be the fact that Mark Dempsey and Colin Firth were a lot of fun to watch as squabbling suitors. Though I still missed Firth’s fights with Hugh Grant from the first two movies, his tussle with the Grey’s Anatomy cast alum was definitely magical. Perhaps they should be a couple in a future rom-com instead of just pretending.

Mark Darcy Should Have Run Off With Dr. Rawlings

I know it’s a moot point by the time we get to Bridget Jones’s Baby, but I’m sorry - Mark and Dr. Rawlings (Emma Thompson) felt like more of a match than he ever did with Bridget. If you’d have ended the story in Bridget Jones’s Diary, then maybe it would have made sense. And trust me, I’m not done arguing that point just yet.

These Sequels Are Awkwardly Topical For Rom-Coms

Bridget Jones’s Diary wasn’t a simple frothy rom-com, as she definitely needed to learn to stand up for herself and stop trusting the wrong man. So for The Edge of Reason to include a ridiculous moment where Bridget giving an entire women’s prison in Thailand wonderbras and chocolate as parting gifts was… a choice.

So was inventing a Pussy Riot facsimile for Mark to defend in court, as well as a storyline involving Bridget’s workplace evolving into a tabloid in Bridget Jones’s Baby. If it was worked better into the plot, I might have dug it, but here we are.

I Kind Of Wish Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy Was The Only Sequel

My final criticism is purely from a plot standpoint, as I know that Helen Fielding's decision to kill off Mark Darcy was inspired by the untimely death of her own husband. That being said, I really wish that Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy was the only sequel in the group, as this unfortunate real-life twist makes those middle chapters feel unintentionally redundant.

It’d be the rom-com version of Sylvester Stallone’s preferred method for how to watch Rocky, in which you start with the original, and then skip to Rocky Balboa. We get the poignance of Bridget Jones losing Mark Darcy automatically and wouldn’t have to live through her constantly being fat shamed and seduced into farce.

With all of that in mind, I’m still hopeful for Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy. It’s not going to be long before we’re all read into the next chapter of this romantic comedy legacy, as it will be streaming on Peacock starting February 13th. Though if you're in an international territory, theaters should running the picture the next day.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to re-watch Kingsman: The Secret Service and pretend that Mark Darcy escaped his life to become a super spy. I don’t know how I’ll head canon him to not be a deadbeat dad, but I’ve got time.

Four Weddings and a Funeral, one of the best romantic comedies of all time, celebrated a major milestone last year. With that in mind, I decided to go back and watch the iconic 1994 movie written by Richard Curtis and directed by Mike Newell to revisit the timeless story of friendship, love, death, and the impact each has on us. And while it was an incredible experience rewatching this beloved movie, it did get me thinking about the one major issue I have with it.

So, what’s my problem? Well, as you can probably tell by the title of this piece, I think that Hugh Grant’s Charles totally made the wrong decision at the end of the movie when it came to whom he wanted to spend the rest of his life. Though it’s not enough to make me hate the movie (that’s impossible), I do have to talk about it.

Four Weddings And A Funeral Is A Near-Perfect Romantic Comedy, And I Love Almost Everything About It

Let me get this out of the way – I think Four Weddings and a Funeral is a near-perfect romantic comedy, as well as a great story about the power of friendship, love, and life. I love almost everything about the movie from the heart-wrenching funeral scene to the great performances from the likes of Hugh Grant, Andie MacDowell, Kristin Scott Thomas, John Hannah, and everyone else.

Like Richard Curtis’ other screenplays, this highly-rated rom-com finds the perfect balance of humor and sorrow, comedy and drama, endearing friendships and new relationships. It’s not too short, and not too long, but somewhere in the middle that makes it as much fun to watch the fourth, fifth, or sixth time around as it was upon first viewing it all those years ago.

However, Charles Sacrificing Everything To Be With Carrie Was Not The Right Move

I’m all about following your heart and doing what you think is best, but come on, Charles sacrificing so much and putting himself through so much to end up with Carrie (Andie MacDowell) at the end of Four Weddings and a Funeral was not the right decision. It's not that she's a bad person (because she is nice and caring), it's just that these two people seem to bring out the worst in one another.

Though I have to admit that there is an undeniable spark and instant attraction when the pair first meet at Angus and Laura's wedding, it also feels like they are so caught up in the idea of this relationship that they let go of all sense, sensibility, and rationality. There also always seems to be something that one is withholding from the other (most times it's their feelings, while others it's an engagement or other key information), which isn't really the best way to carry on with a lifelong partnership like this.

If anything, it shows that these two have some serious commitment, trust, and communication issues that they really should have worked on sooner before they essentially crashed each other's weddings and made messes of multiple lives and relationships.

It Could Just Be My Love For Kristin Scott Thomas, But Charles Should Have Ended Up With Fiona Instead

I’m a little biased about the whole situation because I love Kristin Scott Thomas, both in the role of Fiona, and in general. And yeah, I am fully aware that it makes for a more interesting movie and a better ending with Charles being with Carrie as the credits roll. However, I think that if Charles hadn't been so preoccupied with the ups and downs of his relationship with Carrie, he would have been able to see that the perfect woman was standing in front of him the entire time, and not just as a friend.

The scene where Fiona comes out and tells Charles that she’s been single all these years because she’s waiting for him is just so heartbreaking, simply because he doesn’t have the same feelings. Maybe it's me feeling especially sympathetic towards Fiona after having been in a similar situation before, or maybe it's because she's such a great character, but I feel for her. Not only that, I honestly feel that she and Charles would have made for a great couple. Maybe Richard Curtis will write a "what if" treatment one of these days.

Four Weddings and a Funeral is a wonderful rom-com that I'm glad I rewatched after all this time, but I stand by my argument that Charles ended up with the wrong girl in the end. If you want to revisit this film that made more at the box office than you would have guessed, it’s currently one of the best free movies streaming on multiple platforms.

Stream Four Weddings and a Funeral on YouTube.

Hugh Grant has had an incredible career thus far that only continues to grow, such as with his terrifying turn in the horror film Heretic, However, he’ll always be remembered most for being in the best romantic comedies. While his movies of the genre are pretty much loved by everyone (even a peculiar one from Quentin Tarantino), the actor recently revealed there’s one movie of his he absolutely will not let his wife watch.

In 1995, just a few years before his biggest movies of the rom-com genre like Notting Hill, Bridget Jones’s Diary and Love Actually, Hugh Grant made a movie with Julianne Moore called Nine Months. This movie from the director of classic movies like The Goonies and Home Alone Chris Columbus is about a long-term couple dealing with an unexpected pregnancy. When Nine Months was recently brought up to him, Grant had this to say:

While speaking to Variety, Grant revealed that while he thinks all involved in the romantic comedy were great, he’s not fond of the film due to his own performance in it. When Grant made the movie, the Brit was 34 and it marked his first starring role in a Hollywood movie. Surely he wasn’t as confident back then regarding his talent as he might be now. Still, he hilariously suggested he put “parental controls” on his personal TV to keep his wife, Anna Eberstein, from viewing the movie.

Of course, as one should already know if you’re familiar with Grant, the actor is known for his cleverness and dry personality, so one should perhaps read this in his accent. Recently, Grant spoke about how his humor led to rumors circulating that he “hated” making Wonka.

Sure, Nine Months isn’t exactly the best of Hugh Grant movies. The movie has a 27% critics score and 37% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, with some critics calling Grant’s performance “an endurance” and the movie itself “forgettable.” However, it also seems to have tons of fans as well, with people calling the movie “cute,” “romantic” and someone even describing it as one of their “favorites.”

While Grant’s wife may never have the chance to see it, it does sound like Hugh Grant is just being hard on himself regarding the movie. It may not be his most loved movie, but that’s OK, every actor has a stinker or two. You can rent and buy Hugh Grant’s latest movie, Heretic, which critics absolutely loved, on Amazon now.

Hugh Grant’s run through the world of 2024 movies has people talking about his performance in the film Heretic. The horror film has been showered with praise by fans and critics alike, and even landed Grant among the 2025 Golden Globe nominees for excellence in this past year of film. But as we all know, when actors go on the campaign trail, some stories from the past get a bit more clarification that we didn’t have to start with.

In Mr. Grant’s case, that story about how much he “hated” making Wonka as an Oompa Loompa is the tale that has somehow gotten twisted in the telling. So when the actor had the opportunity to sit down with Variety, he set the record straight with this comment:

So apparently, the press conference that promoted Warner Bros’ 2023 musical starring Timothee Chalamet is the moment that turned into a game of telephone gone wrong. Which, I can totally see how that’d happen, as Hugh Grant is a very dryly funny person.

That much is especially true when tackling the public perception of such abilities as being a sign of being a curmudgeon. I’ll admit, I was one of those journalists who partially fell into that trap myself after hearing the initial story. Looking back however, I think we should have known once Wonka director Paul King noted Grant’s commitment to the role that the story may not have been what it was cracked up to be.

I certainly learned my lesson when speaking with the actor about his “orange period” continuing in 2024’s Unfrosted. As you’ll see in our archival video with Hugh Grant, it's more than a safe bet that story of discomfort can finally be put to rest:

This once again circles us all the way back around to the fact that Hugh Grant is a master of dry wit that can be mistaken as a sort of annoyance. And you can bet that now he’s brought more clarity to this scenario, any further inquiries will probably lead to some of the snark seen in Wonka becoming a little more real.

But for those of you who want to head back to those angry Oompa-Loompa songs for a well deserved laugh, you can watch Paul King’s musical comedy through the power of a Max subscription. Which, coincidentally enough, is where Heretic should be making its subscription service debut, per Max’s exclusive deal with A24.

Notting Hill is undoubtedly one of the best romantic comedies ever seen, so the idea of Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant returning to play the characters from the 1999 movie sounds like a great idea in theory. However, as the movie’s writer, Richard Curtis, recently spoke to, when he pitched a sequel idea to Roberts, she was really not into it. However, given prior comments from Grant, I have a feeling Grant would have been on board.

Julia Roberts Turned Down A Notting Hill Sequel

After the classic brings together a famous Hollywood actress and a travel book store owner, fans would certainly be curious what would be next for the couple years later. However, as Curtis recently shared, his idea did not hold water with Julia Roberts. As he told IndieWire:

Richard Curtis has been behind tons of great romance movies, from Love Actually to About Time or Bridget Jones’s Diary (which is actually getting its own sequel among 2025 movies). Previously, the filmmaker did a little sequel for Love Actually in 2017 for the fundraising event Red Nose Day with Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Andrew Lincoln, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Keira Knightley and such. As he explained, he also thought about giving Notting Hill the “mini sequel” treatment, but he just couldn’t get Julia Roberts on board.

Julia Roberts’ best movies have been romantic comedies, so one could say she has a solid opinion on what works and what doesn’t for the genre. Perhaps she thought the Notting Hill couple being involved in a divorce would take away from the fantasy the original movie brings? There is something to be said about the escapism of a rom-com that may have been betrayed by this idea, but perhaps it would have ended in the couple falling back in love?

Why Hugh Grant Probably Would Have Done The Notting Hill Sequel

While Julia Roberts shot down Richard Curtis’ Notting Hill sequel, I think Hugh Grant would have been very much into it. Back in 2020, Grant said this about doing another Notting Hill:

So… in other words, this would have been the romantic comedy of Hugh Grant’s dreams. Grant said he spent so long being known as a “dreamboat,” that he’s been into doing more “character-y roles” that have challenged his former image in movies. In fact, the actor just starred in a horror movie called Heretic as a villain that we can’t stop thinking about.

While it doesn’t sound like Notting Hill is getting another movie anytime soon, you can stream the 1999 classic right now with a Peacock subscription.

Over the years, the Real Housewives franchise has become a sensation, airing on Bravo and streaming for those with a Peacock subscription. One of the most iconic cities of the property is The Real Housewives of New York City, which is currently in its second season with a brand new cast. But the OGs still have a special place in the heart of fans, including Luann de Lesseps. And The Countess recently revealed that she allegedly made out with Hugh Grant, and I wish it was during his rom-com era.

Throughout her time on RHONY (as well as Welcome to Crappie Lake), Luann proved that she was an excellent flirt. So perhaps it should come as no surprise that she managed to make out with rom-com legend Hugh Grant. While speaking with TooFab, she shared a story about how she managed to connect with the actor in The Hamptons. After a friend spotted him at a restaurant, she was determined to meet him. In her words:

Game recognizes game. While de Lesseps has had some notable issues with drinking, it sounds like shots and "accidentally" bumping into Hugh Grant was a winning combination. And in the end she got to live every rom-com fans' dream by making out with the 64 year-old actor.

After this story went viral, Grant took to Twitter to offer his memory about what went down with The Countess. In his words:

There you have it. It certainly sounds like Hugh Grant has a very different recollection of what went down when he met de Lesseps years earlier. We'll just hav to wait and see if the RHONY fan-favorite has anything to add to the actor's response.

While Grant recently made a horrifying villain in Heretic, he's mostly known for being a romantic lead in a number of beloved romantic comedies. Luann got to be a leading lady for a night, thanks to the steamy make out session she had with Grant. And it sounds like Andy Cohen might have helped them connect... even if he wasn't physically there.

Although he dipped his toes into horror recently, Grant's generations of fans will no doubt be pleased that he's returning to romantic comedies in the forthcoming movie Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy. It's just too bad that Luann seemingly only got that one make out session with the actor.

Fans are currently wondering when Luann will return to reality TV, either in a new season of Crappie Lake or Real Housewives: Ultimate Girls Trip. One thing is clear: the new RHONY cast is seemingly here to stay. For now, check the TV premiere list to plan your next binge watch.

Heretic has finally been released in theaters as part of the 2024 movie schedule, and oh god, I need to talk about it.

If you know me, you’d know that I’m pretty much the biggest supporter of A24’s best horror movies. For years, I have gone on record saying that A24 doesn’t mess around with their films. And while there are some great A24 movies overall to check out, their horror entries are some of the best out there – if not the best, in my eyes.

To me, Ari Aster’s Midsommar and Hereditary, as well as Talk To Me, The Witch, and so many others rank incredibly high on my list of the best horror films ever. I really think Heretic can be on that list now.

While I wouldn’t consider it as horrifying as other A24 films, I can openly say that it hits the mark dead-on, and you will be biting your nails in suspense as the movie goes on. But there’s one thing I have to talk about that is still scaring me even now, and that’s Hugh Grant’s villain in the film. Let’s get into exactly why he’s the best part of this movie.

The Movie, Overall, Is Petrifying, Down To The Bone

So, I’ll begin by saying that Heretic is a great horror film overall. It is petrifying and one of those films that I would consider a slow-burn horror. It doesn’t jump directly into the scares. Instead, it takes a bit to build up to them over a period of time, which genuinely makes you start questioning everything in the movie.

We learn about our two leads, Sister Barnes and Sister Paxton, two missionaries from the Church of Latter-Day Saints (otherwise known as the Mormon Church), who knock on the door of Mr. Reed, a seemingly ordinary man who invites them into his home and despite doing everything right, everything goes wrong for these two girls as time goes on – and there’s nothing we can do about it as you watch it all crumble.

Granted, I don’t think this was as scary or traumatizing as some other horror films I have seen, but I would gladly say that Heretic ranks up there with another 2024 favorite of mine, Longlegs, because it’s that kind of horror that makes you think, analyze, and scare at the same time.

However, the big winner of this film is Mr. Reed. And here’s why.

The Idea That These Kinds Of People Exist Out There Is What Makes It More Horrifying

Mr. Reed is the kind of horror movie villain that, when you think about it, isn’t scary at first until he is.

He’s so typical when he opens the door, a man who's curious about religion, who genuinely seems like he wants to speak to the girls and learn more, inviting them in for drinks and asking all the right questions. But it’s when he starts to share his own opinion, showing how much he knows, that we begin to see the man that’s behind the mask.

A true control freak, if you will.

Mr. Reed is horrifying because these kinds of people exist out there. Granted, it might not be to this extent, where they built an entire house dedicated to what they believe in and staged things to control people, but there are some people out there who are so set in their ideals and beliefs that it permanently alters who they are.

The term “falling down the rabbit hole” doesn’t exist for no reason. I’ve had to stop myself several times from falling down metaphorical rabbit holes of sorts when something fascinates me, but I get way too deep. However, Mr. Reed is the perfect embodiment of that.

He's a person who dug too deep, too quickly, and made it their entire personality. He plans to show that to everyone, regardless of whether it hurts someone or not. His religion is controlled, and all faiths were built with this innate need to control people. And now, he pushes that belief onto Paxton as she tries to survive.

Again, while I doubt there’s someone out there with a maze-like house like Mr. Reed, he feels… a little too real.

He’s Not The Typical Horror Movie-Villain

When you think of a horror movie villain, I’m sure there are plenty that you think of. You could bring up Michael Myers from the Halloween films, Freddy Kreuger from A Nightmare on Elm Street, or perhaps Jigsaw from the Saw franchise.

Either way, any of these horror movies I mention have pretty iconic villains, but the main thing that makes them all similar is that most tend to crave violence and death. Some are just psychopaths who want to torture people. Others are serial killers intent on revenge. But either way, you can tell what they want the moment you meet them.

But you can’t do that with Mr. Reed. He’s an entirely average-seeming dude when we first come across him, and even as the movie goes on, we still don’t know what he wants. Does he want to kill the girls? Does he want to assault them? Does he want to turn them into enslaved people? Does he want to educate them? What does he want?

And that’s what makes Mr. Reed so scary as well – the fact that we don’t know him. Other horror movie villains, as fun as they are, are so easy to read, but not Mr. Reed because he looks normal until he’s not, until we finally see what he indeed does at the end of the movie.

That, my friends, is how you build an antagonist with nuance, with personality, and with terror.

There’s A Beauty In His Subtle Horror That Other Horror Movies Should Learn From

There is absolutely a beauty within Mr. Reed’s subtle horror that I hope other horror movies can learn from.

There are times when those slasher flicks are enjoyable to watch. I’m not saying movies like Terrifier or any of those films that aim to disgust you with their villains should become like Mr. Reed. However, I will say that a lot more of those subtle horror films can learn from Grant’s performance.

If you want to make a truly terrifying horror movie villain, make him friendly. Make him so lovely and so typical that you can’t even tell if he’s good or not. Add those little nuances that make you question everything and cause you to wonder if what he’s saying has a double meaning or not.

Because those are the kinds of people we see in real life, while films are known as a means of escapism, sometimes, the scariest thing we can face mirrors our own reality, and in many ways, Heretic does. Other horror films could do the same.

I do think that Heretic certainly takes the cake as one of the best horror films of 2024, and if you have a friend who is thinking of seeing it, drag their butt to the theater because I guarantee you, they will enjoy the heck out of it – and probably want blueberry pie right after.

Over the last several years Hugh Grant has expanded his repertoire of films in a big way. His new film Heretic has him playing a horror movie villain and his best performance in recent years has to be playing the bad guy in family-friendly Paddington 2. However, for many my age and older, Hugh Grant will always be known first as a rom-com lead.

Everybody who loves movies probably has a favorite Hugh Grant romantic comedy, and it turns out that includes Quentin Tarantino. In a recent interview with Letterboxd Hugh Grant says he was once stopped on the street by the Pulp Fiction director so Tarantino could sing the praises of one of Grant's films. One might expect a cinephile like Tarantino to love Four Weddings and a Funeral or Notting Hill, but apparently not. Grant said…

Music and Lyrics for those perhaps unfamiliar with the criminally underrated rom-com, stars Grant as a former pop star, essentially he plays the “other guy from Wham!” who is barely scraping by on his former fame. When he discovers that the woman hired to water his plants, played by Drew Barrymore, has a talent he lacks for lyrics, the two begin to work on writing a song for a major pop star and fall in love along the way.

While Tarantino has a near-encyclopedic knowledge of film, he doesn't always love the same movies that everybody else loves. He recently spoke about why he thinks the Joker sequel was great, which puts him in opposition to most critics, and he thinks Jaws is the greatest movie ever made.

The rom-com got slightly positive reviews from critics (though our own Music and Lyrics review wasn't exactly glowing) and was a financial success in its day, though certainly not a massive hit at the box office. Tarantino didn’t see the film in theaters himself. He apparently came across it on an airplane but got so into it that, when he wasn’t able to see the end, he ran out to fix that immediately. Grant continued…

I wouldn’t have thought I had much in common with Quentin Tarantino, but apparently, I do because I also particularly love Music and Lyrics. It certainly doesn’t reinvent the rom-com but it’s an excellent example of one, with two great rom-com stars who are great together and it has a couple of excellent tunes.

Music and Lyrics has been shown at the New Beverly Cinema, which Tarantino owns, specifically because the director wanted it shown there. Considering the classic 35MM films that have screened there, it’s pretty impressive company.

As someone who sees upwards of 100 movies every year, I’m not going to sit here and say I’ve totally avoided horror films on the 2024 movie release schedule, but I am a known horror movie hater here at CinemaBlend. In general, I would agree films like Andy Muschietti’s It movies and any horror with a bit of a comedic bent can win me over much more easily than heavily dark or violent movies. I openly admit I dislike feeling scared in the movie theater. In general, I’d rather watch a rom-com any day over pretty much any horror movie, and it will never be my idea to throw on a horror classic on a Saturday night at home. Hell would need to freeze over.

It’s not that I don’t recognize quality in films like Talk To Me, it’s more that I don’t enjoy feeling upset and unsettled, emotions that seem to make horror buffs feel alive and maybe even bring joy. Again, even within the genre, it’s easier for me to digest something like Happy Death Day than it is for me to get through a Saw sequel. That’s who I am as a person, and it’s also probably why you don’t see me reviewing horror films. They deserve better than my weak stomach.

Now that you know who I am as a person, though, I should tell you that I recently was able to screen Hugh Grant’s upcoming horror movie Heretic early. The Heretic trailers have done a great job of not spoiling too much, but I will note it is both mildly amusing at points, but also a dark and unsettling film and one that should absolutely work for horror lovers. More importantly, it’s a great horror film for those of us who often shy away from the genre, because it works on a psychological level as well.

Why Heretic Is One Of The Best Movies Even Non-Horror Lovers Will See This Year

The upcoming A24 film Heretic has been described as philosophical horror, and while there is some action involved, I will just go ahead and mention there’s a lot of talking in this movie. Buddhism ties in with Monopoly and Radiohead’s “Creep.” Two young women argue rhetoric with an older man, even though they are Mormon and aren’t supposed to be alone with him. Meanwhile, rooms twist into one another and surreal happenings seem to be going on behind the scenes. It’s hard to tell what’s real and fiction, and in this state of limbo, audiences will pay rapt attention to what’s going on.

I loved A24'sHeretic. I’ve been very interested in the work Hugh Grant has been doing since he started taking some roles further along the beaten and more antagonistic path. Him as a smarmy villain in Dungeons & Dragons and as the main antagonist in Paddington 2 are both standouts for me. His Heretic character is nothing like either of those roles, but it’s giving him the chance to stretch even more in a way I didn’t expect.

Listen, normally I'd jump at the chance to escape a particularly scary scene, but I was glued to my seat the entire time.

Hugh Grant Isn't The Only Standout

Grant's two younger co-stars, former Mormons in their own right, are spot-on casting as well. Heretic’s full of these long takes, with actresses Chloe East and Sophie Thatcher going toe-to-toe with Grant in nimble and unexpected ways. East previously admitted they'd film takes that went on for 15 minutes at a time, and while the stretches are long, they are thought-provoking. They really work. I felt more invested in this movie than I have in anything else I've seen in quite some time.

Trust me when I say I was surprised about this development.

Jury's out on whether this will make the list of best horror films of all time, but as a theatergoer in 2024, it's among the best the year has to offer. Even if you aren't a person who shells out cash to scare yourself on the regular, even if you normally shy away from anything labeled horror, even if you miss the days when Hugh Grant was the rom-com's most famous leading man, Heretic is one film worth checking out on November 8

Scott Beck and Bryan Woods’ Heretic is unquestionably a horror film, but it’s an atypical example of the genre. While aficionados are well-cognizant of jump scares and bloody violence, the new release is able to get under your skin by simply featuring characters in an escalating conversation. Its success is sourced from many contributors, but the performances by stars Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East are obviously essential, and I asked them about conjuring the terror in the movie late last month during the film’s Los Angeles press day.

In the new horror movie, Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East play Sister Barnes and Sister Paxton – two Mormon missionaries who find themselves trapped in a dangerous exercise when they knock on the door of a mysterious man who is only identified as Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant). What ultimately drives the horror in the movie is recognizing and empathizing with the protagonist’s growing sense of unease and fear. In generating that, Thatcher gives a great deal of credit to her veteran co-star, who not only gave her a lot to react to, but kept things fresh from take-to-take by experimenting with different approaches. She said,

It’s unexpected material for Hugh Grant to be working with, as the actor has long been known for romantic comedies and dramas where he has showcased his special brand of stumbling British charm. That reputation proves to be its own ingredient in the cinematic experience, though, as the film essentially weaponizes his on-screen reputation. His charisma and smile are an effective lure before you totally recognize the metaphorical knife he is hiding behind his back. It’s a particular aspect of the movie that has earned it high marks from critics (I am a voice in that chorus as well, as expressed in my four-star review for CinemaBlend)

Following Sophie Thatcher’s comments, Grant explained that there would be some takes in the filming of Heretic where you’d get a little glimpse behind the mask that would serve to keep the audience on edge – and passing the complement torch, he gave credit to the post-production work for sculpting what is his performance in the final cut of the film. Said Grant,

The latest feature to hit theaters from indie distributor A24, Heretic arrives everywhere this Friday, November 8. And while the trailer for the movie is thankfully spoiler-free, you’re definitely going to want to see it before the surprises get openly discussed online.

Spooky season may have reached its official end, but the list of upcoming horror movies continues to provide. Some of the best scary movies have been distributed by A24 in recent years, and Hugh Grant no doubt hopes to be amongst the next success stories as the star of Heretic. Grant plays Mr. Reed, who puts the faith of two Mormon missionaries to the test, and after several of the actor’s recent projects — The Undoing and Paddington 2, for example — weaponized his rom-com charm, critics are now sharing their thoughts on his latest “utterly terrifying” portrayal ahead of the film’s November 8 release.

From what we know about Heretic, Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East co-star as the young women who go knocking on Mr. Reed’s door, unwittingly setting the wheels in motion for a dangerous and terrifying fight for their lives. Unlike some of the offerings on the 2024 movie calendar, the trailer for Heretic spoils impressively little about the film, and don’t worry, I’ll keep this roundup spoiler-free to continue that trend here. In the CinemaBlend review of Heretic, Eric Eisenberg says it’s one of the year’s best horror movies, rating it 4 out of 5 stars and writing:

Mark Kennedy of the AP rates Heretic 3 out of 4 stars, saying that around the halfway point, audiences will be begging for less religion and more blood — and an “utterly terrifying” Hugh Grant will deliver. Kennedy says:

Matthew Jackson of AV Club grades the movie a B+, writing that dialogue drives the tension in Heretic and that the three central actors succeed in keeping audience members on edge for the duration of the compelling and inventive thriller. The critic says:

Siddhant Adlakha of Inverse writes that despite some inherent flaws, the upcoming A24 film is wildly exciting and is certain to keep moviegoers on the edge of their seats whilst gripping fistfuls of popcorn. The critic writes:

Patrick Cavanaugh of ComicBook.com gives it a 3 out of 5, agreeing with the critic above that Heretic isn’t presenting any real new criticisms on religion. While he says the first act shows huge promise for being one of best A24 horror movies, the tension dips as the movie progresses. Still seeing this side of Hugh Grant, as well as a different look at writers/directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, is worth the price of admission. Cavanaugh continues:

Critics overall seem impressed at what Hugh Grant and his co-stars have accomplished, with Heretic earning a Certified Fresh 93% on Rotten Tomatoes as we prepare for its theatrical premiere. If you haven't gotten enough of the spooky season yet, be sure to catch this one in the theaters starting Friday, November 8.

Curiosity is a potent component of watching Scott Beck and Bryan Woods’ Heretic. It’s quick to make you like the pair of leads, and being aware of what kind of movie you are watching, you’re concern about what’s to come. It further intrigues with the introduction of the mysterious antagonist, who constantly makes you question what is real and what is fiction. The protagonists get further pulled deeper into the villain’s sinister plan, and you wonder with fright what the next level with deliver. And finally, with its enigmatic conclusion, the film has you consider its themes and draw your own interpretations.

Within its 110 minute runtime, it constantly finds new ways to fascinate and frighten – and it does so with just three principal characters and (an albeit complex) single setting.

A minimalist feature such as this requires a sharp, intelligent script and performers who can effectively captivate and carry the full weight of the story, and Heretic shines with both. A smart, meta story structure is complemented with intelligent, incisive, and well-researched commentary about the long, broad history of organized religion, and stars Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher, and Chloe East each offer unique energies that raise the film’s temperature to a full boil.

Thatcher and East respectively play Sister Barnes and Sister Paxton, two missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints living in Colorado who plan to end their day of proselytizing visiting the home of a man named Mr. Reed (Grant). With rain starting to pour down and Mr. Reed promising the security of his wife being in the kitchen baking a blueberry pie, the young women go into the house and prep their pitch for Mormonism.

As the conversation starts, Barnes and Paxton are taken aback and impressed by their host’s intellectual insights about religion and the depth of his education on the subject. The circumstances progressively get creepier, however, as Mr. Reed’s wife fails to ever appear, the smell of blueberry pie is revealed to be from a scented candle, and it’s learned that the front door has a lock with a timer – requiring one to exit the house from the back. The missionaries try to keep their composure, but it becomes ever clearer that they have been caught in an intricate trap designed with the intention of testing their faith.

Heretic has a sharp and scary script offering fascinating perspectives on organized religion.

There are some deviations from this main story, as Topher Grace plays a church elder who realizes that Barnes and Paxton haven’t checked in and begins to retrace their steps, but Heretic primarily keeps you trapped with the protagonists in Mr. Reed’s house, and it’s gripping in its skillful escalation (there’s a natural, effective correlation between the young women literally descending into the puzzle and the rise of tension in the atmosphere). Sympathetic fear is an important part of the equation, as it becomes progressively clearer that Barnes and Paxton are in real trouble, but its more substantial success is its rhetoric and debate.

The villainy of Mr. Reed is never in question, but he fits snugly into the cinematic history of intellectual psychopaths who weaponize their intelligence to emotionally break their target – and he inarguably makes some insightful points, from likening missionary work to marketing and making a parallel between the shared roots of popular religions and the melodic link between “The Air That I Breathe” by The Hollies, “Creep” by Radiohead and “Get Free” by Lana Del Ray. He successfully earns the respect of the audience by flexing his education and reason, and you’re terrified/morbidly curious to find out what his end game is and the ultimate “truth” he has learned through all of his study.

Heretic isn’t just a scary lecture, though, and Barnes and Paxton aren’t agency-less hostages. It’s easy to imagine there being obtuse, ignorant accusations of it being so, but the movie isn’t an attempted beat down on the Mormon Church or organized religion in general; it activates a conversation about personal faith and the place that faith-based institutions have in our society. The protagonists aren’t blind followers who allow their beliefs to crumble based on Mr. Reed’s oratory, as part of their fight for freedom is challenging his unfolding thesis and presented evidence.

Hugh Grant is a spellbinding creep in Heretic, and Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East are wonderful.

Phenomenal production design by Philip Messina makes Mr. Reed’s house a singularly daunting environment and the excellent cinematography by Chung-hoon Chung ensconces the audience in the trap right alongside the lead characters, but Heretic’s intimate scope also means performances are paramount to sell the film’s intentions, and the production cast three actors perfectly fit for the task. The movie utterly fails as an exercise in horror without inspiring empathetic fear for Sister Barnes and Sister Paxton, but Sophie Thatcher (who is quickly establishing herself as a tremendous talent in the genre) and Chloe East impress with both pathos and fortitude as the story progresses.

Excellent as his colleagues are, Hugh Grant is the spotlight star in Heretic, as it’s his performance that makes the film the standout that it is. Audiences have spent decades appreciating his special brand of British charm in comedies and romantic dramas, and that familiar gentleness proves effectual as Mr. Reed lures Barnes and Paxton into his home – but Grant then proceeds to cash in all that earned emotional goodwill for a creeptastic turn as the character’s true intentions come to light. He doesn’t showcase a dangerous anger or pose a physical threat; his danger is as a charismatic guide leading the young women into his maze, and his recognized delightful grin is rendered chilling.

The release window for Heretic is a bit strange, as its arriving in theaters just a little over a week after Halloween, but it’s a worthy effort expanding spooky season. It’s a film with an intelligent, insightful vision, a taut and thrilling script, a trio of outstanding performances, and a fascinating ending that lives in your mind well beyond the end credits – making it easily one of the best horror movies of the year.

Some actors excel in dramas, others in action flicks; but there are also others whose best work happens to be in some of the best romantic comedies of all time. Nothing against Hugh Grant, Meg Ryan, or Colin Firth’s more dramatic or action-oriented work, but let’s be real for a second and admit that Four Weddings and a Funeral, When Harry Met Sally, and Bridget Jones’s Diary, as well as their other work in the genre, is why they’re so beloved.

That said, here are 32 actors whose best roles are rom-coms…

Hugh Grant

With movies like Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, Love Actually, and Bridget Jones’s Diary to his name (and many, many more), it’s no wonder Hugh Grant’s name comes up rather frequently when discussing the best rom-coms ever made. Sure, his work in Paddington 2 and Remains of the Day is great, but the man knows how to anchor a romantic comedy with that signature charm and wit.

Renée Zellweger

Sure, Renée Zellweger won her two Oscars in dramas – Cold Mountain and Judy – but that doesn’t mean those were her best roles. Again, they were both great, but don’t hold a candle to her work as the titular character in Bridget Jones’s Diary or her star-making performance in Jerry Maguire. More than 20 years after first playing those iconic characters, Zellweger’s work is still received with heaps of praise.

Julia Roberts

One of the queens of the ‘90s rom-com, Julia Roberts bookended the final decade of the 20th century with legendary performances in Pretty Woman and Notting Hill. Those roles, which should be revisited annually if we’re being honest, helped pave the way for Roberts’ stellar career.

Meg Ryan

It’s impossible to put together a list of Meg Ryan’s best movies and not include the likes of When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, and You’ve Got Mail, to name a few. The rom-com mainstay, who shared the screen with Tom Hanks, Billy Crystal, and Kevin Kline over the years, has given us unforgettable moments and more beloved characters than just about anyone.

Cameron Diaz

My Best Friend’s Wedding, There’s Something About Mary, The Holiday, The Sweetest Thing, and countless other romantic comedies made Cameron Diaz one of the biggest stars of the past 30 years. The actress has shown off her more dramatic roles in everything from Any Given Sunday and Being John Malkovich, but her performances in those rom-coms can’t be touched.

Drew Barrymore

Long before Drew Barrymore became one of the premier names in the world of daytime talk shows, she held it down in the rom-com circuit. Fever Pitch, Never Been Kissed, 50 First Dates, and The Wedding Singer are just some of Barrymore’s best romantic comedies. And while she does have a killer scene in the opening minutes of Scream, these are her most memorable performances.

Colin Firth

As much as we love watching Colin Firth play Mr. Darcy in Pride & Prejudice, his more modern take on the character in Bridget Jones’s Diary is the stuff of legend. Firth, a tremendous dramatic actor in his own right, has been a staple of the romantic comedy over the years thanks in part to those Bridget Jones movies, Mamma Mia!, and Love Actually. However, don’t let this take away from the greatness of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy or The King’s Speech.

Billy Crystal

When Harry Met Sally is one of the first movies to come to mind whenever the topic of hilarious Billy Crystal movies comes up. Filled with some of the funniest lines (and others filled with heartbreak and emotion), Crystal’s work in the rom-com genre is absolutely fantastic, be it movies like America’s Sweethearts or Forget Paris. And The Princess Bride sort of counts, right?

Cary Grant

Few Hollywood leading men have a resume as great as Cary Grant, an actor who appeared in dozens of romantic comedies over the years. Charade, The Philadelphia Story, Holiday, and so many others have long cemented Grant’s place in the annuls of rom-com history, and those hilarious and heartfelt performances are still cherished many years after his death.

Charlie Chaplin

Charlie Chaplin was the king of the silent film and an actor who could do anything from drama to slapstick to romantic comedy better than just about every single one of his contemporaries. Chaplin’s 1931 rom-com, City Lights, helped define the genre and has been a benchmark for nearly 100 years.

Nia Long

Nia Long has so many great movies to her name, including Friday, Boyz n the Hood, Big Momma’s House, and Soul Food. This also includes some all-time great romantic comedies from the ‘90s like Love Jones, The Best Man, and Hav Plenty. Though her name doesn’t come up as much as it should, Long is still in a league of her own.

Diane Keaton

Diane Keaton won an Oscar for her titular in Woody Allen’s Annie Hall, but the talented actress has several other iconic rom-coms to her name. Something’s Gotta Give, Manhattan, The Family Stone, and Baby Boom all show off the incredible skill and nuance of this once-in-a-generation actress. And this is coming from someone who thinks The Godfather is one of the top five movies of all time.

Audrey Hepburn

Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Charade, Sabrina, Roman Holiday, and My Fair Lady are all some of the funniest movies of the 20th century, and all happen to feature the unmatched talent of Audrey Hepburn in iconic roles. The late actress had a great number of dramatic roles over the years, but her charm and charisma seen in these rom-coms made her one of the all-time greats.

Constance Wu

Constance Wu has all kinds of great film and TV roles on her resume, but for some, she’ll always be remembered for her portrayal of Rachel Chu in Crazy Rich Asians. The massively popular romantic comedy about a Chinese-American NYU professor learning her boyfriend is a member of the richest and most powerful family in Singapore still hits more than a half-decade after its release.

Richard Gere

Though Richard Gere has killed it in dramas like An Officer and a Gentleman and musicals like Chicago, those performances don’t hold a candle to, at least culturally, to his role as Edward Lewis in Pretty Woman. Gere and co-star Julia Roberts would rekindle that spark less than a decade later with another great rom-com, Runaway Bride.

Reese Witherspoon

The Importance of Being Earnest, Sweeet Home Alabama, and Legally Blonde all allowed Reese Witherspoon to show off comedic skills in romantic comedies, and those roles remain some of her best. Sure, she won an Oscar for Walk the Line, but there’s no touching Elle Woods.

Henry Golding

Henry Golding had already had some success by the time he was cast as the uber-wealthy Nick Young in Crazy Rich Asians, but his performance in the 2018 romantic comedy sent him to the next level. He’s found success in movies like The Gentlemen and The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare since then, but his rom-com performance is still his best.

Eva Mendes

Eva Mendes has long killed it in comedies, romance movies, and romantic comedies. Take Hitch for example. The 2005 rom-com starring Will Smith as a professional “date doctor” who meets his match in Mendes’ character was so much fun and allowed the actress to show off all of her skills in a fun and meaningful way.

Sandra Bullock

While You Were Sleeping, Hope Floats, The Proposal, and Two Weeks Notice are just a few of Sandra Bullock’s all-time great romantic comedies. The Academy Award-winning actress has long been one of the best to attempt the genre, and she’ll have a long-lasting legacy because of those strong, vulnerable, and incredibly relatable characters.

Michael Ealy

Over the years, Michael Ealy has put together a crazy good filmography, one that is filled with medical dramas and thrillers, action flicks and comedies, etc. But let’s not forget all the great work he’s done in the world of romantic comedies. Kissing Jessica Stein, Think Like a Man, and About Last Night have all shown what the talented actor is working with.

Adam Sandler

Though not the prototypical romantic lead, there are so many great Adam Sandler rom-coms out there. From The Wedding Singer to Punch-Drunk Love and 50 First Dates to Spanglish there’s so much variety and fun to be had with his stellar filmography.

Jennifer Garner

13 Going on 30, anyone? Jennifer Garner became one of the queens of the rom-com with the release of her 2004 comedy about a young girl who is transformed into a 30-year-old magazine editor and undergoes a massive transformation (both physically and emotionally). She’s also appeared in other great comedies of the era like Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and Love, Simon, to name a few.

Woody Allen

Woody Allen’s monologue in the opening minutes of Manhattan is honestly one of the best cinematic moments of the ‘70s and features some of Allen’s best writing. That’s saying something considering the writer-director-actor has been a part of so many great rom-coms over the years. Annie Hall, Midnight in Paris, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, and Hannah and her Sisters have made us laugh, cry, and feel everything in between over the past 50-plus years.

Anne Hathaway

Anne Hathaway’s name doesn’t come up in the rom-com discussion as much as it should, which is a shame considering the Oscar-winning actress has killed it in movies like The Princess Diaries, Ella Enchanted, Love & Other Drugs, and so many others. Yeah, she was great in Interstellar and Les Misérables, but there’s no denying her performances in these romantic comedies.

Morris Chestnut

Okay, Morris Chestnut was AMAZING in Boyz n the Hood with his portrayal of Ricky Baker, but the man has become a legend in the rom-com game over the past few decades. Two Can Play That Game, The Best Man, The Brothers, The Perfect Holiday, Breakin’ All the Rules are all classics, thanks in no small part to Chestnut’s performances.

Rachel McAdams

Rachel McAdams’ career has been full of swirling tales of romance like The Notebook, The Vow, and Disobedience, but some of her best work has been in romantic comedies. Wedding Crashers and Midnight in Paris quickly come to mind, but her best performance can be found in About Time, an incredibly emotional and hilarious story of love, loss, and second chances.

John Cusack

Look at the best John Cusack movies and you’ll see iconic rom-coms like High Fidelity, Say Anything, Serendipity, Better Off Dead, and America’s Sweethearts. The vulnerability and likeability of the Hollywood star have made those movies, and the beloved characters he plays in each of them, such gems over the years.

Kate Hudson

Kate Hudson is amazing when it comes to roles in romantic comedies, and few could come close to her batting average in the early-to-mid 2000s. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, My Best Friend’s Girl, Something Borrowed, and A Little Bit of Heaven all come to mind in this regard.

Taye Diggs

Taye Diggs has done it all, but he’s excelled tremendously in the rom-com world. Movies like The Wood, The Best Man, Brown Sugar, and How Stella Got Her Groove Back have shown just how charming and funny the classically trained actor can be.

Ben Stiller

Though an unlikely leading man in the realm of romantic comedies, Ben Still has long excelled in the genre. Over the years, we’ve had sensational comedies like There’s Something About Mary, Along Came Polly, Keeping the Faith, and even Reality Bites that have allowed the comedian-actor-writer-director to show off what he’s working with, and it’s been great all along.

Jennifer Aniston

Jennifer Aniston will always be remembered for her portrayal of Rachel Green on Friends, but let’s not forget that she has also been a longtime staple of the romantic comedy genre. The Break-up, Wanderlust, Just Go With It, The Switch, Rumor Has It, and several others have been perfect movies for Aniston to show off her skills.

Patrick Dempsey

From Can’t Buy Me Love to Made of Honor and everything in between, Patrick Dempsey has been a tour de force in the world of romantic comedies. He’s done great work on TV and in big-screen dramas over the years, but he particularly excels in the rom-com genre.

Everyday we’re getting closer to the final innings of the 2024 movie schedule, with some select delights awaiting just around the bend. The upcoming A24 movie Heretic is one of those very films to look forward to, and somehow this Hugh Grant led journey into holy dread is still somewhat of a mystery.

In fact, the only thing that impressed me more than Grant’s deliciously creepy performance is the fact that we’ve seen three trailers for this flick, and I feel we’re not even closed to being spoiled.

Heretic’s Secret Keeping Abilities Need To Be Commended

In an age where you hear people say “The trailer gave too much away!” on a regular basis, having a well-received horror film remain a mystery this far out feels like a blessing. And trust me, what we know about Heretic is already enough to send our imaginations racing.

Especially when Hugh Grant’s “Mr. Reed” is about to send young Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East) through a journey of inner faith. Of course, that sort of enterprise normally entails some sort of personal conflict, at least in the more traditional sort of narrative where a person of faith has this very common personal crisis.

However, Heretic writers/directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods have seemed to have taken that prospect and translated it into something much more horrific. As you can see throughout all three trailers, whatever that journey entails, and the end result, is still as cryptic as ever.

Much like any of the other best A24 movies, we're all asking questions about what we're not seeing. In that particular spirit, I'd like to share a theory on where I think the madness that is Heretic is heading.

My Best Guess As To Where Heretic Is Going

With the limited knowledge at hand, I have to openly wonder just where the story for Heretic is going. More so than any normal trailer, as again, we the audience seem to be as in the dark as Sisters Barnes and Paxton. However, I have a wild theory that has been sparked by the main thrust of the picture’s story.

Let’s just say that while this role seems to break Hugh Grant’s “orange role” streak, it was with good purpose. Especially when the center of Heretic’s story is Mr. Reed, a man who’s supposedly well read in the ways of comparative religion, forcing our young Mormon protagonists to choose between “Belief” and “Disbelief.”

Through a home crafted maze, and the potential assistance of some psychotropic drugs that sound like they can make a person feel rather unwell, that simple choice that must be simply chosen is going to unfold. That, to me, sounds like a dash of cosmic horror is going to invade Heretic’s oh so secretive confines.

I think that Sisters Barnes and Paxton are about to be shown a peek beyond the veil of our world, and what they see just might drive them to the point of near madness. Which, ultimately, will force them to either see comfort in Belief, or live disillusioned with Disbelief…and carry on Mr. Reed’s work.

I’m willing to risk being wrong, because it proves my point that Heretic’s marketing has revealed next to nothing, and the ride towards enlightenment is all the more fun. This is all mere speculation, and I can’t wait to see if I’m right or wrong. Also, this picture had me on the hook the moment Hugh Grant was shown to be a holy terror that might become one of the greats in the landscape of upcoming horror movies.

Heretic doesn’t have long before it reveals its secrets to all of us, as the movie has been pushed up into a theatrical debut on November 8th. And while we're unsure when it'll head to streaming, A24's current deal that allows Max subscription holders to enjoy the spoils of their library has probably secured that fate.

But if you've decided to wait until streaming, good luck avoiding spoilers in the meantime. Whatever the truth of Heretic may turn out to be, it looks like we'll be talking about those reveals for some time.

The 1990s had some truly great rom-coms, some of which are easily among the best romantic comedies of all time, and that includes Roger Michell’s Notting Hill, which arrived in theaters in 1999. Written by Richard Curtis, the film delivered scene after scene of great comedy and charming romance as we see Julia Roberts’s character — famous actress Anna Scott — fall for Hugh Grant’s Will Thacker, a divorced bookshop owner who lives in Notting Hill, London.

There is no shortage of great scenes and quotes from Notting Hill, which to this day, still make me smile, laugh, cry, and in some cases, swoon at the romance of it all. So let’s dig into some of the best quotes and scenes from the film, which is undoubtedly one of Julia Roberts’ best movies, and also one of Hugh Grant’s best rom-coms.

William Introducing Us To Notting Hill

Notting Hill does a wonderful job of introducing us to both of the main characters, but more importantly, the contrast between their lives. First, we see Anna on red carpets, looking stunning while being photographed and adored, and then we’re brought into Will’s side of the story, and his relatively simple life as a bookshop owner in the London neighborhood of Notting Hill. It’s a great way to set things up just before their meet-cute. 

Will Catches A Shoplifter In The Act

There’s a hilarious politeness to the way that Will approaches Rufus, the man attempting to shoplift a book from his store. Will first has to break the bad news to the man that there are security cameras, and then the man must casually acknowledge that, ok, maybe there is a book down his trousers. But this situation needn’t escalate, and it really doesn’t, as Will gives him the opportunity to either buy the book or put it back. 

"I was gonna steal one, but now I've changed my mind."

Anna’s funny reaction to witnessing Will’s encounter with a shoplifter is made all the funnier because, at this point, Will still doesn’t seem to recognize her. It isn’t until Rufus boldly approaches her for an autograph that he puts two and two together. 

Will Awkwardly Offering Anna Food

At this point, Anna and Will’s encounter has escalated to a run-in involving a lot of spilled orange juice and Will inviting Anna into his home so that she can change out of her juice-soaked shirt, which she surprisingly accepts. But the awkwardness doesn’t end there, as Anna soon finds herself standing in Will’s kitchen — dressed in a shirt that’s probably more appropriate for nighttime wear, but is undoubtedly less sticky than the other shirt she was wearing — and politely declines all of the things Will offers her from his fridge (including apricots soaked in honey).

Will And Anna's First Kiss

None of what transpires before this event is what you’d expect to precede a kiss, unless you’re in a rom-com, of course, which they are. So the fact that Anna seizes an opportunity to kiss Will after their numerous awkward encounters is more charming and adorable than it is unlikely as far as I’m concerned. 

"Oh my god, my flatmate. I'm sorry. There's no excuse for him."

Anna and Will’s first kiss might’ve ended on an awkward note, given how surprised Will seemed to be by it. Fortunately, this is the moment Spike (Rhys Ifans) walks through the door. Upon hearing the key turn in the lock, Will barely has time to offer some attempt at an apology for whatever it is his flatmate might say or do, which as we see, isn't really an overreaction. 

"Imagine, somewhere in the world, there's a man who's allowed to kiss her."

What’s funny on the surface about this scene, in which Will and Spike are watching one of Anna’s movies together, is that we know that Will very recently got to be the man who’s allowed to kiss Anna Scott. But it’s even funnier when we consider that Spike doesn’t seem to have made the connection between the woman on the screen and the woman he pushed past when he came into the house earlier. 

When Will Finds Himself Interviewing Anna

This entire sequence is nothing short of hilarious. Anna has invited Will to her hotel to speak to him and apologize for the kiss, but she’s still in the middle of a press junket for her latest film when he arrives. Will finds himself caught up in it, and rather than explaining to Anna’s publicist that he was invited by Anna, he quickly lies and says he’s a reporter from Horse & Hound, and follows through with interviewing her. 

"Any horses in that one? Or hounds, for that matter. Our readers are equally intrigued by both species."

Because they keep getting interrupted by someone involved with the film, Will continues to try to interview Anna about a movie he has not seen, on behalf of the first magazine he saw in the waiting area for the interview. Naturally, there are no horses or hounds featured in the movie Anna’s promoting (which is set in space), and the same is the case for her next movie, which is set on a submarine. So his questions really go nowhere. 

"This is one of those key moments in life when it's possible you can be really, genuinely cool and I'm going to fail just 100%."

While most people who encounter Anna make some attempt to play it cool, Will’s sister Honey (Emma Chambers) proves to be especially self-aware from the start and, upon meeting Anna when Will brings her for Honey’s birthday dinner, quickly reveals out loud that there’s no way she’ll be able to be cool in this situation. And then she pitches the idea of being best friends.

When Bernie Finally Realizes Who Anna Is

Ah, Bernie (Hugh Bonneville). Unlike everyone else at Honey’s birthday dinner — including Max (Tim McInnerny) and Bella (Gina McKee) — who catch on fairly quickly that Anna is “Anna Scott,” a famous actress, Bernie completely misses this observation. Even when he’s asking Anna about her work as an actress, he doesn’t seem to connect the dots. It isn’t until Anna excuses herself to use the restroom that he’s informed of who she is, and he has to rethink everything they just talked about in an entirely new light. 

Anna Joining In On The Contest To Win The Last Brownie

It’s so great to see Anna sitting back and enjoying the easy levity during Honey’s birthday dinner. But things take a more serious turn when, facing one last brownie available at the table, an impromptu contest about who has the saddest life-situation erupts with the brownie being the prize. Not wanting to be left out, Anna takes a shot at it by sharing some of the not-so-glamorous things she’s had to deal with in her life. After a pause, they laugh off her attempt to get the last brownie, but up to that point, this was a sweet but sad moment of vulnerability from Anna, and one that everyone at the table seemed to appreciate until the tension needed to be broken. 

"You said whoopsidaisies"

It’s impossible for me not to laugh at this scene every time. Maybe it’s the way Anna laughs and then insists that Will confirm that he did, in fact, say “whoopsidaisies” as though he’s a little girl from fifty years ago in blond ringlets. Or maybe it’s the fact that, after this embarrassing situation that Will tries to pretend didn’t happen, he once again tries to climb over the gate to the park and falls back down with a second “whoosidaisies," which prompts an even bigger laugh from Anna.

"Come and sit with me."

I love the way Will lets Anna sit by herself on the park bench, as though he knows she’s having a special moment after reading the inscription on the plaque. And then she invites him to sit with her, which he does. The sequence is enhanced by the way we’re looking down on it from above, the view moving slowly away from them, as though even the camera wants to give them some privacy in this simple, romantic moment. 

William Wearing His Prescription Goggles At The Movies

We should’ve known that Will owning prescription snorkeling goggles might come back at a later point in the movie. And so it does, when he can’t find his glasses and is late for his movie-date with Anna. He ends up sitting next to her, watching the movie while wearing snorkeling goggles, which she seems to find very amusing. 

When Anna Tells Off The Men At The Restaurant

It’s such a satisfying moment, after watching Anna and Will listen in on a table of men nearby at a restaurant talk about Anna Scott. At first, it seems like the conversation might be friendly banter, but it soon devolves into some very rude and crass words about who they think Anna Scott is. When Will has heard enough, he approaches the table to ask them to stop. The men brush him off and are only silenced when Anna chooses to approach them and put them in their place. 

Meeting Anna's Terrible Boyfriend

Just when it seems like things couldn’t be going better for Will and Anna, we find out at the worst possible time — when Anna has invited Will up to her hotel room — that Anna has a boyfriend. Jeff (Alec Baldwin) has surprised Anna with a visit. Of course, we immediately don’t like him, even though he’s being friendly in an overly confident sort of way, and totally oblivious to the fact that Will is not, in fact, the room service guy, as he’s pretending to be. But Jeff soon proves that he’s the absolute worst when he suggests Anna not “overdo it” when ordering food for herself, lest she gain weight and it reflect poorly on him. Except that’s not how he says it. 

"You are lovelier this morning than you have ever been."

It isn’t until later in the movie that Will and Anna spend the night together, and it’s under strange circumstances, as Anna is hiding out from the press after some old photos of her have resurfaced. The morning after their night together, Anna quotes Rita Hayworth in talking about how men went to bed with a fantasy but woke up with a real person the next day and were disappointed. It’s clear she’s concerned that Will might be experiencing something like that, but he assures her with the most perfect response imaginable. 

"Can I stay a bit longer?" Anna - "Stay forever." William

Just when I thought Will couldn’t top his “you are more lovelier” line, when Anna asks him if she can stay at his home a bit longer, he assures her that he’s just fine if she never leaves. 

Spike Posing For The Photographers

Spike’s not a man to miss an opportunity. Unfortunately, he’s also maybe not a man to keep his mouth shut, as he proved when he admitted to Will later that he might’ve told a few people at the pub about Anna staying at their house. But before this confession, he enjoyed a few seconds in the spotlight of the paparazzi by flexing his muscles for the cameras. 

Time Passing After Anna Leaves

Once again, things with Will and Anna fall apart just as they were starting to get going. At this point in the movie, our hearts are as broken as Will’s as we see him back to his life in Notting Hill, the passage of time reflected in the changing of seasons as he walks down the street. To add sadness to heartbreak, the scene is set to Lighthouse Family’s “Ain’t No Sunshine.” 

When Honey Announces Her Engagement

At this point, any good news helps, and during a dinner to acknowledge the closing of their friend’s restaurant, Honey has some good news. She’s decided to get engaged. It’s impossible not to be happy for her, but then it becomes funny when she turns and informs Spike that he’s the person she’s getting engaged to. Fortunately for both of them, Spike’s into it. And it’s adorable. 

The Interruptions When Anna's Attempting To Reconnect With Will

Will and Anna have tried to be together numerous times at this point, and something has always happened to thwart their romance. When Anna is attempting to profess her hopes that something could happen between her and Will, they’re interrupted numerous times — once by a call from Will’s mother, and another time by the customer who’s returned, despite the shop not carrying John Grisham thrillers. While Will does take the call from his mother, he flatly sends the “Annoying Customer” (as Roger Frost’s character is actually credited) away. 

"I'm also just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her."

It’s an iconic line, and likely the one fans remember most from the movie (along with Roberts' tearful delivery of it), so, of course, I’m including it. But this is also a line that’s meant to remind Will that, beyond her fame and fortune, Anna really is just a woman who hopes he’ll love her back. Sadly, it takes a bit more than that for Will to get beyond all of the other stuff. 

"Well, you know. Anyone saying they want to go out with you is pretty great, right?"

We might give credit to Spike for reacting appropriately — calling Will a name and acting totally disgusted — when learning Will has turned Anna down. But it’s actually Bernie who seems to change Will’s mind. After all, everyone is supportive of Will’s decision not to reconnect with Anna, but when Bernie points out how nice it is when someone wants to go out with you, Will seems to realize that, at its core, that’s the situation he’s in. Anna wants to be with him. The other stuff really doesn’t matter. 

Spike Directing Traffic

Other rom-coms have pulled off the last-minute dash to find the love interest and ask for a second chance, but Notting Hill is a masterclass in the trope, as we see Will and his friends set off to find Anna, first at her hotel, and then at the hotel where her press conference is taking place. This is how Spike ends up saving the day by jumping from the over-packed car and straight into traffic where he clears a path for Max’s car to get through. 

"Thacker. His name's Thacker."

It’s not a moment we’re expecting, but it’s one of the funniest quick bits in the movie, in my opinion. Will has interrupted the press conference to ask Anna for a second chance. At this point, no one but Anna seems to know who he is. So when Will is speaking hypothetically about the man whose house Anna was photographed at, another reporter helpfully interjects that the man’s name is “Thacker.” Which is, indeed, Will’s name. 

The Way William And Anna Look At Each Other At The Press Conference

The grand finale happens when Anna re-answers the question about how long she’ll be in London, and she answers “indefinitely” this time, indicating that maybe things aren’t over with her and this Thacker guy. And that’s when the room figures out that the man in the pink shirt is, indeed, Will Thacker, and all their attention turns to him. But Will and Anna can’t take their eyes off of each other, and it’s clear they’re both in this for the long haul. 

When Spike Shows Off His Ridiculous T-Shirts

Early in the film, we get a good sense of who Spike really is when he shows off several t-shirts he has in mind for his upcoming date. As though an “I love blood” t-shirt might be a good option. Fortunately, Will discourages him from wearing it. But the one Spike lands on isn’t so great either. 

Will And Anna's Kiss In The Park

After sneaking into the park at night, Will and Anna share their second kiss. Once again, Anna initiates it, but it’s in response to Will questioning if the park really was worth all of the effort it took to break into it. I love that the movie later ends with them lounging together in that park. Presumably, they’re allowed to be there at that point, but it’s a great callback to see them back on that bench, just being together. 

"Sorry, they always do that when I leave."

Well, how would you react if your friend or family member showed up at an intimate birthday gathering with a mega-star? Will’s friends kept it cool throughout most of the night, but the moment they left, they erupted in cheers and laughter at the whole situation. And Will humorously brushes it off when he and Anna hear it from outside, as though this is just how they act when he leaves. 

"There's something wrong with this yogurt."

What’s funnier - that Spike is eating spoonfuls of mayonnaise that he thinks is yogurt, or that he continues to eat it even after Will informs him that it’s mayo? Not sure, don’t care. It’s gross, but so funny. 

Over 20 years after the release of Bridget Jones’s Diary, it’s still one of the best romantic comedies of all time. So, it brought us a ton of joy when we learned a few months back that another one of Helen Fielding’s novels from the series was being adapted! Ahead of the rom-com joining the 2025 movie schedule, the production has finished rolling cameras, and now they're celebrating.

Working Title Films, which has been responsible for all the hilarious Bridget Jones movies, took to Twitter on Thursday to share an exciting photo from set to celebrate the production finishing up filming. Take a look:

How exciting! The post features an image of what we’d assume is Renée Zellweger’s chair on set alongside some monitors set up on the location of the new Bridget Jones movie. The company shared with audiences that we’ll see what they’ve made on Valentine’s Day. What a perfect date to venture back into the love life of the beloved British character who is inspired by Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

As we previously learned, Renée Zellweger will be playing Bridget Jones for the fourth time in an adaptation of Helen Fielding’s 2013 book, Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy. It will also see the return of Hugh Grant as Daniel Cleaver for the first time since 2004’s Edge of Reason. He didn’t want to be in the third movie, Bridget Jones’s Baby, but this time is a different story. Plus, the end of the 2016 movie showed Bridget finding out Daniel is alive, after all.

Emma Thompson is also reprising her role as Dr. Rawlings (from the third movie), plus Chiwetel Ejiofor and One Day and White Lotus’ Leo Woodall will make their debuts in the film series. Colin Firth is not expected to return, and as fans of the book may know, Mark Darcy actually tragically dies in the Mad About The Boy novel. Even so, we’re hoping the actor finds himself in the movie somehow. Firth has turned down a Bridget Jones movie before, only to change his mind, so who knows!

The Mad About The Boy novel, which is being adapted by Fielding herself alongside Abi Morgan and Dan Mazer and director Michael Morris, will follow Bridget as a 51-year-old single mother and widow who is navigating a sexual relationship with a younger man (who we imagine will be played by Woodall). This time Bridget also uses social media a lot more to express her feelings rather than an analog diary.

Unfortunately for American audiences, the new Bridget Jones movie is only going to those with a Peacock subscription on February 14th, whereas international fans will have the ability to check it out in theaters. However, we can't help but be thrilled about this film.

I don’t know about you, but seeing Bridget and Daniel’s reunion in Mad About The Boy just made the first draft of my 2025 New Year’s resolution.

Whether you are looking at the list of Julia Roberts' best rom-coms or Hugh Grant’s finest work in the genre, you’re guaranteed to find Notting Hill on both. The story about a normal guy falling in love with a famous actress has stood the test of time, and to this day people can’t get enough of it. Now, there’s a new rom-com in town about a couple who has to face the challenges that come with fame – Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine’s The Idea Of You – and fans can’t stop comparing it to the 1999 flick that’s considered one of the best romantic comedies out there. 

What Are The Similarities Between The Idea Of You And Notting Hill?

The Idea of You follows a 40-year-old single mom (Hathaway) after she has a run-in with the 24-year-old frontman of the boyband August Moon (Galitzine). Immediately they have a connection, and what follows is a story about them falling in love and navigating the challenges that come with fame and their age difference. 

Like Notting Hill, which follows your average Joe (Grant) falling for a very famous actress (Roberts), The Idea of You’s primary conflict comes from the issues that arise when a person starts dating a very famous human, except the genders are swapped. 

Plus, both lead couples have undeniable chemistry, and you can't help but root for their love. So, the comparisons are more than understandable. 

So, with all that in mind, and following the release of the film adaptation of The Idea of You on the 2024 movie schedule, fans took to social media to buzz about Anne Hathaway’s first big rom-com in years.

What Fans Are Saying About The Idea Of You And Notting Hill

The internet truly can’t get enough of the similarities between The Idea of You and Notting Hill; for example, @LEBassett posted:

Overall, the initial reactions to The Idea of You were very positive, and they continue to be as those with an Amazon Prime subscription stream the film. People comparing it to Notting Hill is a prime example of the good vibes surrounding the rom-com, because it’s some seriously high praise. That was proven again when @bashful_michael posted:

Getting into the details and looks of both movies, there were a lot of comparisons to be made too. Of course, the overall gender-swapped story of The Idea of You is comparable to Notting Hill. However, the wonderful smiles and laughs Julia Roberts and Anne Hathaway have are quite similar, and the vibrant yet complex energy they bring to their respective movies is palpable. @tpwktom pointed that out in their post about the two films:

Spoilers ahead for this next comparison, but one fan, @lar1oliveira, couldn’t help but point out that the tearjerking happy endings were similar too:

According to @Richard@Roeper, all that was missing from The Idea of You was a fun little walk around Notting Hill. Considering Nicholas Galitzine’s character is British in the movie and the fact that he travels across Europe with Anne Hathaway’s leading lady, I don’t think it’s far-fetched to dream of this as a reality for this couple:

Overall, The Idea of You is poised to become one of Amazon Prime’s best movies, and I think these loving, and occasionally silly, comparisons help prove that point. 

Like Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant in Notting Hill, Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine have undeniable chemistry. Also, like Notting Hill, The Idea of You addresses the complexities of fame and public opinion while also remaining a very sweet and heartfelt romantic comedy. Now, the question is, like Notting Hill is for Grant and Roberts, will The Idea of You become some of Hathaway and Galitzine's best work? I'd hedge my bet that the answer is yes. 

You are going to be hard-pressed to find anything as hysterically bonkers as Unfrosted on the schedule of 2024 Netflix movie and TV release dates. In comedian Jerry Seinfeld’s directorial debut, the invention of Pop-Tarts is treated like The Right Stuff, but told with as much dedication to both comedy and reality as Airplane! 

Part of that delightful anarchy comes from actor Hugh Grant’s portrayal of legendary voice actor Thurl Ravenscroft, which required him to wear a rather hot-looking Tony the Tiger costume. But if you ask the veteran of “orange” roles -- which he had in the films Wonka and Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre -- this colorful coincidence isn’t just happenstance, it’s his new career model.

I say this because as part of Netflix’s recent Unfrosted press day, I got to sit across a breakfast table with the man himself. As a fan, and a journalist, this was indeed an honor; especially when I asked if he held either of his recently tinted performances as the more uncomfortable experience. Turning on the charm, while also conveying his appreciation for these opportunities, here’s what Hugh Grant shared with CinemaBlend: 

I would have thought that while playing a cereal mascot in a traditionally hot costume was certainly uncomfortable, it wouldn’t have held a candle to Hugh Grant’s uncomfortable Wonka shoot. Of course, based on the glowing enthusiasm that he shared about his time making Unfrosted, it would have been hard to feel anything but happiness. At least, once the suit was off, and a reasonable room temperature was reached.

When talking about making the movie, Hugh practically glowed about his experience with co-stars like Melissa McCarthy. He also proclaimed himself as a huge fan of Seinfeld, and Jerry himself, so the chance to work on his Unfrosted vision really does seem to have been a dream come true for Hugh Grant. This only makes the hysterical costumes, ranging from dashing to topically out there, a bigger treat to behold.

Further discussing his experiences in comedy filmmaking, you can see why the Love, Actually star wouldn’t terribly mind wearing some ridiculous get-ups for his Unfrosted role. With a healthy trust of directors who understand the construction of humor, Hugh Grant will clearly suffer through the experiences he’s encountered to get the laugh. 

The results are clearly worth it too, as the anticipation for Hugh Grant’s Tony the Tiger paid off in the finished product. So long as the person behind the camera knows where that laugh is coming from, you could probably put Hugh in almost any costume or makeup known to humanity. This is more than likely the reason we hear stories like the one about Paul King’s delight in Hugh Grant’s grumpiness on the Wonka set. 

Come to think of it, I’m now of the mind that if there were to be another live-action Grinch adaptation, Hugh Grant’s experience as the fictionalized version of Thurl Ravenscroft -- who sang "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" in real life -- would make him a rather fine candidate. Then again, if we’re sticking with the Orange theme of his latest output, there’s one more role that Grant jokingly put on the table:

If Kenneth Branagh can play Boris Johnson, then I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch for Hugh Grant to make a similar transformation. 

Speaking of transformations, there are several other looks that await eager Netflix subscription holders this weekend, as Unfrosted is set to make its debut on the 2024 movie schedule this Friday. 

It was only a few months ago that moviegoers got to see Hugh Grant play an Oompa Loompa in Wonka, a movie he “hated” filming. But one man’s poor work experience is another person’s cinematic entertainment, and soon Max subscribers will be able to stream Grant acting opposite Timothée Chalamet’s Willy Wonka to their heart’s content. Even better, we’re not done seeing Grant play roles outside of his usual wheelhouse; he’s set to play a cereal mascot in Jerry Seinfeld’s movie about Pop Tarts, and I need to see his scene ASAP.

Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story delves into Kellog’s and Post Cereal competing in 1963 to create a pastry that, as described in the official synopsis, “will change the face of breakfast forever.” The end result is the former company delivering Pop-Tarts to the world by 1964, and while we already knew that Grant was part of the Unfrosted cast, we now know from Empire that he’s set to play Tony the Tiger in the movie heading to Netflix subscribers later this year. Or rather, he’ll play someone who has to don a Tony the Tiger costume, as seen below:

Wow, that looks grrrreeat… you all know I had to do it. Yes, at some point during Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story, we’ll see Hugh Grant portraying a man who has to put on the Tony the Tiger costume for a commercial. At this point in time, Frosted Flakes has been on the market since 1952 and Tony has been its mascot since the beginning, so he was quite the familiar face to people watching TV in the early 1960s. It’s wonderful to see Grant in that costume, but now I really want to see how this scene specifically unfolds and if his character is just as much of curmudgeon.

Jerry Seinfeld, who stars in, directed and co-wrote Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story, said he brought Hugh Grant aboard because he’s a “crazy fans of his.” For the first time in 30 years, Grant sent in an audition tape to give a taste of what he’d do with his screen time, and Seinfeld recalled the later exchange he and the actor had:

A British Tony the Tiger?! Is this a late Christmas present?! The good news is that Unfrosted comes out in a couple months, so we don’t have to wait too long to see this glorious moment. But if that’s not enough to entice you to check out Unfrosted, some of the other actors in this ensemble cast include Melissa McCarthy, Jim Gaffigan, Amy Schumer, James Marsden, Jack McBrayer, Bill Burr, Maria Baklava and Max Greenfield, among many others. In addition to this being Seinfeld’s directorial debut, it’s also his first time leading a movie since 2007’s Bee Movie, which he also co-wrote and produced.

Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story comes out on May 3, but for those of you in the mood to check out some of Hugh Grant’s recent work right now, along with Wonka’s forthcoming Max arrival, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves can be streamed with a Paramount+ subscription, and Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre can be accessed with a Starz add-on to your Hulu subscription.

As critics share their Wonka takes of both the sweet and sour variety, Hugh Grant has opened up about his own sour experience making the film. The actor plays an Oompa Loompa in the Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory prequel, and he’s essentially all CGI. It turns out that the process of motion capture and playing a computer-generated character wasn’t exactly his cup of tea as he explained why he “hated” filming the movie. Honestly,  it sounds pretty intense. 

Ever since the first Wonka trailer dropped, we’ve known that the Willy Wonka prequel would feature Hugh Grant as a tiny orange singing and dancing Oompa Loompa. Now, as the promotional tour has begun for the musical Paul King flick, the Notting Hill star has not been shy about how much he didn’t like playing the Oompa Loompa Lofty. Saying during a press conference (via Metro.co.uk) that it was “drivel,” the performer spoke about why he didn’t love the process:

This comment was in reference to the motion capture gear and costume he had to wear during the shoot. According to the article, he had multiple cameras on his face and other “apparatuses.” This was all so the animators could transform him into the tiny orange being that befriends Willy Wonka. Making it clear that he did not like the process of filming this movie, Hugh Grant said:

He went on to explain why he had such strong negative feelings about this process, saying that he kept asking if he should “act with my body or not,” noting that he never got a “satisfactory answer.” Continuing to speak to this point, he said:

Honestly, I do get where he’s coming from. This sounds incredibly difficult. Playing a character that will be mostly computer-generated can’t be easy. A lot is left up to the imagination while filming. I’d imagine it’s hard to put yourself in the shoes of a character when you have cameras strapped onto your head, and little direction when it comes to which parts of your body will be incorporated into the character’s physicality. 

Finally, when asked if it was worth it, Grant said “not really,” as the Wonka cast laughed. Later in the interview, the actor also joked about how he does “slightly hate [making films]” in general. However, as he stated, he has “lots of children” and he needs money. Luckily, the curmudgeonly mood didn’t put a total damper on his experience, as he did note that it was “quite fun, messing around and trying new lines.” 

Luckily, Hugh Grant’s grumpiness worked in his and Paul King’s favor while making Wonka. While defending the Oompa Loompa actor’s casting, the director said he wanted someone who could “be a real shit,” meaning he really wanted to reflect the “humor, sarcasm, superiority and scorn,” that Willy Wonka’s helpers have in the book. So, that’s why Hugh Grant was cast as Lofty, he wanted to harness that sarcastic and curmudgeonly sense of humor. 

While it’s a bummer that Hugh Grant “hated” filming Wonka for fair reasons, the film has been getting quite a bit of love. So, to see the actor as an Oompa Loompa in the origin story of the famous chocolatier, you can check out Wonka when it hits the 2023 movie schedule on December 15. 

Out of the myriad Love Actually character stories from the beloved 2003 holiday rom-com—which Timothée Chalamet recently dubbed "the best Christmas movie of all time"—star Hugh Grant has a clear favorite. And, no, it's not his own.

Grant played a U.K. prime minister who gets swept up in romantic feelings for Natalie (Martine McCutcheon), a junior member of his household staff, in the Richard Curtis-directed flick. Those feelings were so strong that Grant's character famously shimmied his way through 10 Downing Street to the Pointer Sisters’ "Jump (For My Love)" (an iconic scene Grant has since admitted he hated filming). 

And while that storyline ends sweetly, with Grant's PM and Natalie sharing a much-publicized smooch during a Christmas concert, the actor revealed during a recent interview on Access Hollywood's YouTube that he actually prefers one of his co-star's plot lines more. 

Obviously, Grant is being cheeky about his Love Actually co-star Colin Forth, with whom he has worked with several times throughout his career, most famously as rivals in the first two parts of the Bridget Jones trilogy. (Here's why Grant opted out of the franchise's third movie, Bridget Jones' Baby.) 

In Love Actually, Firth plays Jamie, a London-based author who withdraws to a French cottage after discovering that his girlfriend is cheating on him with his brother. There, he connects with his Portuguese housekeeper Aurélia (Lúcia Moniz), despite the fact that she doesn't speak English and he can't speak Portuguese. 

However, their attraction grows and, in the end (spoiler alert!) Jamie tracks her down at her waitressing job and, in very rudimentary Portuguese, proposes marriage to her. She reveals that she also has been taking English language courses, "just in cases," and reveals that she shares his love and accepts. In the last scene from the movie, it is revealed that they got married and Jamie can be seen introducing Aurélia to his English friends at Heathrow airport. 

Grant might favor Jamie and Aurélia's story but every Love Actually fan knows the real love story of the movie is the sweet bromance between Bill Nighy's Billy Mack and his manager Joe (Gregor Fisher)!

The actor's jests about Firth aren't the first time he's publicly prodded his friend and frequent co-star. Last year, it was reported by the Huffington Post that Grant had dedicated one of the cinema seats in the headquarters of the British Academy Film Awards HQ in London to Firth, equipped with a characteristically playful plaque that read: 

Firth is, of course, very much alive and well.  

Grant is currently on a promotional tour for the Willy Wonka prequel film, one of the most high-profile releases on the 2023 movie schedule, which is set to hit theaters internationally on December 6 and in North America on December 15. While the aforementioned Timothée Chalamet takes on the titular candy man, the English actor is portraying an Oompa-Loompa named Lofty in the Paul King-directed musical film. 

Between notable movies like Dune and Little Women, I find Timothée Chalamet to be one of the most talented young actors of this generation. (Florence Pugh has even called him the Leonardo DiCaprio of our time!) So, of course, I’m following his next role, Wonka, which will have the actor portraying a young Willy Wonka before he starts his chocolate empire. However, while I know a lot about Wonka, I most certainly did not expect Chalamet to bust out the “Oompa Loompa” song at the movie’s premiere. 

When the film premiered in Tokyo, Japan this week, Timothée Chalamet and Hugh Grant introduced it together. During their little speech, the actor leading the Wonka cast started singing the popular song from 1971’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory out of nowhere. Check it out: 

Ok, so not totally out of nowhere. Hugh Grant, who plays an Oompa Loompa in the movie, had the microphone and, he was sharing hopes that the audience would like Wonka before Chalamet started singing the song. The Notting Hill star offered the actor a major compliment, saying he’s “very good” in their movie before the Dune performer responded by breaking into song.

Chalamet is clearly not only a big fan of the original film, but he loves the 2005 Tim Burton movies starring Johnny Depp too. As he shared at the Tokyo premiere as well, per Variety, when he was 10, he watched the Depp movie, and he was pinching himself because if little Timmy knew where he was now, he “would’ve told you you were lying.” 

Wonka will feature Timothée Chalamet singing as Willy Wonka, not unlike what Gene Wilder did in the 1971 adaptation of Roald Dahl’s book. However, as director Paul King previously told Total Film (via our sister site GamesRadar), it’s “more like a movie with songs than a musical.” It’s yet to be seen whether Wonka will revive the “Oompa Loompa” song. 

In Wonka, Chalamet’s Willy comes across an Oompa Loompa named Lofty, who looks to be perhaps the first of the orange creatures that the character ever meets. King previously worked with Grant while helming Paddington 2, and while revisiting the books he thought of casting Grant in the Oompa Loompa character because he’s the “most sarcastic shit” that he’s ever met. 

Wonka premiered in Tokyo on Monday night ahead of its official premiere on the 2023 movie schedule on December 15. Chalamet wore a custom shiny lavender Prada jumpsuit that somewhat channeled the wrapper of a Wonka bar. Take a look: 

Considering Timothée Chalamet’s fashion track record, I imagine this will be the first of many incredible outfits from the actor in anticipation of Wonka. The actor previously went viral on multiple occasions because of red carpet looks for movies like Dune alongside Zendaya or that time his fans caused a red carpet to shut down after he stepped out in a red hot jumpsuit for Bones & All. Is Wonka hysteria upon us? 

Based on folks' reactions to moments like the Oompa Loompa one we've been talking about, I think the answer is yes. However, we'll find out for sure as Wonka gets ready to premiere in the United States next month.

There’s no denying that Hugh Grant is in the upper echelon of actors in the Rom-Com game, as his track record pretty much speaks for itself with staples of the genre like Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, and Love Actually. But upon finally checking out Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (which was a lot of fun), I quickly remembered that in addition to being in some of the best romantic comedies of all time, Grant can also play one hell of a villain.

Looking back on his career, I quickly remembered that some of my favorite Hugh Grant movies were the ones where he was playing the villain like Phoenix Buchanan in the outstanding Paddington 2, detestable foils in the likes of Bridget Jones’s Diary, or multiple bad guys in sci-fi epics like Cloud Atlas. What is it about these characters that are so much fun to watch? Do other people feel this way? Let’s have this conversation… 

Just Like His Rom-Com Characters, Hugh Grant's Villains Often Steal The Show

Since the reason behind this article is my decision to finally watch Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, I’ll start with Forge Fitzwilliam, the former partner of Edgin (Chris Pine), Holga (Michelle Rodriguez), and Simon (Justice Smith) who sold out his old friends in the movie and is later found out to be the the Lord of Neverwinter. Though he’s reprehensible, self-serving, and downright awful, I just couldn’t stop focusing on Forge whenever he was doing some snakey stuff. 

This isn’t me knocking the rest of the Dungeons & Dragons cast, because they’re great. But Hugh Grant absolutely steals the show and gives one of those performances where I was like “I’m supposed to hate this guy, but can we get more of him?” throughout the whole movie. And then the stuff he pulls in the movie’s ending had me laughing so hard I no longer cared one of my kids gave me strep throat.

Antagonists Like Forge Fitzwilliam And Phoenix Buchanant Cartoonishly Evil But Incredibly Charismatic

I’m going to stick with Forge Fitzwilliam a little bit longer; but don’t fear, because I’m also going to spend some time singing the praises of Phoenix Buchanan, Hugh Grant’s cartoonishly evil villain from Paddington 2. Throwing nuance out the window where it lands on and crushes a box of subtleties, these performances are all killer and no filler. And after watching his performance in the latter multiple times, it’s easy to see Grant was having the time of his life on the Paddington 2 set with his portrayal of a down-on-his-luck actor who uses his old tricks of the trade to lead a life of crime.

Framing bears with a fondness for marmalade, charming your way into a position of power, and living life like a vaudeville villain is what makes these characters so much fun to watch. They’re so charismatic it’s kind of hard not to root for them in the end, which is odd to think about.

His Multiple Villains In Cloud Atlas Were Often Terrifying And Showed Great Versatility

Hugh Grant told Yahoo! Entertainment in a 2014 interview that he was frustrated that Cloud Atlas “never really found the audience it deserved,” and he couldn’t be more right. The 2012 sci-fi epic directed by the Wachowskis only made $130 million worldwide, per BoxOfficeMojo, meaning a great number of people missed out on performances by Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, and several other notable stars, including Grant and his six villains that showed up in its multiple storylines.

With everything from a vindictive CEO who orders the deaths of multiple people to the leader of a cannibalistic tribe, and other notable baddies in between, Hugh’s performance in Cloud Atlas goes from menacing to absolutely terrifying. And though you can sense the actor’s charm in these characters, for others it's an entirely different experience. 

Several Of Hugh Grant's Villains Have Made Me Reflect On The Actor's More Noble Characters

One of the unforeseen consequences of this journey through the jungle of Hugh Grant’s villainous roles is my reevaluation of the not-so-evil characters he’s played over the years. Basically, the Forge Fitzwilliams, Phoenix Buchanans, and Lloyd Hooks (Grant’s Cloud Atlas character mentioned earlier) of his filmography have a lot in common with his gents from beloved classics like Four Weddings and a Funeral, Love Actually, and Notting Hill. 

Sure, Charles isn’t backstabbing his friends, David only uses his power of being Prime Minister to steal some hearts, and William Thacker isn’t ordering hits on journalists. But each of these characters are just as charismatic and fun to watch as those antagonists mentioned above. Am I a sucker for a bad guy with a British accent or is there just no way for Hugh Grant to not be the most charming person in any given movie?

Could Anyone Else Play Daniel Cleaver In Bridget Jones's Diary? No!

In the spot where the “Romantic Comedies” and “Villains” circles intersect on the Hugh Grant Venn diagram you will find Daniel Cleaver, the actor’s obnoxious and despicable character from Bridget Jones’s Diary. This character, who also appears in the sequel, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (but not the third movie), makes up for his lack of manners and self-awareness with pure ego and questionable viewpoints of modern society and the women he treats with little to no respect, even Renée Zellweger’s beloved character.

Despite his faults, of which there are many, Daniel is one of those characters that turns a good movie into a great movie and gives audiences someone to hate about 1.5 times more than they like him. And it’s hard to imagine anyone other than Grant pulling off such a believable character. Could Colin Firth pull that off if he was cast as Daneil instead of Mark Darcy? Maybe, but it just wouldn’t have been the same.

Let's Not Forget His Great Villainous Roles On The Small Screen

I know I said we were going to focus on Hugh Grant’s movie roles, but I can’t wrap things up without at least mentioning the actor’s small-screen work, specifically on HBO’s  The Undoing and the first season of the Prime Video’s A Very English Scandal. In the former, Grant plays a gaslighting and womanizing husband (Nicole Kidman plays his wife) who is connected to the mysterious death of the mother of one of his son’s classmates, the latter he portrays a British politician whose charged with murdering his ex-boyfriend (played by Cloud Atlas co-star Ben Whishaw).

Both of these performances earned Grant Emmy and Golden Globe nominations, and they should be sought out by those who want to see the charismatic actor playing characters with extremely sinister sides. 

It’s safe to say that Hugh Grant’s villainous roles are often just as charming as his more lovable characters and always just as much fun to watch. Now, let’s just see what his take on the Oompa Loompa is all about when Paul King’s Wonka is finally unveiled to the world.

There was always going to be a level of scrutiny directed towards Warner Bros’ big prequel movie Wonka. Merely daring to expand the legacy of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was enough to set fans off, but, of course, there are other subjects that tend to be hot topics. The casting of Hugh Grant as an Oompa Loompa in the upcoming 2023 movie became one such point of order, and once again, director Paul King is defending and explaining his choice with some sound logic. 

Speaking with Total Film ahead of his film’s December release date, the Paddington 2 director brought his previous experience with Grant into account for part of this decision. At the same time, King doubled down on previous inspiration, as revealed below:

From a character standpoint, Paul King’s reference to Paddington 2 makes a lot of sense. Come to think of it, if Wonka existed in that cinematic world, you could almost be assured that Hugh Grant’s Phoenix Buchanan would be cast as an Oompa Loompa himself. It’s a fun case of art imitating life, but with a good history of reality to back it up. 

Naturally there was bound to be some controversy kicked up with this casting as well. This discussion takes place not too long after WWE star Dylan “Hornswoggle” Postl shared his thoughts on the recent non-dwarf casting for Disney’s Snow White remake. With the argument that parts such as these should keep with traditionally casting dwarf actors, fuel is only added to the fire of discourse. 

One can definitely see that point, but also argue that Hugh Grant’s performance helps sell Wonka to even the most jaded observer. The conversation surrounding this decision probably won’t die down any time soon, but at least Paul King has shown his work and given a firm explanation for why he made his decision. 

All that's left to do now is wait and see what the reaction is to this next chapter of pure imagination. The countdown to Wonka’s sweet debut is on, with December 15th being the day it all hopefully pays off. 

One of the aspects that really sold me on the first Wonka trailer has to be the fact that Hugh Grant being cast as an Oompa Loompa is an inspired exercise in comedy. That being said, it’s an idea so out of the box for the upcoming book adaptation that one has to wonder how co-writer/director Paul King even got the idea to do it. Apparently we can all thank author Roald Dahl himself, as when the Paddington director revisited the source material for Wonka, a very specific light bulb went off. 

During his interview with Empire, King credited returning to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as a huge part of why he re-teamed with his Paddington 2 villain. The prose of that 1964 book helped inspire this decision, courtesy of the following experience: 

As a fan of the original book, as well as the 1971 cinematic adaptation Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, I can gladly confirm Paul King had the right idea with his Wonka casting coup. That entire string of adjectives not only describes Roald Dahl’s sense of humor to a tee, it’s also the perfect scenario for a grade-A Hugh Grant role. 

It’s a pure match made in heaven, and all that's missing is a Super Yaki t-shirt commemorating it for the internet. Though this Wonka cast choice is a fresh take on a beloved character type, the creative mind who worked on The Mighty Boosh, as well as the first two Paddington movies, didn’t want to totally change what worked. 

In fact, King’s fandom of the Gene Wilder classic that came before this inventive prequel was exactly what kept the Oompa Loompa design the same as it was back in director Mel Stuart’s cinematic predecessor. Here’s how Paul King explained retaining the Oompa Loompa’s original look for a modern audience: 

By sticking his nose back into the world of Roald Dahl’s original text, Paul King came away with a clear vision on how he wanted to modernize Oompa Loompas, while also tipping his own hat to the past. It’s a process that worked with his previous movies involving that young bear from Peru, and it sounds like those sensibilities have struck gold again. All that’s left is for the people of world to see the results for themselves and decide how they feel about the next era of pure imagination at the movies. 

What we know about Wonka is that it’s not too far from theatrical release, as the picture is slated for a December 15th drop. While there are others who feel that the Willy Wonka prequel may be missing the point of the character, I’m firmly in the camp that’s convinced this will be a worthwhile potential depiction of Willy Wonka’s journey from wide-eyed chocolatier to a sad man who closed his doors, and his heart, to the world.

I’m not saying I want to be crushed by this tale, but that’s how it goes. At the very least, we’ll have a Hugh Grant-style Oompa Loompa to help set it all up in proper fashion. But if you want to set yourself up properly for the rest of your moviegoing year, feel free to take a look at the 2023 movie release schedule, and fill in your calendar accordingly. 

Author Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory continues to grab the imaginations of the world since its publication in 1964. But now, a prequel digging into the man known as Willy Wonka is about to open a new chapter for folks young and old to uncover. Which has led to our first look at Timothée Chalamet and Hugh Grant in Wonka. Based on what I've seen here, I'm all in on this beautiful gobstopper -- including Grant's turn as a dancing Oompa Loompa.

Directed by Paddington alum Paul King, everything we know about Wonka includes the fact that Warner Bros.’ big winter tentpole focuses on the origins of Willy before he was known as the renowned chocolatier. Gazing upon the whimsical world of the amazing mogul's early years trying to make a name for himself, King's hiring is once again proven to be a fantastic match for this project. 

The legacy of Willy Wonka and his chocolate factory seems to be well served at the moment. Even those that grew up loving Gene Wilder’s iconic take on the same character should be a little more at ease with this ambitious expansion of Willy and his backstory, as it looks to have been crafted with loving care. Timothée Chalamet isn’t doing an impression of Gene Wilder’s character, so much as he hints at it with gleeful touches here and there. 

Also, the production already conveys the notion that it’s able to ride the line between honoring a legacy and playfully poking fun at it. Which is where Hugh Grant’s Oompa Loompa comes in, which is another gag that references Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’s big musical lynchpin in a rather droll fashion. If anyone thought that Grant being cast in Paddington 2 was a fluke, this is proof that his era of being comedic relief in projects for adults and children is just getting started. 

Mix those performances in with what looks like ebullient numbers of illegal daydreaming and fantastical chaos, and it's basically everything you'd want out of Wonka's core premise. Of course, this wouldn't be a Paul King movie without some sort of misty-eyed family angle, as Willy's mother looks to be the equivalent of Paddington's Aunt Lucy. So excuse me as I wipe some of the tears that formed when Timothée Chalamet's Willy Wonka says, "Here we go, Mama."

As if this trailer wasn’t enough of a delight, the movie’s teaser poster is just as exciting to look at. It’s not huge on showing off Wonka’s cast or environments, save for an endless wall of candy and a young Willy standing promisingly in front of it. Quite frankly, that’s all you need to see this picture, besides the beautiful footage we saw above, of course. But please take a moment and just soak in how gorgeous this image truly is: 

Should the finished product stick the landing, Wonka just might have taken box office tomorrow and dipped it in a dream. We'll all find out for ourselves when this flick opens the doors to a very chocolatey past, on December 15. That’s just part of what’s still to come on the schedule of 2023 new movie releases, so don’t forget to see what other courses are coming before this cinematic dessert arrives.

It often feels like rom-coms are a dime a dozen, but the truth is that the best romantic comedies are ones built on several things. Fans of the genre enjoy snappy dialogue, inventive and/or realistic complications for the central couple, a swoon-worthy love story, and, of course, main characters portrayed by actors who have more than enough on-screen chemistry to make all of those pieces come together. 

What’s great about romantic comedies is that we’ve gotten more than enough couples like this over the past two plus decades, but some of them have either only partnered one time (which, granted, may be because their pairing is still relatively new), or haven’t been in a film together for many years now. So, let’s take a look at the (mostly) rom-com partners that we really think should make another movie together!

Meg Ryan And Tom Hanks

This duo probably feels like a no-brainer to you, and, well, it should! Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks have memorably joined forces for two rom-com hits, Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail, plus the 1990 cult favorite romantic comedy, Joe Versus the Volcano, so there’s no reason for them not to really round things out with a fourth film. I’d be down for a second chance romance where they learn to love again, wouldn’t you?

Diane Keaton And Keanu Reeves 

Yes, yes… Already I’m cheating here, but only a tiny bit. While the magnetic on-screen coupling of Diane Keaton and Keanu Reeves wasn’t the main focus of Something’s Gotta Give, I have spent the past 20 years wishing they were. So, let's get these adorably crazy kids back together! They could play any kind of couple (bickering marrieds who are clearly still hot for each other, two folks who shouldn’t get together but can’t help themselves, etc.) and I’d be in the theater on opening night.

Lana Condor And Noah Centineo

Honestly, there might not be a cuter couple on this list. The dreamy teen romance movie pairing of Lana Condor and Noah Centineo was, obviously, gifted to everyone with a Netflix subscription in the To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before trilogy, and there’s a reason that so many people fell head over heels for them. These two sorta sparkle together on screen, and I’d love to see them reunite in a romance (or any comedy) that’s got more of an adult edge to it.

Alison Brie And Jason Sudeikis

We all adore it when a rom-com gives us something different, and 2015’s Sleeping with Other People does just that with its story of friends who openly acknowledge their sexual tension, but purposely avoid doing anything about it so as to not screw up what they have. Alison Brie and Ted Lasso cast lead Jason Sudeikis are amazing as the friends in question, and I’d love to see them bring their casual, but still sexy, chemistry to another film. 

Jenny Slate And Jake Lacy

A true pleasure of watching Obvious Child was seeing the relationship between Jenny Slate and Jake Lacy’s characters develop as she has trouble revealing that she’s getting an abortion several weeks after their one-night stand. They work great as a duo with a clear attraction that’s impeded by a secret, and we’d really appreciate it if we could watch him warm her butter and make her tea in a movie that sees them as fully coupled characters.

Constance Wu And Henry Golding

I cannot tell a lie; some of the reason for Constance Wu and Henry Golding making the list is simply because we are all dying for the Crazy Rich Asians sequel we’ve been promised for several years now. While we wait, I’m hoping we can at least get those two into another fun rom-com where he can bring his posh, suave energy to meet her adorably spunky, girl-next-door verve.

Emma Stone And Ryan Gosling

What’s not to love about Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, especially when they star opposite each other in a romantic story? They were sweet, sexy, bantery, and slightly goofy together in Crazy, Stupid, Love, then had all of that with more emotional depth in La La Land, and also had the same chemistry in Gangster Squad, but with an added veneer of danger. It’s been a rough few years; the world needs more of their exact thing, OK?

Kate Hudson And Matthew McConaughey

I know, I know! Matthew McConaughey doesn’t make rom-coms anymore, but that’s honestly no reason why he can’t re-team with Kate Hudson, 20 years after they first hit the screen together in How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days. The engaging push-and-pull of their romance in that film can easily be translated to, say, a movie where each is portraying a lawyer on the opposite side of a big murder case. There! Someone make that movie!

Queen Latifah And Common

Just Wright might not be the first movie you think of when it comes to Queen Latifah or romantic comedies, but it’s hard to deny that watching her play off of Common as they slowly go from not-quite-enemies to lovers was a genuine treat. Now all we need is the right vehicle for them so their individual easygoing charm can show us how well-matched they are on screen.

Jennifer Garner And Mark Ruffalo

There’s a reason that 13 Going On 30 is still so popular almost two decades later. That reason is Jennifer Garner’s joyful, weirdo energy as a teen suddenly transplanted to her adult life, sure, but it’s also how Mark Ruffalo calmly reconnects with the childhood friend he’d long ago lost touch with. They're just sweet together, OK? We saw them in The Adam Project. We need more!

Sandra Bullock And Channing Tatum

The luminous and hilarious pairing of Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum was definitely not on my rom-com bingo card, but damn, it was a joy to behold once we got it. In The Lost City, they were perfect as a starchy and grieving romance novelist and her incredibly sweet but somewhat dim cover model who get caught in a life-or-death situation in the jungle, and all I can hope for is that we someday have a sequel to enjoy.

Billy Eichner And Luke Macfarlane

If an opposites attract energy is your thing, there’s no way for you not to enjoy the pairing of Billy Eichner and Luke Macfarlane. The Bros stars only just met up on screen in 2022, but we’d love to see them reunite in a rom-com that switches Eichner’s intense characterization and Macfarlane’s laid-back vibe around for additional laughs.

Meg Ryan And Hugh Jackman

Kate & Leopold is the rare romance where Meg Ryan’s character is less than sweet for much of the film, but watching her early ‘00s driven career woman begin to soften with the attentions of Hugh Jackman’s fancy man from the 1870s was a delight. Now if we can just get them to play off of one another when both are from the modern day, all will be right in the world.

Anne Hathaway And Chris Pine

We all know that The Princess Diaries 2 is so beloved that fans have wanted to bring the cast back for the now in development third movie for nearly 20 years, and part of that was because of the sweet, (sorta) slow burn love story between Anne Hathaway and Chris Pine’s characters. While everyone would love to see them as a long-married couple in a sequel, we’d also take them as, oh, I don’t know, bickering co-workers who can’t deny their attraction, so let’s stop stalling and get this coupling back on the big screen!

Julia Roberts And Hugh Grant

Look, I know that Hugh Grant is fully in his slimy villain era right now and is hilariously against even attempting rom-coms again. But! I think that makes the potential of this Notting Hill pairing coming back together even more appealing. Let him play a con-man who tricks Julia Roberts into falling in love, only to steal all her money and force her to track him down with a hilarious vengeance. I’d buy a ticket for that, OK?

Jennifer Lopez And George Clooney

Sure, sure. I’m cheating this entry a bit because, technically, Jennifer Lopez and George Clooney didn't star in a traditional rom-com together, but who among us can deny that they were HOT in Out of Sight? No one, that’s who! I say we get these two into a proper romantic comedy, but maybe one that’s not another Lopez wedding movie, just to switch things up.

Sanaa Lathan And Omar Epps 

Yes, this is another, more direct, fudging of this article’s concept, because Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps were a romantic drama pairing in Love & Basketball… but they were SO GOOD TOGETHER. Watching them play out a long-term path to eventual happiness was extremely satisfying, but maybe this time we can use that chemistry of theirs for a couple that has more good times than stressful ones.

Cristin Milioti And Andy Samberg

The chances that Cristin Milioti and Andy Samberg will strike time loop movie gold again after Palm Springs is incredibly unlikely, and we wouldn’t want them to try. Instead, why not let these two portray criminals on the run for separate crimes who accidentally cross paths and fall in love while they’re on the lam? They can give us that same adorably wacky enthusiasm that we all loved the first time around that way!

Kristen Stewart And Aubrey Plaza

If you saw Happiest Season, then you saw the undeniable spark between Kristen Stewart and Aubrey Plaza as their characters (Who weren’t even dating!) dealt with a lot of toxicity during Christmastime. They managed to genuinely bond (and look great doing it) over their similar relationship trauma, so I say we go ahead and give these two an even bubblier romantic comedy where they can actually freakin’ end up as a couple! 

Gemma Chan And Harry Shum Jr. 

Obviously, we didn’t get a real romance between the characters played by Gemma Chan and Harry Shum Jr. in Crazy Rich Asians, but the movie sure did set up the promise of fulfilling the epic love story that was a part of Kevin Kwan’s novel trilogy. Fans got a very brief scene of them looking all cute and dreamy with each other and dancing during the mid-credits scene, so hear me now: WE NEED THAT ASTRID AND CHARLIE SPINOFF, ASAP!

Issa Rae And Kumail Nanjiani

It may be hard to cast two people who have perfect romantic chemistry, but it could be even harder to find a duo who can portray the first glorious blush of falling in love, that same couple once they’ve begun to fall apart, and then play them as they start to get closer… because they’re on the run after being accused of murder. Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani are those people, and we’ve been wanting them back on screen since The Lovebirds to do something just as crazy and rom-commy again.

Reese Witherspoon And Josh Lucas

If you’re looking for a bickering duo who are hot together no matter what, that’s Sweet Home Alabama’s Reese Witherspoon and Josh Lucas, for sure. I’m sure they’d be great doing anything on screen, but also doubt anyone would mind if they paired for a story that would let them fight (and fight through) their attraction until they finally admit their feelings for each other.

Rachel McAdams And Domhnall Gleeson

You know what’s coming, right? After being apart for a decade, it’s About Time that Rachel McAdams and Domhnall Gleeson join forces again to bring fans another lovey dovey couple, and we don’t even care what the set up is!

Sarah Hyland And Tyler James Williams

Never has it been more enjoyable to watch a woman who’s not sure about the whole marriage thing date a man who’s very much ready for a long-term commitment than in The Wedding Year, and that was because of the well-matched chemistry/comedic energy of Sarah Hyland and Tyler James Williams. I think these two would be fantastic in an action/adventure rom-com like The Lost City!

Kristen Bell And Dustin Milligan 

Though Kristen Bell and Dustin Milligan starred in The People We Hate at the Wedding, which was more of a straight ahead comedy, they had a definite romantic comedy storyline and played off of each other beautifully. I’m imagining a cinematic rematch for them that involves both of their characters being messy and a bit angry this time, and I think they’ll be a delight to watch once again.

Vivian Oparah And David Jonsson

Even though Vivian Oparah and David Jonsson are a very new rom-com pairing, as their starring vehicle, Rye Lane, debuted in early 2023, there’s no doubting the fizzy joy one gets from watching their characters meet cute and end up slowly becoming attracted to each other over the course of one eventful day. These two can do anything together next, but I don’t think anyone would mind a sequel where we get to see this romance progress!

If nothing else, while we wait to see if these rom-com partners get back together on the big screen, we can all at least go back and enjoy the amazing films they’ve already given us!

The following contains spoilers for the end of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is a fantastically fun movie, one that nearly perfectly balances the adventure of a Dungeons and Dragons campaign with…the frequent silliness of a Dungeons and Dragons campaign. It’s one of the most fun times I’ve had at the movies in a while and based on the Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves ending, there’s a chance we’ll all be able to have more fun with this series before too long.

Honor Among Thieves certainly leaves itself open for a potential sequel, which is exactly what you’d expect from a movie like this, franchise possibilities had to be part of the initial conversation. While the film’s box office will ultimately determine what happens with that, I’m certainly ready for the potential future D&D movies, not just with sequels to this story, but the countless other stories that could be told. 

How Dungeons And Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Ends

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves sets our team of heroic adventurers against a red wizard named Sofina. She’s revealed to be the true power behind the throne of Forge (Hugh Grant), the acting Lord of Neverwinter. And while Forge is only after riches, Sofina is looking to use an ancient magical artifact to convert the people of the city into an army of the undead that will serve her master, Szass Tam.

In the end, Edgin, Holga, and their friends win out. Simon the Sorcerer is able to counteract the spell that got the best of him previously, and Doric the Druid goes all Hulk Smash on Sofina in owlbear form. We’re not sure she's completely dead, she was undead, to begin with, but after that beating, she probably wishes she could die again. Forge goes to prison, where one assumes we’ll find him if a future sequel needs him. 

Holga very nearly dies, she is played by Michelle Rodriguez after all, so of course she does. In fact, she actually does die, but death isn’t always the end in D&D.  Edgin uses the resurrection magic he’d wanted for his deceased wife in order to save his friend who had been with him through so much. Edgin and his daughter are back together. Simon and Doric are going to give their own relationship another try. 

How Honor Among Thieves Sets Up A Sequel

While the primary and secondary villains of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves are dealt with -- with one of them dead and the other in prison -- the movie is still sure to leave the door open for that potential sequel. It’s made clear in the final moments of the film that while Sofina is dead, Szass Tam, the lich ruler of Thay that she served, is still very much alive.

The adventuring party agrees that if Szass Tam does become a problem in the future, they will still be there to fight him, setting up a potential sequel that would continue the events of this story. There’s still a villain out there to be fought, which gives us an easy opening for a new adventure.

And there’s also Forge to be potentially dealt with. While he ends the movie in prison, we already see him trying to escape once, and so the possibility of him eventually succeeding is also there. He’s likely not a major threat on his own, he was only dangerous before because of Sofina’s power, but if he does get out, the possibility of joining forces with someone, or something, else has to be considered.

Dungeons & Dragons Could Become A Cinematic Universe

If Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves does well enough at the box office then we can be all but assured that another movie will get the green light and all the main stars of this movie will be back. It seems likely that they'd all have the option for a sequel in their contracts. However, there’s even more potential for the future of Dungeons & Dragons as a film franchise because it’s the sort of property that could easily be turned into a cinematic universe. Not only could we get sequels to the movie we have, but numerous spinoff stories, and, dare I say it, a multiverse.

The beauty of Dungeons and Dragons as a brand is that the tabletop role-playing game is, by design, an open-ended platform for the creation of unique and original stories. There are countless campaign books developed over the last 50 years that tell specific stories, but even they are designed to give the players the freedom to tell that story their own way within the adventure.

Even within this movie, we had the character of Xenk played by Rege-Jean Page. He wasn't a main member of the cast and his character sees the least development. In the language of D&D, he's an NPC, but there's no reason he couldn't become the leader of his own party in a future movie that has little, if anything, to do with Honor Among Thieves.

Not only that, but Dungeons & Dragons has created multiple planes of existence for stories to be created. Honor Among Thieves takes place around the city of Neverwinter, on the continent of Faerûn on a planet called Toril. As that implies, there are literal other worlds within this galaxy, never mind other locations in the same world, where future Dungeons & Dragons films could be set. They can all take equal inspiration from the game, but because of the very different worlds that are available, they can be very different movies. 

Part of the beauty of Honor Among Thieves was that the movie held tightly to the spirit of Dungeons and Dragons by not basing itself on any previously known events or story and simply creating its own adventure using the core components of the game. And this process can be used again and again to make more movies.

While I’m all for seeing more movies with the Honor Among Thieves cast, they’re fantastic, we can also see entirely different adventuring parties go on completely unrelated adventures. Some of them can have races of people, locations, and creatures that are entirely unique from the others. 

Colin Farrell and Hugh Grant both had leading-man status at the height of their acting careers. Grant was known for starring in successful romantic comedies like Notting Hill, while Farrell had his fair share of starring roles in blockbusters and independent films like Intermission and In Bruges. In recent years, The Gentlemen co-stars reflect on how they’re both way less famous than they used to be.

Acting careers do tend to transition over time. One minute, you’re in high demand from studios to star in almost everything to the next minute when the demands are more low-key. According to Variety’s Actors on Actors, Colin Farrell spoke to Hugh Grant about how his days of fame are now over, but he’s not exactly complaining about it.

This Irish actor was fortunate enough to find success in a highly competitive career and evolve into Hollywood material. His career skyrocketed early on in the early 2000s when he landed prominent roles in Phone Booth, S.W.A.T., and The Recruit which were an accomplishment critically and financially. But sadly, he suffered a miss when Oliver Stone’s historical epic Alexander was a box office bomb and received harsh reviews from critics and historians. But despite that setback, success still followed him with another historic epic New World and one of his best roles In Bruges where he won his first Golden Globe. 

You may not be seeing Colin Farrell’s name in every newly released movie that’s been coming out, but he did star in one of the top movies of 2022 going back to his Irish roots in The Banshees of Inisherin. This garnered him a Best Actor nomination. And you also can’t forget about the unrecognizable, physical transformation he went through in The Batman playing The Penguin. While Farrell is still considered a bankable star, it doesn’t mean he’s living the A-list celeb life that people may expect from him.

Farrell also told Grant that the roles he chooses going forward will not have anything to do with what will make him more famous. He’s all about using acting as an entertainment medium first and foremost. The About a Boy actor agreed with him and keyed in that he’s in the same position in fame not playing a huge role in his own life too.

Known for playing the object of desire in rom-coms like Notting Hill, Love Actually, and Four Weddings and a Funeral, Hugh Grant has hilariously said his reason for quitting rom-coms is that being “too old and ugly” stopped him from being offered those kinds of roles. But, it’s okay because he’s been in a series of delightfully zany roles since then like The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Paddington 2, and a little cameo in Glass Onion. Plus, you’ll get to see him in his villainous role of Forge Fitzwilliam in the 2023 movie release of Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. 

These talented actors clearly have their work cut out for them. Colin Farrell and Hugh Grant may not be experiencing Hollywood fame like other A-list actors of today, but it doesn’t take away the entertaining quality they still have on an audience with their careers still going nowhere but up.

UPDATE: Ashley Graham shared with TMZ that she wasn't bothered by what happened with Hugh Grant, saying that she's following her mother's advice to "kill people with kindness." The original story can be read below.

Last night was the 95th Academy Awards, where Hollywood assembled to honor the best movies from the last year. While there were a number of jokes about Will Smith's infamous slap from last year, the event largely went off without a hitch. Although presenter Hugh Grant did have an awkward red carpet interview, and went semi-viral for rolling his eyes afterward. Let's break it all down.

Hugh Grant was one of the many A-listers in attendance at the Oscars, and presented the Best Production Design Award alongside his Four Weddings and a Funeral co-star Andie MacDowell. While he got some chuckles for calling himself a scrotum during the presentation, it was his pre-Oscars interview with Ashley Graham that's been getting the most attention. As a reminder, you can check out the clip below, which has been circulating social media outlets like Twitter.

Well, that was awkward. What's more, the discomfort is palpable from the moment Ashley Graham begins interviewing the Love, Actually actor. And things only get more and more uncomfortable, until the point here Hugh Grant noticeably rolls his eyes n national television. And in doing so, started a debate online about whether or not he was being rude.

Said interview aired during the official red carpet special for the Oscars, with Ashley Graham asking him some of the standard questions like "who are you wearing?" But things get more awkward when they seemingly had a miscommunication about the term "vanity fair". And when Graham asked Hugh Grant about his Glass Onion role, he seemed confused about the question since it was just a cameo. Cue the awkward sendoff and Grant visibly rolling his eyes. 

Since the Academy Awards is watched by so many people, this uncomfortable interaction was seen by a wide audience. Eventually it started going around online, with folks sounding off on social media. Some have taken to Ashley Graham's defense, posting:

Meanwhile, others have come to Hugh Grant's defense, and put the blame on the line of questioning by Ashley Graham. While many of the questions are standard for a red carpet, the Glass Onion one definitely stood out. As another Twitter user offered:

Of course, Hugh Grant would end up going viral again throughout the 95th Academy Awards. Namely when he was presenting and joked that his aging skin looked like a scrotum. Still, his interaction with Ashley Graham seems to be getting the most attention today. We'll just have to wait and see if either of their camps make any sort of official response. 

Hugh Grant can be seen in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves on March 31st. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. 

We all have bad days. We all have those days when we don’t act the way that we know we should. Unfortunately, when you’re a major celebrity, that has eyes on them all the time, it can be tougher to deal with those bad days. Christian Bale knows this, having once gone viral after losing his temper at a crew member on set, and Hugh Grant is admitting he “did a Christian Bale” himself on the set of his new movie.

Speaking with Total Film (via Yahoo), Hugh Grant, who plays the villain in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, admitted that on the first day of shooting, he lost his temper on set. He thought he was giving somebody who should have known better a hard time, but apparently, he tore into a nice lady who just made an honest mistake. Grant explained:

In doing “a Christian Bale,” Hugh Grant refers to a famous incident from 2009 when audio from the set of Terminator: Salvation leaked. On the tape, Bale completely goes off on the film’s cinematographer, who walked into Bale’s eyeline during a scene. Bale’s rant is an expletive-fueled tirade where he threatened to break the man’s lighting equipment among other things. Bale later apologized. At this point, Bale's rant is perhaps the most famous thing about the movie where he blew his top. Hopefully, Dungeons & Dragons will be a better film.

Hugh Grant himself is the one comparing his own outburst to that of Bale. It sounds like the cause of the two events were very similar, whether the intensity of Grant’s blowup was on par with Bale’s, I suppose only the people in the room know for sure. Grant says he did a lot of groveling after the fact in an attempt to apologize to the person he lost his temper at.

These certainly aren't the only two actors to lose it a bit on set. More recently Tom Cruise made headlines when audio of himself was leaked from the set of Mission: Impossible 7. Cruise was going off on a pair of crew members who were allegedly violating covid protocols. Although in that case, not everybody thought Cruise was in the wrong.

On the plus side, the fact that Hugh Grant is the one telling the story would seem to indicate he’s looking to be honest about his behavior, even the parts of it that he is less than proud of.  That’s something. This isn't the first time the actor has allegedly been a problem for others, as Grant was famously banned from The Daily Show under Jon Stewart for his behavior. Perhaps Grant is trying to be better, in part by being honest when he's not.

If there was a Mt. Rushmore created to honor the heroes of the all-time greatest spy movies, I think it would be unanimously agreed that it should include Matt Damon’s title hero from the Jason Bourne movies, Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt from the Mission: Impossible movies, and one of the James Bond actors (which one of them it should be is up to you to decide). For my choice of the fourth head, I would like to submit Jason Statham as Orson Fortune in Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre.

It may seem a little early to give such an honor to the main hero of this new 2023 movie (which just came out in theaters today), but once you see how fun co-writer and director Guy Ritchie’s old school espionage thriller is, you might find yourself agreeing with me. Of course, Statham’s character is just one reason why the film is so irresistibly entertaining. To get a clear understanding of the other reasons, you could ether check out the official trailer or stick around and take a look at the rest of the Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre cast, starting with the title role.

Jason Statham (Orson Fortune)

Highly skilled (and very picky) special operative Orson Fortune is only the latest character in a Guy Ritchie movie that Jason Statham has played, having launched his acting career at the same time that the filmmaker launched his directing career with Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels in 1998. The British duo would reunite again for 2002’s Snatch, 2008’s Revolver, the earnest revenge thriller Wrath of Man in 2021, and this film, most recently.

Statham would also earn a storied action star reputation outside of his collaborations with Ritchie as a main player in a few franchises — including the Transporter movies (until bailing on the fourth film), the Expendables movies as Lee Christmas, the Fast and Furious movies (including his own spin-off with Dwayne Johnson’s Hobbs) as Deckard Shaw, and creature feature The Meg, which is getting a sequel in 2023. He also appeared in one of the last John Carpenter movies (Ghosts of Mars), played a good bad guy in Cellular, had a memorable cameo in Collateral, and poked fun at the spy genre in 2015’s aptly titled, Spy.

Aubrey Plaza (Sarah Fidel)

As the sharp-tongued and vivacious expert in hacking (among other things) Sarah Fidel, we have Aubrey Plaza, whose charming, dry wit that she brings to the film is what made her an MVP in the Parks and Recreation cast as April Ludgate. She has also stolen the show or led it wonderfully in comedy movies like Funny People, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, and Hulu’s Happiest Season.

Plaza has also been known to show her more serious side, such as when she played the homicidal Cat Adams on Criminal Minds, played a mental patient on FX’s Marvel-inspired series Legion, starred in the 2019 Child’s Play remake, and played the title role of Emily the Criminal, which she also produced. This is just the latest instance of her channeling her more serious and more comedic sensibilities in the same project, following the likes of Safety Not Guaranteed, the darkly comic, romantic horror movie, Life After Beth, and HBO’s The White Lotus Season 2 in 2022.

Josh Hartnett (Danny Francesco)

In order to get close to a target, Orson and Sarah’s crew enlist the help of movie star Danny Francesco, who is played by Statham’s fellow Wrath of Man cast member, Josh Hartnett, who made his debut in one of the more underrated Halloween movies, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, in 1998 — the same year he appeared in another cult favorite horror flick, The Faculty. He would later return to the genre by leading 2007’s grisly vampire movie 30 Days of Night, playing Ethan Chandler on Showtime’s Penny Dreadful, and joining the upcoming sixth season of Black Mirror.

In between then, he starred in acclaimed coming-of-age dramas like The Virgin Suicides and the Shakespeare-inspired O, fact-based war movies like Pearl Harbor and Black Hawk Down, and worked with Bruce Willis in the Sin City cast and in 2006’s Lucky Number Slevin. More recently, he played himself on Quibi’s Die Hart, starred in the 2021 Neo-western movie Ida Red, and will star in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer cast as Ernest Lawrence.

Cary Elwes (Nathan Jasmine)

Nathan Jasmine — the one calling the shots (or struggling to do so) for Orson and Sarah’s crew — is just one of two spy movie characters that Aubrey Plaza’s Best Sellers co-star, Cary Elwes, is playing in 2023, as he is also in the Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One cast, which will mark his second collaboration with Tom Cruise after 1990’s Days of Thunder. Of course, he is still best known for his breakout role in 1987’s The Princess Bride cast as Westley, which led to more fantasy/medieval adventure movies like the criminally underrated ‘90s classic, Robin Hood: Men in Tights (in which he played the title role), the animated Quest for Camelot, and 2004’s Ella Enchanted with Anne Hathaway.

The British actor has also led an impressively versatile career that includes powerful period dramas like Glory, fun modern comedies like Liar Liar, blockbuster disaster flicks like Twister, and quite a few horror movies — most notably the Saw movies as Dr. Lawrence Gordon. Elwes was also on an episode of Seinfeld, worked with Steven Spielberg on 2011’s The Adventure  of Tintin, and, in its third season, joined the Stranger Things cast.

Bugzy Malone (J.J.)

As the fourth member of Orson’s crew — the sharp-shooting J.J. — we have Bugzy Malone, who rose to fame in the U.K. as a rap music artist known for hits like “Out of Nowhere” and “Beauty and the Beast.” Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre is, actually, only his second film credit so far. In fact, Ritchie previously directed Malone (whose real name is Aaron Davis) in his feature-film debut, when he appeared in the filmmaker’s acclaimed return to British crime thrillers, The Gentlemen, in 2020.

Hugh Grant (Greg Simmonds)

Playing billionaire arms dealer — and Number One fan of Danny Francesco — Greg Simmonds is Bugzy Malone’s The Gentlemen co-star, Hugh Grant, who first worked with Ritchie in the filmmaker’s first try at espionage thrillers, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., in 2015. Before then, his main claim to fame was romantic-comedies — such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, Love Actually, and the Bridget Jones movies, to name a few.

However, Grant has also been known to branch out into more challenging and versatile roles, too, such as his multiple parts in Cloud Atlas, the main villain of Paddington 2, U.K. politician Jeremy Thorpe in the miniseries A Very British Scandal, or the voice of the Captain in 2012’s The Pirates! Band of Misfits. More recently, he appeared opposite Nicole Kidman in HBO’s The Undoing, appeared as Benoit Blanc’s husband in Netflix’s Glass Onion, and joined the Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves cast for the upcoming adventure epic.

With a title like the one this film boasts — which includes a name-check for the central hero and an exotic phrase following a colon — I cannot help but wonder if it is Ritchie’s intention to launch a new franchise of spy thrillers with this release. If so, I certainly hope the goal proves successful because the chemistry between the Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre cast members is strong enough to warrant another adventure, in my opinion.

Since the early '60s, Pop-Tarts have been the go-to breakfast dish for anybody needing a quick meal before heading out the door. I guess it was only a matter of time before a movie was made, though who would've thought it would come decades later from Jerry Seinfeld? The iconic comedian directed Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story, which will eventually become available to anyone with a Netflix subscription, and in addition to being a part of it, he's also brought on some famous stars. 

The cast list for Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story is unbelievably stacked. A look down this list will show a who's who in comedy and get readers excited for this upcoming movie. Let's dive in and talk about some of the big names who will take part in this comedy movie. Full disclosure, we don't know the roles any of these actors and actresses are playing, but seeing them all together has me very excited about this project. 

Jerry Seinfeld

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld will star in Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story, which highlights the competition between Post and Kellogg's to produce a breakfast pastry in the early 1960s. Seinfeld is most known for his self-titled hit series, as well as his successful stand-up career. 

Melissa McCarthy

Melissa McCarthy is, without a doubt, one of the funniest women working in film. Whether it's Spy, Bridesmaids or any of her other notable movies, McCarthy is always on point with her ability to seamlessly meld quick wit with physical comedy. Hopefully all of that is happening in Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story, but we can only wait and see. 

Jim Gaffigan

Stand-up comedian Jim Gaffigan might be primarily known for his stage work, but he's had a pretty healthy career in both film and television. Readers might remember his TV Land series The Jim Gaffigan Show or some of the various other movies and shows he's played a small role in, one maybe you've heard some of his voice work over the years, like as Thunderbolt in Stargirl Season 2.

Amy Schumer

Amy Schumer turned down doing the Barbie movie, but she'll be in Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story in an undisclosed role. In addition to a highly-successful career in stand-up comedy, Schumer has found in just about every aspect of entertainment from film and television. 

Hugh Grant

Hugh Grant is an acting icon, and while he may not be the first person that comes to mind in a traditional comedy, he's had roles in quite a few entertaining ones over the years. One of my favorites had to be his recent cameo in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, but there are many other examples worth checking out. 

James Marsden

With Westworld officially in the rearview, James Marsden is in the cast of Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story. Marsden's career in film and television spans everywhere from X-Men to Enchanted. Having him aboard is a gift, and I expect his role will be a good one. 

Jack McBrayer

Jack McBrayer has come a long way from his days on 30 Rock, though a lot of the things folks love about his role on that comedy show are still present in some of his more recent works. I don't know officially what to expect from McBrayer, but I wouldn't be surprised if his positive-leaning Southern charm he's known for is on full display in whatever role he's been given. 

Thomas Lennon

It's hard to see Thomas Lennon and not see anything other than Lieutenant Jim Dangle of Reno 911. It's a credit to Lennon that his character has had the sort of longevity to still be relevant in 2023, though I'm sure we'll see him play someone entirely different in Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story. 

Adrian Martinez

Actor Adrian Martinez has popped around Hollywood on the film and television side in various roles since the early '90s. 2023 will be a big year for him with an appearance in Renfield, and it's possible we'll see Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story arrive then as well. 

Bobby Moynihan

Saturday Night Live veteran Bobby Moynihan has been added to cast of Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story. This is just another notch in the belt for Moynihan's growing film career and his already-impressive string of television roles. Given the amount of voice-acting the actor's done in recent years, I almost wonder if he might be a spokesperson for Pop-Tarts or something along those lines in this upcoming movie. 

Max Greenfield

Between his roles on New Girl and The Neighborhood, it's easy to see why any comedy would want to bring on Max Greenfield. He's a natural talent who also proved he has some dramatic acting skills, as well with projects like The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. Hopefully he'll get a solid role in this film to further open up his career to other big roles. 

Christian Slater

Christian Slater's film and acting credits can't be summarized in a brief blurb, but luckily, he's enough of a household name we shouldn't have to run down the list. Suffice it to say that everyone should be thrilled he's in Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story, regardless of what he's doing. 

Sarah Cooper

Stand-up comedian Sarah Cooper will join the cast of Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story, and she's definitely one of the up-and-coming talents on this cast list. Anyone unfamiliar with her work should certainly check out her Netflix special Sarah Cooper: Everything's Fine to get ready for her upcoming performance in this movie. 

Rachael Harris

Lucifer fans should know actress Rachael Harris quite well, as she spent years on the main cast as Dr. Linda Martin. She's also had roles on numerous acclaimed comedies like Frasier and Ghosts, so she can bring a lot to this comedy film. 

Cedric Yarbrough

Cedric Yarbrough has done quite a bit in Hollywood throughout his career, though I daresay he's held any roles quite as prolific as his role as Deputy Jones on Reno 911. Now he's a part of Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story, and hopefully ready to wow the world with whatever he'll be doing in this comedy. 

Maria Bakalova

Bulgarian actress Maria Bakalova really burst out into Hollywood following Borat Subsequent Moviefilm and has slowly worked her way to larger roles in Hollywood. Her role in this movie is on the heels of her role as Cosmo the Spacedog on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, so 2023 could be a big year for the actress. 

Kyle Dunnigan

Stand-up comedian Kyle Dunnigan will appear Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story, and he'll join a lot of former co-stars in the process. Dunnigan was known for his role as "Craig" on Reno 911 and was a writer on Inside Amy Schumer. Suffice it to say he probably had a lot of friends on set. 

Peter Dinklage

Actor Peter Dinklage has jumped through a lot of genres in his career and proven he can do anything from fantasy projects like Game of Thrones to comedy outings like Elf. There's no telling what he'll be up to in Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story, but knowing Dinklage's talents, I'm sure it'll be good. 

Jon Hamm

Jon Hamm is rolling right on from his role in Top Gun: Maverick into Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story. It's quite a genre jump for Hamm, but no doubt the Emmy-winning actor is game for whatever the comedy brings his way.  

John Slattery

John Slattery will join his former Mad Men co-star in Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story. Though we know little about his role, Slattery is electric in almost any role he's taken on, and I wouldn't expect this comedy to be any different for him. 

Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story will stream on Netflix, but we're still waiting for an official release date. Hopefully, the movie will be as satisfying as a warm Pop-Tart, and it's hard to believe it won't be with this talented cast. 

San Diego Comic-Con is like Coachella for fans of all things geeky, and it's filled with interesting personalities, events and even looks. This past summer romantic comedy icon Hugh Grant went to his first ever SDCC to promote the upcoming movie Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, and it sounds like he had a very memorable experience there, despite or perhaps thanks to being “terrified” by one hot dog person. 

As someone who was in the audience of Hall H during the Dungeons & Dragons panel over the summer, I can confirm Hugh Grant was an absolute hit. The actor who is obviously beloved for being a ‘90s heartthrob was completely welcomed by the SDCC crowd and gave a series of hilarious quips, including a few cheeky sexual innuendos about sex dungeons (or something). However, Grant’s memory about the whole thing is oddly specific. As he recalled: 

While speaking to Collider about his SDCC experience alongside his Dungeons & Dragons co-star Chris Pine, Grant shared that he was stalked by a hot dog throughout his Comic-Con experience and he can’t stop thinking about it. It’s the kind of random SDCC story that seems really out there, but if you’ve been you’ll know that people in costumes, including hot dogs, are everywhere.

During the interview, Grant also admitted he liked the experience of being in Hall H alongside his Dungeons & Dragons cast members, but he had some reservations about the whole thing. It's wild given his charm stole the panel, a panel which then also debuted the first Dungeons & Dragons trailer as well. In his words: 

As Pine recalled, once Hugh Grant did enter Hall H they loved him. Grant commented that he thought the crowd was on “crack or something,” but nope, that’s just the incomparable energy of Comic-Con. It’s not everyday that thousands of fans get to see a sneak peak of a movie based on Dungeons and Dragons starring Hugh Grant alongside Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis and more.  

You can check out CinemaBlend’s Comic-Con interviews with Hugh Grant and the Dungeons & Dragons cast as we look forward to the movie coming next month. The 2023 new movie release is set to hit theaters on March 31. 

Fun appears to be on the menu when Paramount unleashes Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, and the latest trailer demonstrates the humorous tone struck by the cast and filmmakers that will also balance off against some impressive creature design and visual effects. This shouldn’t be too surprising. Co-directors  John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein come from a comedic background (which they talked about in our exclusive interview), and injected the right amount of humor into their script for Spider-Man: Homecoming, one of the top films on our ranking of every Spider-Man movie ever released. But it’s exciting to see them branching off into new IP, and this feels like the exact right way to approach a Dungeons & Dragons story in 2023.

Enjoy the new trailer above.

The first trailer for Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves also set its action to Led Zeppelin’s classic “Whole Lotta Love” off the band’s debut album, and if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. That driving tune with its heavy backbeat cuts perfectly with the action in the new Dungeons & Dragons trailer – action that Chris Pine claims is inspired by the movement of Jackie Chan. Chan is not who I think of when I pair Chris Pine in a D&D movie, but my mind is open to the possibilities.

What impresses me the most about this new and fuller Dungeons & Dragons trailer is how the effects and creature designs have stepped up (no doubt because the effects house has had more time to refine them). And it’s not just your standard dragon, or furry beast. At one point, there’s a trunk that opens and bears razor-sharp teeth and a long tongue that chases Michelle Rodriguez. The main villain, pictured above, appears to command an army of the undead, and wields the power of sorcery that conjures some mythical-looking beasts. The whole thing just looks far more imaginative than I anticipated. And that’s a great thing.

But we have always known that Paramount has great faith in the work that John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein are doing. They brought Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves to San Diego Comic-Con for a panel and an extensive interactive tavern exhibit, which allowed fans to step into the world of the game. Also, it was recently confirmed that the movie would play the SXSW Film Festival in Austin in March, shining an even brighter light on what Paramount likely hopes will be the launch of a fantasy franchise.  

Still, Dungeons & Dragons will be heading into a crowded marketplace, as so many blockbusters are opening in 2023 looking to make a splash after the uncertainty of the past few years. By the time D&D opens on March 31, theaters already will be luring crowds with John Wick: Chapter 4, Shazam: Fury of the Gods, 65, and Scream VI. There are plenty of option this year, so keep checking our guide to 2023 Upcoming Movies to stay up to date.

Only some talented actors can really thrive in the world of romantic comedies. The ability to create chemistry with multiple leading women or men is not easy and not everyone can do it well. But, there is at least one actor who makes doing romantic comedy look easy, and fans adore him for it. Hugh Grant romantic comedy movies are among the most beloved rom-coms.

Whether he’s winning the heart of a Hollywood A-lister or competing with Colin Firth for a woman, there is a Grant romantic comedy for everyone. 

The following are ranked based on how romantic they are, their ability to highlight Grant as a leading man, and the strength of the comedic elements.

10. Nine Months (1995)

Nine Months is the classic tale of an unexpected pregnancy and a guy kind of being a jerk about it. It stars Hugh Grant, Julianne Moore, Tom Arnold, and Joan Cusack. There are also appearances by Jeff Goldblum and Robin Williams. 

The film has a strong cast, and Williams is hilarious, as usual. It’s not one of the best Robin Williams movies, but he definitely gives a standout performance. It’s a romantic comedy that puts more weight on the comedy elements than the romantic parts. 

Nine Months doesn’t give us the usual Grant charm. He’s less swoon-worthy and sentimental and more slapstick. There is nothing wrong with him showing that side of his acting, because he’s been a hilarious character in many comedies. However, if you want to watch a movie with him for the romance or his on-screen charisma, Nine Months may not be the right fit.   

9. Mickey Blue Eyes (1999)

Mickey Blue Eyes is a very fun movie that allows the star to really lean into his comedic chops. Though it’s more of a co-lead movie with James Caan, Grant stands out in this film. He’s funny in a way that’s not overly silly and cartoonish.

This is an all-right comedy. It’s definitely not one of the best comedies ever, nor a great 90s movie that received harsh reviews, but it’s an okay comedy that’s very funny at times. However, the romantic comedy aspects are lacking. The general premise is romantic — loving someone enough to deal with their mob family — but, the actual romance doesn’t give viewers that much to enjoy, especially when Grant’s character spends most of the movie with his fiancé’s father instead of with her. 

8. Two Weeks Notice (2002) 

Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant could easily be on the Mount Rushmore of romantic comedy favorites. They’re both charming on screen and create chemistry with almost all of their co-stars. Two Weeks Notice, on paper, seems like the dream film.

In reality, Grant and Bullock have a lot of chemistry, but their characters don’t develop enough together to make you root for them. It takes a while for Grant’s George to become a decent guy, and you aren’t sure why Bullock’s Lucy would fall for him. They seem incredibly incompatible, but not in a fun way. When they finally get together at the end, it doesn’t feel like the triumph that I wanted.

7. The Bridget Jones’s Diary Movies (2001, 2004) 

The Bridget Jones’s Diary movies aren’t the typical romantic comedy. This is mainly because Bridget isn’t the usual lead. She’s insecure, doesn’t have her life completely planned, and sometimes picks the bad boy.

The bad boy in the first two Bridget Jones movies is Daniel Cleaver, played by Grant. He’s a good shag that lacks much romantic depth. He’s obviously the wrong choice for Bridget and anyone serious about a long-term relationship. Because this is a ranking of the best Grant's romantic comedy movies, you probably want films where you want him to get the girl.

You don’t want Daniel Cleaver to get anyone. You also probably want someone to report him to HR.

6. The Rewrite (2014)

The Rewrite is one of the more recent and lesser-known Hugh Grant romantic comedies. This is a shame because it’s actually a really good one. His character, Keith, feels like the perfect combination of many of his other romantic comedy characters.

Grant adds enough depth to Keith that you grow attached to this character and his journey of love. It isn’t just about falling for a student, Holly (Marisa Tomei), but also discovering his love for teaching. 

The Rewrite proves that if he wants to return to the world of romantic comedies, he could easily still make hearts flutter.  

5. About A Boy (2002) 

About a Boy is another Nick Hornby romantic comedy adaptation that proves that we should just adapt all his romantic comedy books into movies and TV shows. It’s a sweet film that’s all about the struggles of growing up at any age.

It's a coming-of-age story for both Marcus (Nicholas Hoult) and Will (Hugh Grant). It’s mainly about their dynamic and how it helps each of them grow, especially when it comes to human connection and relationships. It’s a love story, but light on the romantic comedy elements.

Will’s romance with Rachel (Rachel Weisz) is almost a minor plot point. The character doesn’t even appear in that much of the movie. About a Boy is a great comedy and coming-of-age movie, but it’s not as much of a rom-com as some of the star's other films. 

4. Music And Lyrics (2007) 

Personally, I think the best romantic movies are ones where the characters grow because of each other. They aren’t forced to grow but it happens naturally because their influence and interactions spark a positive change. 

Sophie (Drew Barrymore) and Alex (Hugh Grant) are two characters not exactly thriving in their careers. Together they’re able to make beautiful music. Music and Lyrics is a simple romantic comedy with great pop music, a sweet love story, and charming leads with infectious chemistry. 

3. Love Actually (2003)

Love Actually has been one of the must-watch Christmas movies and romantic comedies for decades. People adore this film for many reasons, including Hugh Grant’s dancing. It’s a movie that showcases the many different forms and sides to love. 

Though I believe that the majority of the romances in Love Actually are memorable ones, most associate it with a few key romantic moments and storylines. David the Prime Minister falling for a member of his staff, Natalie (Martine McCutcheon), is one of them, and it is because of Grant’s ability to make this romance endearing. Yes, there are many problems with this romance that, in the real world, should raise eyebrows. However, Love Actually is so hopeful when discussing love that you just enjoy the chemistry and romance and ignore its issues.  

2. Notting Hill (1999) 

Basically, Notting Hill is really good fan fiction. At some point in our lives, almost everyone has imagined a world where their celebrity crush met them and fell head over heels. It’s a dream that many of us share but only a few live this reality. 

This is not the most realistic romantic comedy, but that’s the beauty of so many rom-coms. It allows you to suspend belief and just enjoy a girl asking a boy to love her.

Notting Hill is one of Julia Roberts’s best romantic comedies and certainly one Grant's best. They make you really want their characters to work out, even if it’s because you want them to inspire hope and fantasy. 

1. Four Weddings And A Funeral (1994) 

Four Weddings and a Funeral is another film that showcases various love stories, including an LGBTQ+ one. However, these stories are secondary to the story of love at first sight. Somehow, it's both a very realistic love story and almost a romantic fable.

The characters are imperfect, flawed, selfish, and make bad decisions. They’re some of the most realistic characters in a romantic comedy, but there is also a fantastical quality to Charles (Hugh Grant) and Carrie’s (Andie MacDowell) love story. This is the kind of romantic comedy that reminds you why you love rom-coms.

I didn’t include Sense and Sensibility because it’s more of a period dramedy than a romantic comedy, but it’s a lush romance that’s all about having a balance of passion and reason in matters of the heart. 

If we never get another Hugh Grant romantic comedy, we can always rewatch these great films.

Minor SPOILERS for Glass Onion, now streaming with a Netflix subscription, are ahead! 

Have you heard? Hugh Grant is among the many cameos in Glass Onion, but his is special. The Notting Hill actor was briefly revealed as the partner to Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc in the Knives Out sequel. Sure, it was an incredibly short scene, but it had fans giving the best reactions about Grant and Craig being together in the whodunnit. And when Grant recently opened up about the cameo, Chris Pine had a reaction that’s now gone viral on TikTok. 

Hugh Grant and Chris Pine are set to star together in the 2023 movie release Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, and they were recently paired together in an interview with Collider at Brazil’s own Comic Con. When Grant was asked about the Glass Onion moment, Grant said “It is true, I’m married to James Bond,” but it was Chris Pine’s response that got people talking. Take a look: 

In the short clip of the interview, Pine responds with “Oh, fuck man, I didn’t know that,” which is a very endearing response for the actor to give. As the TikTok user commented, he is “fully convinced” the Star Trek actor took Grant “100 percent seriously” and believes that the two actors are hitched in real life. 

It’s a fun moment that even had fans thinking Chris Pine was “googling it afterwards” and even looking at Grant’s hand to see the ring. However, the clip is just six seconds in a much longer exchange about the Glass Onion cameo. If you watch the video in its entirety, the interviewer first frames the question by asking how it feels to be married to Benoit Blanc before Grant makes sure the movie is out and he can talk about it. Either way, Pine’s reaction to “I’m married to James Bond” is amazing, just reacting to the casually-dropped spoiler, and surely a bit confused about the whole thing, as Glass Onion had only hit theaters for a week by that time and they were hanging out in Brazil. 

What you don’t see in the TikTok is Pine later asks if he’s credited in the movie, and Grant admits he had yet to see Benoit Blanc’s latest mystery. When Pine seemed a bit bummed out to have the spoiler revealed, Grant clarifies to Pine that it’s the “tiniest moment” in Glass Onion and he didn’t really know “why they wanted to do it,” but he was a fan of Knives Out and turned up on set for a few hours for the scene. 

The moment certainly has us wanting to see more of Hugh Grant in Knives Out movies, and perhaps even Chris Pine in the whodunnit franchise. One can dream. We can definitely look forward to Chris Pine and Hugh Grant in Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, hitting theaters this March 31. You can check out the Dungeons and Dragons trailer here on CinemaBlend in the meantime. 

Warning: SPOILERS for Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery are ahead!

While Knives Out certainly had a stacked cast including the likes of Jamie Lee Curtis, the late Christopher Plummer,  Chris Evans and Ana de Armas, among others, it didn’t really have any special appearances, unless you count Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s voice briefly being heard. Not so with Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, as it was packed with cameos and even a few notable name-drops. Arguably one of the more surprising cameos was Hugh Grant, who popped up as the romantic partner of Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc, and the Notting Hill actor has now opened up about his cameo in Rian Johnson’s latest movie.

Following its brief theatrical run at the end of November, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery has been available for Netflix subscribers to stream for a week now. As those who’ve already caught the movie know, Hugh Grant emerged a little past the halfway point of the standalone sequel, when we flashed back to the day that Janelle Monáe’s Helen Brand hired Benoit Blanc to investigate the death of her sister. Here’s what Grant said to Collider when he was asked about the cameo:

Hugh Grant’s character, Phillip, answered the door on Benoit Blanc’s behalf when Helen Brand came calling, while Benoit was hanging out in the bathtub playing Above Us with Stephen Sondheim, Angela Lansbury, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Natasha Lyonne over Zoom. It was abundantly clear that Phillip and Benoit were an item, but what wasn’t spelled out in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery was how long they’d been together, let alone if they were married. 

But if these two did indeed tie the knot at some point like Hugh Grant said, then hopefully that means there’s a chance Grant could return for Knives Out 3. Yes, each Knives Out movie is supposed be a self-contained affair (hence why Rian Johnson was displeased that Netflix added A Knives Out Mystery to Glass Onion’s title), but that doesn’t mean that we could get another peek at Benoit and Phillip’s domestic life. However, from what Johnson has said, the chances of anyone besides Daniel Craig returning for more of these movies are unlikely.

As for how he got looped into Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Hugh Grant shared that he enjoyed Knives Out when it came out in 2019, so when he was approached for the sequel, he was game to lend some of his time. In his words:

Along with the aforementioned individuals, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery’s cast also included Edward Norton, Kathryn Hahn, Dave Bautista, Kate Hudson, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick and Madelyn Cline. Like its predecessor, Glass Onion has been met with critical acclaim, and it’s already a massive hit on Netflix, ranking as the third biggest original movie debut on the platform in 2022 behind The Gray Man and The Adam Project. As far as excitement levels go, Rian Johnson was more jazzed several days back over getting to be part of a Jeopardy! category. 

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery ranked high on our list of best Netflix movies released in 2022, so if you haven’t seen it yet, you’d be wise to make some time to fix that. Also keep your eyes peeled on CinemaBlend for when news about Knives Out 3’s development starts trickling in.

The following contains minor spoilers for Glass Onion.

Rian Johnson’s Glass Onion is getting heaped with praise by both critics and fans much like Knives Out was before it. There’s a lot to love about the new film, which like its predecessor has an absolutely incredible cast making up the victim and the list of potential suspects. However, Glass Onion also has an absolutely incredible list of cameos, though possibly none quite as wonderful as Hugh Grant. 

Hugh Grant appears on screen briefly in the middle of Glass Onion and while the cameo isn’t important to the mystery at hand, it’s become one of the more talked about moments of the film. While never stated explicitly, Grant’s appearance would seem to indicate that Daniel Craig’s Benoit Banc is gay, and that he and Grant’s character, known only as Philip, are in a relationship. Needless to say, Twitter is here for it. 

When we first see Benoit Blanc in Glass Onion he’s sitting in the bathtub playing Among Us with four of the film’s other major cameos, Stephen Sondheim, Angela Lansbury, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Natasha Lyonne. We then hear a man’s voice, Philip, telling Blanc that he has a visitor. It’s not until later in the film that we learn that Philip is played by Hugh Grant. It’s a moment that has fans screaming.

There are a lot of people that love this couple and want to see more of it. There are calls for everything from a rom-com starring Grant and Craig to hopes that Grant will return for the third film in the series, and with a much expanded role. Something about this particular pairing has struck a chord with fans. 

Glass Onion is generally being praised for the way it handles this little revelation. The movie isn’t about Benoit Blanc’s personal relationship and so there’s no reason for the plot to make a big deal out of this. It also doesn’t make a point of announcing it in a way that other movies have, seemingly as a way of getting credit for having LGBTQ+ characters. At the same time, because the movie is not specific, it is apparently possible to interpret the situation differently. 

We know that a third movie in the Benoit Blanc trilogy is on the way, so the possibility of a return for Hugh Grant is certainly there. We can be sure the next film will include another all-star cast of suspects, and considering how popular the various cameos were in Glass Onion, it seems like a pretty good chance we’ll see them again. Even if we only get a brief return for Philip, there will certainly be fans happy to see it.  

Warning: SPOILERS for Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery are ahead!

While the first Knives Out movie was unquestionably a star-studded affair, with Daniel Craig being joined by folks like Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Toni Collete, Chris Evans and Christopher Plummer, it didn’t have much in the way of major cameos. The closest was Joseph Gordon-Levitt, writer/director Rian Johnson’s frequent collaborator, voicing a TV detective, as well as Frank Oz stopping by as the legal counsel to the late Harlan Thrombey. Here’s a quick spoiler right out the gate: Gordon-Levitt once again lends to his talents to the follow-up movie as the voice of an alarm clock.

But even ignoring that, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is a different beast because many of the suspects Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc is investigating this time around are famous and/or wealthy. As such, this crtically-acclaimed standalone sequel sees some of these individuals, as well as Blanc himself, interacting with various celebrities, and there are even a few Hollywood heavyweights who stops by as fictional characters rather than themselves. Now that Glass Onion is available to watch with a Netflix subscription following its short theatrical run at the end of November, now’s the perfect time to go over the movie’s cameos, as well as discuss some notable name-drops.

Jake Tapper

Every now and then, real-life TV journalists will cameo as themselves in major movies, like Pat Kiernan appearing in various MCU projects, Anderson Cooper reporting on Doomsday’s rampage in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Wolf Blitzer even playing a key role in the opening of Mission: Impossible - Fallout (though to be fair, we soon learned this was actually Simon Pegg’s Benji Dunn in disguise). In Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, CNN’s Jake Tapper briefly appears early on interviewing Kathryn Hahn’s Claire Debella, the governor of Connecticut who’s running for the Senate. Claire chats with Tapper from her home in the midst of lockdown, quickly letting audiences know that Glass Onion takes place during the height of the COVID pandemic.

Yo-Yo Ma

Kate Hudson’s Birdie Jay is technically in lockdown at the start of Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery; the problem is that she invited a lot of people to party with her at an apartment. It’s hard to imagine at least one person not walking away from that event with COVID, but the silver lining is that cellist Yo-Yo Ma was nearby when Birdie and her assistant, Jessica Henwick's Peg, were solving Miles Bron’s puzzle box over speakerphone with Claire, Leslie Odom Jr’s Miles Toussaint and Dave Bautista’s Duke Cody. Thanks to Ma’s welcome assistance figuring a musical aspect of the box, simply because he was bored, Birdie and the gang move one step closer to discovering what’s at the center of the box.

Stephen Sondheim, Angela Lansbury, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Natasha Lyonne

When we first meet back up with Benoit Blanc in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, he’s chatting with Stephen Sondheim, Angela Lansbury, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Natasha Lyonne over Zoom from his bathtub, playing the deduction game Among Us, with this movie marking Sondheim and Lansbury’s final film appearances. Benoit finds the game an inferior substitute to the actual cases he thrives on solving, but hasn’t been getting because of COVID, and the quartet do their best to cheer him up before Benoit is informed there's something at the door for him.

Lest you think Rian Johnson chose these four celebrities at random, think again, as they all have different ties to the mystery genre. Johnson previously referenced Stephen Sondheim in Knives Out when Benoit Blanc was singing “Losing My Mind” from Follies, and the filmmaker also compared Glass Onion’s story to the late composer and lyricist’s production Merrily We Roll Along while speaking with EW. Angela Lansbury, of course, played Jessica Fletcher in Murder, She Wrote over 12 seasons of TV and four TV movies. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has contributed to the world of Sherlock Holmes by co-writing the books Mycroft Holmes, Mycroft and Sherlock and Mycroft and Sherlock: The Empty Birdcage with Anna Waterhouse. As for Natasha Lyonne, she’s starring in Johnson’s upcoming series Poker Face, which Peacock subscribers will be able to watch.

Ethan Hawke

Although Ethan Hawke was never officially announced as being part of Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery’s cast, we learned of his involvement through leaked set photos. As it turned out, Hawke didn’t have a ton to do in the movie. He simply appeared as Miles Bron’s assistant (credited as “Efficient Man”), who oversaw the billionaire’s guests being given a spray that prevented them from contracting COVID before being taken to the island. In the aforementioned EW interview, Rian Johnson shared that Hawke wasn’t originally supposed to appear in Glass Onion, but because he was in Budapest doing Moon Knight when the movie was shooting in Greece, he was able to visit for a day to shoot his cameo.

Hugh Grant

Ahead of Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery’s release, it was confirmed that Benoit Blanc is queer, although Rian Johnson didn’t want to get too bogged with the character’s backstory, and Daniel Craig didn’t want to make a big deal about Benoit’s sexuality. Nevertheless, at roughly the halfway point of Glass Onion, we meet the detective's domestic partner Phillip, played by rom-com heartthrob Hugh Grant. We see that it was Phillip who informed Benoit earlier in the movie about the arrival at the front door: Helen Brand, who's come to hire Benoit to investigate her twin sister Andi's death. Whether or not Phillip will return in Knives Out 3 remains to be seen.

Serena Williams

There’s a moment in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery when Benoit Blanc and Janelle Monáe's Helen Brand meet up in Miles Bron’s gym to discuss the case, and on the wall is what looks like a prerecorded home workout video on a fitness mirror featuring tennis superstar Serena Williams. But in the middle of Benoit and Helen’s conversation, Williams suddenly asks them if they want to do a "session" since she's on the clock, letting the audience know that Miles hired her as his personal trainer. The two characters decline, and Williams simply comments that it’s their money and hangs out silently for the rest of the scene. Williams has previously cameoed as herself in movies like Pixels and Ocean's 8.

Jared Leto

For these last two entries, we have people who didn’t actually appear in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, but are heavily featured indirectly. First up is Requiem for a Dream and Morbius actor Jared Leto, who in the Knives Out universe has his own brand of alcoholic kombucha. The beverage is notable because while Helen Brand doesn’t usually drink, she wasn’t aware the kombucha she was drinking had alcohol in it. Fortunately, this particular hard stuff gives her some liquid courage to say and do some things she wouldn’t have done if she was sober.

Jeremy Renner

Then we have Hawkeye and Mayor of Kingstown’s Jeremy Renner, who has his own brand of hot sauce in the Knives Out universe. This particular item actually plays a big role during Glass Onion’s third act. While it initially looks like Helen Brand has been fatally shot right outside Miles Bron’s home (who pulled the trigger is one spoiler I won’t reveal here just to be safe), we later learn that the diary of Helen’s late sister And blocked the bullet. After Benoit learns Helen is still alive, he realizes the value in faking her death for a little bit in order to glean more information from the other suspects. As such, Benoit uses some of Jeremy Renner’s hot sauce as fake blood to sell the picture of Helen looking dead from afar. There’s a brief moment where it looks like the ruse will be ruined when a droplet of the hot sauce starts leaking towards Helen’s nose, but she holds in any sort of reaction like a champ until everyone has left the area.

Now that we’ve gone over Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery’s cameos and especially notable name-drops, be sure to read our review of the Knives Out sequel and breakdown of its ending. Per the deal Rian Johnson and producer Ram Bergman agreed to with Netflix, Knives Out 3 is also on its way to Netflix, and once concrete details about the threequel come in, we’ll pass them along.

Love Actually has become a holiday viewing tradition for many and stands as one of the greatest romantic comedies of all time, thanks to its ensemble cast, multiple interconnecting storylines, and eternally quotable dialogue. There’s one scene that lives in infamy probably more than any other, however, and that’s the one where David the Prime Minister celebrates his verbal bashing of the US president with an impromptu dance party. It turns out that Hugh Grant hated that scene — a fact that stands true as the beloved movie it set to celebrate its 20-year anniversary. The actor will, however, take credit for one “genius” addition to the number.

Hugh Grant was one of several Love Actually actors who spoke with Diane Sawyer for The Laughter & Secrets of Love Actually: 20 Years Later. The actor’s grumpiness was well-documented by writer and director Richard Curtis, co-star Emma Thompson, and even Grant himself, particularly when it came to that dance. Grant told Sawyer: 

Hugh Grant has had 20 years to ruminate on the popular dance number to “Jump” by The Pointer Sisters, which his character broke into after publicly dismantling Billy Bob Thornton’s United States president. It’s obvious from the way Grant can immediately point out the scene’s flaws that he’s given it some thought over the past two decades. At least there’s one part of the scene he can take pride in, and he definitely should, because the Prime Minister being caught in the middle of his celebration is such a classic moment.

That doesn’t make his overall feelings about it any warmer, as he said on the ABC special:

Richard Curtis seemed to know people would like it, and despite Hugh Grant’s initial refusal to do the scene, the director stood his ground, ultimately pulling rank on the actor. Curtis recalled: 

Longtime fans of the movie would likely say it was well-worth the director’s fight, but Richard Curtis did admit to thinking it was “agonizingly embarrassing” when he saw Hugh Grant filming the dance number.

Love Actually doesn’t seem to be losing popularity anytime soon, and unfortunately for Hugh Grant, that dance may stick with him for another two decades. You can check out the actor in these great performances by Grant that you probably missed, and If you want to give the classic rom-com a rewatch, Love Actually can be streamed with a Peacock Premium subscription.  

I don’t know about you, but I grew up on Julia Roberts rom-coms. She was one of the actresses who was at the front of the genre throughout the 1990s, and this month she will make her return to the genre on the 2022 movies schedule with George Clooney in Ticket to Paradise. While Roberts and Clooney played wife and husband in Ocean’s Eleven and Twelve, this will be their first foray into the rom-com genre together. With the movie coming out soon, I thought it’d be a good idea to rank six of Roberts' rom-coms. So here we go:  

6. Runaway Bride 

Who is Julia? Maggie Carpenter, runaway bride x3 who runs a hardware store.

Who is her love interest? Dating columnist Ike Graham, played by Richard Gere.

Year of Release: 1999

I’ll start with what I liked about this movie: I loved that the cat was named Italics. I appreciated that Roberts’ character was independent and worked an unconventional job for a woman. Finally, Gere and Roberts are phenomenal together. However, lightning did not strike twice with this one. While you’ll see Pretty Woman later on this list – which stars both Roberts and Gere and was also directed by Garry Marshall – Runaway Bride does not even get close to the quality of its predecessor. 

The movie follows Ike (Gere) as he travels to a small town to report on a bride who has run away from her wedding three times. Somehow all her ex-fiancés aren’t that mad at her, except the one that tipped Ike off, and overall the town is unbothered by Maggie’s inability to go through with a wedding. Talk about a financial and logistical nightmare; it was distracting me from the plot!

You can watch Runaway Bride with a Netflix subscription.

5. My Best Friend’s Wedding

Who is Julia? Julianne Potter. In the movie, all that’s relevant is she’s best friends with Michael O’Neal.

Who is her love interest? Michael O’Neal, played by Dermot Mulroney, is engaged to a woman who is not Julia Roberts.

Year of Release: 1997

I know that people really love this movie, but there is something about ruining weddings that rubs me the wrong way. This one is slightly better than Runaway Bride, but still, the wedding wrecking is a trope I’m not a fan of. Anyways, I digress.

The film follows Julianne (Roberts) after she finds out her longtime best friend Michael (Mulroney) is getting married. Michael’s fiancée Kimberley (Cameron Diaz) decides to make Julianne her maid of honor and chaos ensues. My Best Friend’s Wedding is interesting in the fact that it does not have a conventional ending, which I really appreciated, especially given how much I disliked Roberts’ character for the majority of the movie. Overall, it’s a swell time. Roberts and Mulroney have excellent chemistry, and Diaz is super funny.

You can watch My Best Friend’s Wedding with a Peacock subscription. 

4. Eat Pray Love  

Who is Julia? Liz Gilbert, a writer-turned-world traveler on a journey of self-discovery.

Who is her love interest? Felipe, played by Javier Bardem, a Brazilian businessman she meets in Bali.

Year of Release: 2010

Based on the memoir of the same name, Eat Pray Love follows Elizabeth Gilbert on an around-the-world journey to find herself after a rough divorce from her longtime husband Stephen (Billy Crudup). The movie is split into thirds, just like the title, and we don’t get the rom-com section until the third act. She eats, she meditates and then she goes to Bali and meets Felipe, a sweet Brazilian who is also on his own journey of self-acceptance. 

Overall the movie is very thoughtful and gorgeous. I think Liz is someone everyone can relate to, and Roberts does a good job of portraying both the good and the bad parts of our protagonist. My only complaint is I wish we would have gotten to the 'love' part faster because Roberts’ scenes with Bardem are heartfelt and warm. This movie is a great time, and while not as rom-com-y as others, it has its moments, and will make your heart happy. 

You can stream Eat Pray Love with an Amazon Prime subscription (it’s through Freevee, so there are ads, but it’s free)

3. Mystic Pizza - HBO Max 

Who is Julia? Daisy, a rebellious young woman who works in a pizza joint with her gal pals.

Who is her love interest? Charlie, played by Adam Storke, a rich kid who got kicked out of law school (think Logan from Gilmore Girls; this boy has the same energy).

Year of Release: 1988

This is a lovely movie about three girls who all work at the same pizza place (hence the name of the movie), each with their own romantic story arcs. Released in 1988, this was one of Roberts’ breakout performances. Unlike a lot of her other movies, her character is a bit more rebellious and fiery, very much a stick-it-to-the-man kind of girly, and it's super refreshing.

I think Mystic Pizza is a stellar way to kick off a career, and it's somehow simultaneously a time capsule of the ‘80s and timeless. Roberts is also surrounded by a fantastic ensemble cast that includes a young Vincent D’Onofrio, as well as Annabeth Gish, Lili Taylor, Adam Storke and William R. Moses. Also, if you look closely, you can catch a baby-faced Matt Damon. 

You can watch Mystic Pizza with an HBO Max Subscription. 

2. Notting Hill - Peacock 

Who is Julia? Anna Scott, a super famous actress.

Who is her love interest? William Thacker, played by Hugh Grant, owner of a travel bookshop in Notting Hill.

Year of Release: 1999

When it came to rom-coms in the 1990s, Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant were the cream of the crop. So, pairing them together feels like something that was bound to happen. The story follows William (Grant) after he meets Anna (Roberts), and while the two fall in love with each other, the challenges of fame get in their way. 

I think what makes this movie great is it takes the character types Roberts and Grant portray best and plays to their strengths to create a unique romantic comedy. Roberts plays the independent woman, as she has in almost all her other movies, she tells it like it is, and she is able to be both hilarious and extremely dramatic with the flip of a switch. Meanwhile, Grant brings his awkward, introverted and clumsy persona from movies like Four Weddings and a Funeral to Notting Hill. It’s a match made in rom-com heaven and a very good time. 

You can watch Notting Hill with a Peacock subscription.  

1. Pretty Woman 

Who is Julia? Vivian Ward, a prostitute. 

Who is her love interest? Edward Lewis, played by Richard Gere, a rich businessman

Year of Release: 1990

I feel like this one is obvious. Pretty Woman was game-changing. It showed Roberts in the role of Vivian, a prostitute who falls in love with the rich Edward, played by Richard Gere. The movie does not look down on Roberts or chastise her for being a prostitute. Instead, it depicts an independent woman trying to make money who happens to fall in love. Overall, it is a movie that was ahead of its time in 1990. 

Pretty Woman is so funny, yet heartfelt, and it is all grounded in Roberts’ nuanced performance. Her infectious laugh can be felt throughout the movie, and when she’s down on her luck, we are right there sympathizing with her. Along with her performance, Gere is also fantastic, and the duo's chemistry is off the charts. There’s a reason this movie is a classic, and it’s because of Julia Roberts. 

Pretty Woman is not currently streaming, but it can be rented. 

There you have it, that's Julia Roberts’ rom-coms ranked. Personally, I really look up to the actress and admire the characters she has taken on. Much like how she broke the glass ceiling with Erin Brokovich in terms of salaries and defended '90s rom-coms, I think she helped represent strong and independent women in film in a way that really hadn’t been seen until the 1990s. 

Now we get to see her back in this fun genre, with her snarky scene partner George Clooney (she even said a reason she did the movie was to be snarky with Clooney), and I couldn’t be more excited. You can watch Ticket to Paradise on October 21, and you can stream all of Roberts’ other rom-coms across various streaming platforms. 

Regé-Jean Page, Michelle Rodriguez, Chris Pine, Hugh Grant and producer Jeremy Latchman talk about “Dungeon & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves“ and its surprisingly funny script, debuting the trailer in San Diego Comic-Con’s Hall H, nailing a tone fans will love and more.

Video Chapters

• 00:00 - Intro 
• 00:22 - Regé-Jean Page And Castmates On The Heart And Humor Infused In The Film 
• 01:34 - Michelle Rodriguez On The ‘Love’ For The D&D Franchise Put Into The Making Of The Film 
• 02:52 - Chris Pine & Hugh Grant Talk Playing The D&D Role Playing Game 
• 03:10 - Regé-Jean Page On Improvisation's Central Role On Set 
• 03:31 - Producer Jeremy Latcham On Nailing The Tone Of The Film 
• 03:58 - Michelle Rodriguez Talks ‘Resident Evil’ 20 Years Later 
• 04:41 - Producer Jeremy Latcham On The Hall H Experience At San Diego Comic-Con 
• 06:02 - Producer Jeremy Latcham On Creating A Trailer That Will Capture An Audience & Delivering On That Promise list

British politics has been having a bit of a wild time of late as Prime Minister Boris Johnson has officially stepped down from that role, leaving the position vacant. Who will take over as the new PM isn’t clear at the moment, but if anybody is curious what Twitter thinks, they are officially in favor of appointing Hugh Grant. He did such a fantastic job in the gig in Love Actually, after all.

Many actors have played the British Prime Minister on the screen but it seems that Hugh Grant’s version of the character from the popular romantic Christmas movie has become a front runner among those that would like to see life imitate art. Tweets suggesting Grant as the new PM have become very popular on the social media site.

In the super popular, for some reason Love, Actually, Hugh Grant plays a brand new Prime Minister who is just taking office during the holidays. He has a bit of trouble finding his footing, but he eventually gives a rousing speech that puts the American President in his place and gets the support of the British people in a big way. He’s also able to find love along the way.

Hugh Grant is one of those actors that it seems it can actually be difficult not to like. He just seems so generally pleasant to be around, which is not a feeling one tends to get from politicians. It’s no wonder people would like to see that character become Prime Minister, because to be fair, it’s not really Grant people want to see in the role, it’s that character.

It’s all in good fun, of course. Nobody is really hoping Hugh Grant becomes the Prime Minister. That would be crazy, right? Well, maybe not as crazy as it might seem. As one person notes on Twitter, Grant, who played the villain in the globally adored Paddington 2, would not be the first person in that film to obtain an executive office of a country. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was the voice of Paddington in Ukraine, so maybe there’s a connection. 

Of course, speaking of Paddington, he’s also a pretty popular character in the UK, and everywhere else, right now, so it looks like, if Twitter is going to decide the next Prime Minister, Hugh Grant is going to have his work cut out for him. For what it’s worth the actor probably won’t mind, as Hugh Grant loves Paddington 2 as much as anybody. 

Whoever the next PM is, it probably won’t be Hugh Grant. Maybe, if the person wants to get the public on their side, however, they should consider dancing to the Pointer Sisters. It worked for Grant. 

The way that Doctor Who fans, insiders and the stars themselves have been speculating about Jodie Whittaker's replacement for so long, a non-viewer might be convinced that her and showrunner Chris Chibnall's final installments had already come and gone. But their final two specials are still on the way in 2022, with that second one serving as the regeneration special introducing the 14th Doctor. With all the predictions currently floating around, it’s currently impossible to tell who will take over the role for Russell T. Davies’ exciting return as showrunner for Season 14, but one rather left-of-center rumor points to a big-screen star more commonly known for romantic comedy roles: Hugh Grant. 

While nothing has officially been confirmed behind the scenes regarding the next Doctor Who lead, the Mirror reported there are “conversations” taking place regarding the possibility of Four Weddings and a Funeral star Hugh Grant becoming the next Time Lord in 2023 and beyond. With the idea that Grant would bring a “fresh feel” to the role, the outlet’s insider claimed:

By all means, Hugh Grant is familiar to film and TV viewers around the world in ways that past Doctor Who leads haven’t been. And that’s just one reason why this seemingly oddball choice actually makes sense.

Hugh Grant Could Bring Both New And Former Viewers To The Franchise

Considering the recent seasons from Chris Chibnall and Jodie Whittaker saw new lows for series viewerships and ratings stats, it would make a lot of sense for the BBC to at least entertain the idea of bringing in a globally renowned star to take over as Fourteen. Especially for an era that will presumably bring more familiar elements back into the series following Chibnall’s intentional efforts to change things up for his run. Of course, producers could go this route with hundreds of other stars beyond Hugh Grant, especially if diversity is still a driving factor, but familiarity isn’t the only reason why Grant is a sensible choice.

Hugh Grant Technically Already Played The Doctor Over 20 Years Ago 

Back in 1999, the year Hugh Grant released both Mickey Blue Eyes and Notting Hill, he also took part in that year’s highly celebrated Red Nose Day special Doctor Who: The Curse of Fatal Death, which also starred Rowan Atkinson, Richard E. Grant, Joanna Lumley and Jim Broadbent. 

The era-connecting special featured the Undoing star as “The Handsome Doctor” whose survival was not so long-lasting. But I don’t think anyone would look at that moment as such hard-nosed canon that the actor couldn’t return as a different, albeit still handsome, Doctor for Season 14.

Russell T. Davies Wanted Hugh Grant As The Reboot’s First Doctor 

Back in 2005, when Doctor Who was first set to return to television after a 16-year hiatus, Hugh Grant (and the aforementioned Rowan Atkinson) was one of the first actors that reboot spearheader Russell T. Davies reached out to regarding the starring role, which eventually went to Christopher Eccleston. Grant later expressed some regrets about not taking the role, saying this, according to Digital Spy: 

So while none of these factors serve as proper proof that Hugh Grant will indeed agree to take on a Doctor Who role for Season 14 and possibly more, it all helps to make the rumor less ridiculous and more legitimate. And it’s entirely possible that Russell T. Davies will find a way to bring Hugh Grant into Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary special without actually casting him as the future Time Lord. After all, it’s also rumored that David Tennant will be involved with that special, so the sky is the limit until actual details start to jump from the grapevine to real life.

While another fan-friendly hopeful in Michael Sheen has already denied any future involvement with Doctor Who, we’ll have to wait and see if Hugh Grant responds to these latest rumors. In the meantime, stay tuned for more news about the upcoming Easter-centric special and the regeneration special, and head to our 2022 TV premiere schedule to see what else is on the way soon.

While Dungeons & Dragons started out as a role-playing game (and is still incredibly popular in that regard), it’s morphed into a full-blown media franchise over the decades, with this fantastical world being explored across novels, comic books, an animated TV show and even in a live-action movie. Alas, 2000’s Dungeons & Dragons did not fare well critically or commercially, but now the property is getting a second chance at cinematic glory through a reboot, which Spider-Man: Homecoming’s Jonathan Goldstein and Jon Francis Daley are writing and directing.

Plot details about the new Dungeons & Dragons movie are being kept close to the proverbial chest for now, including whether this will be a straightforward fantasy tale like the last movie was, or if it will incorporate the actual game-playing elements in some form or fashion. That said, over the last several months, the cast has started coming together, so are all the actors who’ve been lined up to participate in this adaptation of the Dungeons & Dragons mythos, starting with one Hugh Grant.

Hugh Grant

Paddington 2 fans, get excited! The man who played Phoenix Buchanan has boarded Dungeons & Dragons, and while we don’t know the specific identity of his character yet, THR claims that he’ll play the main antagonist, who’s named Forge Fletcher. Outside of the last Paddington Bear movie and Cloud Atlas, Hugh Grant’s filmography is largely made up of more ‘down-to-Earth’ movies and TV shows, so it’s interesting that Dungeons & Dragons piqued his interest. Nevertheless, given his Golden Globe-winning talents, it’s likelier than not that Grant will deliver a memorable villainous performance in this fantasy movie.

Chris Pine

While there was a time when Baby Driver’s Ansel Elgort was being looked at to star in Dungeons & Dragons, this current iteration of the project snagged Chris Pine as its first lead actor. Pine has a little experience with traditional fantasy through starring in Into the Woods and voicing Jack Frost in Rise of the Guardians, and he’s certainly no stranger to genre work, having played James T. Kirk in the Kelvin timeline Star Trek movies, Steve Trevor in the Wonder Woman movies and Dr. Alexander Murry in A Wrinkle in Time. While no details about his character have been revealed yet, it’s a good bet he’ll be playing the main protagonist given the types of roles he usually scores.

Michelle Rodriguez

As far as major franchises go, Michelle Rodriguez is unquestionably best known for playing Letty Ortiz in the Fast & Furious saga, but she also has some experience in more fantastical settings thanks to Avatar, Resident Evil: Retribution and Alita: Battle Angel. Now she gets to dive into the world of Dungeons & Dragons, and while it’s unclear who she’s playing, it’s easy enough to imagine her as a badass warrior fighting the forces of evil alongside Chris Pine’s character.

Justice Smith

Here’s an actor who has some experience dealing with all sorts of strange creatures. In 2018, Justice Smith fled from dinosaurs in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (and he’s reprising Franklin Webb in Jurassic World: Dominion), and in the following year, he explored a world filled with Pokemon in Detective Pikachu. As with the aforementioned actors, there’s no word on who Smith is playing in Dungeons & Dragons; maybe he’ll also be one of the good guys, or maybe he’ll get to shine in a more antagonistic light.

Rege-Jean Page

You might not have been familiar with Rege-Jean Page before Christmas Day 2020, even though he’d appeared in movies like Mortal Engines, and TV shows like For the People and the History Channel’s Roots miniseries. But now, thanks to his role as Simon Basset in the Netflix series Bridgerton, Page’s fame has skyrocketed, and now he’s slated to show up in Dungeons & Dragons as one of the lead characters. So if Bridgerton isn’t your thing, perhaps you’ll join the Page fan club after seeing his Dungeons & Dragons character in action.

Sophia Lillis

Between playing young Beverly Marsh in the IT movies and starring as Sydney Novak in the short-lived Netflix series I’m Not Okay With This, Sophia Lillis has made quite the name for herself in the entertainment space. Lillis also has a little experience in the fantasy realm from starring in last year’s Gretel & Hansel, but needless to say that Dungeons & Dragons is on a much different level. The actress’ character is reportedly named Doric, but it’s unclear how this individual factors into the story.

Chloe Coleman

She may be the youngest cast member in Dungeons & Dragons so far, but Chloe Coleman already has an impressive resume at her age. She’s appeared in TV shows like Transparent, Big Little Lies and Upload, and just last year, she starred alongside Guardians of the Galaxy’s Dave Bautista in the action comedy My Spy. Dungeons & Dragons marks yet another blockbuster project Coleman is participating in, as she’s also attached to Avatar 2, among other high-profile movies. There’s no word on who Coleman will play in the fantasy flick.

We here at CinemaBlend will let you know when more actors are announced for Dungeons & Dragons (fingers crossed Joe Manganiello makes his way in), as well as any specific story information and when the movie is slated for release. For now, learn what movies are coming out later this year with our 2021 release schedule.