My rating: Rent it on DVD and skip the pointless sex scenes

Okay, before I express any detailed opinion, I would just like to say that this is one of two movies I have seen in my life that I mostly enjoyed, but refuse to recommend. The other one was Jerry Maguire, and it's for the same blamed reason... sex, in its most pointless and offensive light.

That having been said, I must totally commend 99% of this movie. It was spectacular. Romance is seen from many diverse angles, love is an enduring virtue that the characters seek after. It's Alan Rickman's character struggling with adultery, and you feel challenged to fidelity. It's Hugh Grant's character falling in love with someone his peers will surely say is beneath him, and you cheer for following the heart. Liam Neeson's character tries to find comfort at the death of his wife, and he finds his son. He finds a reason to believe in love. You cheer for the family. Colin Firth's character is the victim of heartbreak and you cheer for trying to love again.

Bill Nighy plays an washed-up singer named "Billy Mack" who doesn't really contribute to the romance element, but comes in with some of the film's funniest moments. He's a bit risque, but still necessary. His character was one that you're not sure whether you love or hate, but still find yourself laughing at. And with.

And then there is the other couple. I don't remember their names. They were pointless. I'll describe this only so much as, being a youth minister, I consider decent: a guy and a girl apparently are body doubles in a sex scene for some undisclosed movie, and consequently have a passionless, scripted sex scene every twenty minutes or so. Heather and I almost died. It's like the sex scene from Jerry Maguire... if you've seen that, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.. the thing was thrown in, haphazardly, making no contribution to the plot of the movie, and succeeding only in giving an 'R" rating to a movie that otherwise would have most likely been rated PG-13 or possibly even PG.

So there it is... and I'm still torn. My best advice is, if you want to see this, wait for it to come out on DVD. You can skip the gratuitous, pointless nudity and create, through the wonder of your "skip scene" button, what I would consider to be a superior movie. Or if we're really lucky, maybe Richard Curtis will come to his senses and release the video without all that. Hello, Rich! You'll sell a lot more copies!

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