The ‘Love Actually’ Sequel Is Full of Reunions and Surprise Happy Endings
It’s been 14 years since a group of British actors starred in one the most widely debated Christmas movies of all time. Love Actually starred Andrew Lincoln before he was slaying zombies, Chiwetel Ejiofor before he was leading Best Picture-winning dramas, and that cute kid (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) kids before he was helping Bran Stark on Game of Thrones. This being the reboot/reunion era where no good (or hated) thing can be left alone, Love Actually is back with a mini sequel of sorts.
In honor of Red Nose Day, the British charity that works to raise awareness and funds to fight child poverty, (most of) the cast of Love Actually reunited for a short 16 minute video to see where the characters are fourteen years later. Everyone is pretty much doing exactly the same thing, with a few surprising reveals:
The sequel, titled Red Nose Day Actually, opens with Lincoln’s Mark (now married to Kate Moss) once again flipping note cards for Keira Knightley’s Juliet while Ejiofor’s Pete is watching TV. Hugh Grant is Prime Minister again, only this time his iconic dance to The Pointer Sisters is replaced by Drake’s “Hotline Bling” (insert eye roll emoji).
Colin Firth’s Jamie is still married to Lúcia Moniz’s Aurelia with three children, though after 14 years he somehow still hasn’t learned Portuguese. We also check in with Bill Nighy’s Billy Mack, Rowan Atkinson’s mysterious Rufus is taking forever packaging red noses at a local Wallgreens, Brodie-Sangster’s Sam tells Liam Neeson’s Daniel that he’s still lovesick, and Martine McCutcheon’s Natalie is still hanging around 10 Downing Street. And while Laura Linney’s Sarah never ended up with dreamboat Karl (Rodrigo Santoro), she got another dreamy husband. You can watch the full reunion above, which ends on an uplifting note about love and optimism.
Now, as cute as it is to see the Love Actually gang back together, it strikes me as odd that Emma Thompson didn’t return. While the actress said earlier this year that she and director Richard Curtis agreed it would be too sad to bring back her character with regards to the death of Alan Rickman last year. But then why does the sequel take the time to kill off Billy Mack’s manager Joe in a somber, awkward moment? Gregor Fisher, who played the rock star’s manager in the 2003 film, is still alive according to the internet. Seems like a missed opportunity for an actual heartfelt moment for a beloved actor over of a meaningless one for a minor character. Oh well, maybe in Love Actually 3.