As the Bruce correctly surmised a few days ago, Love, Actually is a movie specifically engineered for my wife, and we did go see it last night. It is actually pretty good, as far as ensemble romantic comedy goes.

It's not the sort of movie you can easily sum up, given that there are something like 8 or 9 different love stories. Suffice it to say that a variety of people, all of whom have vaguely interconnected lives, spend the five weeks before Christmas in some form of romantic flux. And while it's often sappy, it manages to not have everything turn out perfectly.

Given the size of the cast and the relative lack of a lead, it's hard to say if anyone did better or worse than anyone else. I did think Emma Thompson did a good job with a role that made her change direction very quickly at times. Kudos as well to Liam Neeson and Laura Linney. You'll also probably see more of Martina McCutcheon, a former player on EastEnders and British TV presenter making the move to movies.

I don't know if you have to run right out and see this, but it'll at least be a pleasant diversion.

On, and on the preview front...

Saw previews again for Something's Gotta Give and Stuck on You - the former is a rental at best, the latter depends on your stomach for the Farrelly brothers. We also got a preview of The Cat in the Hat, which may be great and may suck. Either way, it's likely going to make boatloads of cash.

Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston get together in Along Came Polly, which looks pretty formulaic. Jim Carrey gets his bad memories toasted in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which at least has an interesting title and supporting cast (Kate Winslet, Elijah Wood, Tom Wilkinson).

Kind of a thin group, really.