Notting Hill

Who hasn’t ever dreamed of meeting a movie star, falling in love, and discovering the feelings are mutual? Richard Curtis’s Notting Hill is a funny, enchanting, lighthearted take on just such a fairy-tale premise. Curtis’s screenplay of the film–which stars Hugh Grant as an ordinary British bookstore owner and Julia Roberts as the world-famous actress who waltzes into his store and his life–makes for an effective and enjoyable read, chock full of the snappy, witty dialogue that made Curtis’s Four Weddings and a Funeral such a hit. Fans of the movie will be pleased to relive such moments as Roberts’s and Grant’s first embarrassing meetings and her appearance at a small dinner party for Grant’s sister, where she turns the situation upside-down. On the page, the story is charming if a bit slight (it doesn’t feature a rowdy and riotous supporting cast á la Four Weddings), but as wish fulfillment and romantic comedy, it’s irresistible and will leave a smile on your face to rival that of our heroine. In addition to the finished script, the book includes scenes that didn’t make the final cut (great ones, too–it’s too bad they won’t be seen); loads of color stills from the movie; an engaging introduction by Curtis detailing the genesis of the film; and an affable if offbeat afterword from Hugh Grant himself. Mark Englehart