Is ‘Love Actually’ a ‘bad’ movie? Holiday favorite still under debate

(KXAN) — It’s that time of year again: the season when social media users resume the age-old question about whether the much beloved and also much hated modern Christmas classic “Love Actually” is “good” or “bad.”

Released during the holiday season in 2003, rom-com writer Richard Curtis’ directorial debut “Love Actually” was a box office smash, grossing over $246 million globally against a $40-45 million budget.

Another winning draw for the film was its cast of several big-name stars, many who’d been in many notable romantic comedies around that time, including Hugh Grant (“Notting Hill” and “Bridget Jones’ Diary”) and Colin Firth (also “Bridget Jones Diary”). Liam Neeson, Laura Linney, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Keira Knightley and others round out the multi-storyline mosaic.

As with other ensemble romcoms, “Love Actually” features several smaller plots, but over the years many have pointed out the darkness surrounding these supposed cheery story lines. More than with most holiday/Christmas movies, the debate around “Love Actually” only ratchets up each holiday season. Here’s the bad, the good, and the weird around this holiday staple.

But why?

Among “Love Actually’s” more questionable plotlines, Harry (Rickman)’s betrayal of his wife (Thompson) by non-platonically purchasing a necklace for a subordinate employee and Prime Minister David (Grant)’s playful wooing of Mia (Martine McCutcheon) — also a subordinate employee.