I’ve been having a serious case of Spring fever of late – as practically everybody in my neck of the woods – as we seem to be skipping March and goes directly to May. The Twin Cities have had NO SNOW the entire month, not even any real wind chill to speak off. I mean, the typical temp for this time of year is 47˚F (that’s 8˚C for those outside of USA), but yesterday we hit 73 degrees! Today we may even be flirting with 80˚!! I mean, that’s no doubt tank-top-and-sandals weather, people!! Though on the way to work yesterday morning, I saw a woman pretty much freezing her bums off in her short skirts as the wind still made it feel quite nippy.
Therefore, I thought it’d be fitting to celebrate this definitely welcome the change of season with this scene of broken-hearted Wil (Hugh Grant) from Notting Hill. Despite its blatant schmaltzy and lovey-dovey-ness, it’s perhaps one of the better rom-com out there, if not for the terrific all-British supporting cast and charming sidekicks Rhys Ifans and Emma Chambers — as Grant’s hilarious roommate and googly-eyed sister, respectively.
Set to Bill Withers‘ soulful tune Aint No Sunshine When She’s Gone, it follows Grant’s William Thacker walking through the area of Notting Hill during the four seasons: summer, fall, winter and spring, as he mends his broken heart over Julia Roberts’ movie star Anna Scott.
According to IMDb trivia, the long shot was actually four different shots, all filmed the same day. Computer technology morphed the actor seamlessly from one shot to the next. It’s definitely a lovely and clever way to display the shift from one season to the next, a far cry from this ‘imaginative’ way this popular teen vampire flick did to signify the same thing.
I also chose this scene as my hubby and I are planning celebrate our 7th anniversary with a trip to London, yay! Unfortunately, since we’re not US citizens yet, there’s a vigorous UK Visa process we have to go through, including a biometric appointment (where we have to be finger-printed at an immigration office!). God willing everything will go smoothly and within 45 days we’d be walking where Hugh did in the photo above. So pardon the lack of posts in the next few weeks as I’ll be preoccupied with planning our trip, but there might be quite a few of ‘London-themed’ posts from now until mid May! 🙂
What do you think of Notting Hill and/or this scene?
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FLIXCHATTER FILM BLOG 
That is awesome about your London trip – say hi to Keira K. for me! Thanks for posting – I have not seen Notting Hill but that is a cool scene. As for springtime scenes, this is what I had in mind:
Hopefully, I’ll be able to contribute a classic review soon…
Yeah, I’ll make sure to say hello to her cute BF Rupert Friend as well 🙂 I squeezed in posting last night amidst all my London research but I thought that scene is just perfect considering the two events happening. I like that P&P too, all those repressed angst, wow, and the rain definitely makes it so romantic!
Yeah, we definitely miss your classic reviews! Maybe something with a England/London theme? 🙂
Very, very wonderful scene. Be sure to bring back a pic!
Yes, I love the music a lot. In fact, NH has a great soundtrack that I listen to frequently. Even the corny one from Shania Twain is awesome!
I’ll be sure to bring back more than a pic with my photographer hubby in tow 🙂
I love this movie. And this scene.
I know! And I normally am not a Hugh Grant fan but he’s quite irresistible in this even with his floppy hair!
Neat scene Ruth! Definitely better than the cheesy sequence they used in New Moon 😉 Sorry to hear about your little bug but you should recover quickly with the great weather we are having! You better make sure to take some great pictures of the UK and post them on the blog!
Ha..ha.. I just had to jab about that cheesy scene as you rightfully pointed out. Oh, no, the Spring fever I was referring to was the condition that it’s getting increasingly hard to concentrate when looking outside the window 🙂 I just don’t expect to be wearing open-toed sandals so soon. I’ll be sure to take lots of pics, I’m taking my laptop along but who knows if I’d have time to actually blog!
Hope our weather improves for you by the time you get here. After a dry sunny week with temperatures hitting 14-16°C last week, we have had a week of rain and back down to 4-5°C.
I love that scene, I just thought it was a very good way to show the changing of seasons.
Yeah, I could watch that scene over and over again. I like how Hugh’s character show the changing temperature by taking off his jacket, rolling his sleeves, putting ’em back again, etc. – all around a fabulous scene!
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