Blogathon 19/26: Granted

I have not seen every film Hugh Grant has appeared in (not even the one where he was billed as ‘Hughie Grant’ which, I take it, was some kind of an on-set, in-joke). But I have seen a number of them. So here, for nothing more than my own entertainment, are my favourite Hugh Grant appearances, ranked in no kind of order at all.

The Big Man. Not only does this film wrap its arms around Hugh Grant, it also features Liam Neeson and (wait for it) Billy The Big Yin Connolly. I cannot watch a film with Billy Connolly without him shouting ‘Get tae fuck ya wee bassa’ in my ear (though he has never actually done that in real life). So although Hugh Grant appears in The Big Man, it’s on the list of favourites because of Liam and Billy, och aye. Trailer here

The Remains Of The Day. Yes it’s the Ivory Merchant treatment of Kazuo Ishiguro’s book. I&M had some hits and they had some misses, but pouring on a warm, soothing helping of sentimentality is high on their list of skills. Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, and Christopher Reeve help a young Hugh Grant along in his supporting role. Trailer here

Four Weddings and a Funeral sees the pairing of (onscreen) Hugh Grant with (offscreen, obv) Richard Curtis/Emma Freud. The cast in this film is magnificent and they all play their roles to the absolute best of their stunning abilities. Trailer here

The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain. has some things to like and a bit more to dislike. This is a story of a pair of surveyors doing a half-hearted, completely awful job of measuring a hill in Wales. I have sympathy with the local population, but the patronising way they’re portrayed outweighs some of the delightful characterisation. And don’t get me started on the geographical shifts of the accents which some of the cast attempt to carry (accents which start off in Caerdydd and end up just outside Kolkata). Trailer here

Notting Hill is a poor entry in the Grant/Curtis/Freud catalogue. Yes, the film has Julia Roberts and Rhy Ifans (I’ve been in a film with him!), but apart from some above average dialogue the film takes aim, shoots, and misses. Trailer here

About A Boy. I had high hopes of this film and actually went to the cinema to watch it. High hopes because I’d read the book (years before the film was made) and. being a big fan of Nick Hornby, I loved it. I wish I could say the same of the film. Trailer here

Love Actually. Is this the film most people think of when the name Hugh Grant is uttered? Not in my case. The film is not without its issues, but it’s still a nice little piece to wrap yourself up in and forget the world. But stone me, what a tip top humdinger of a cast. And what a great sound track! Trailer here

Music and Lyrics. Not only does this film not take itself seriously, it laughs, non-stop, at the music industry. I absolutely love the way Music and Lyrics continually pokes fun at the shelf-life of musical genres and the cringey shallowness of the world of pop music. The casting troubled me the first time I saw the film, but I have come to love the ensemble. Trailer here

Cloud Atlas is a near 3-hour monster of a film, but it’s a monster of a story and the film is so well-presented it embarrasses others on this list. I first read this book by David Mitchell (no, the other one) in 2005 and was knocked out by the scope of the author’s imagination, his world-building, and the sheer bloody-mindedness of his tenacity. So, to the film. Yes, Hugh Grant but also Halle Berry, Hugo Weaving, Donna Bae (swoon), Susan Sarandon, Jim Broadbent and Oh My Goodness TOM HANKS absolutely winning the entire world. Trailer here

I grew up with the TV series The Man From U.N.C.L.E. so when the film came out I watched it on Prime. Yeah, that was a disappointing experience. Hugh Grant just phoning it in as Mr Waverley. Trailer here

The Gentlemen. Guy Ritchie doing what Guy Ritchie has become known for doing. Hugh Grant doing something way outside his normal range. And everyone else just tagging along for the ride. Trailer here

So what, I hear you ask (if you’re still awake) is my favourite film featuring Hugh Grant? Well, it is, of course, Cloud Atlas. There, that took you by surprise, eh? Followed by Music and Lyrics, obviously.