Since ‘Notting Hill’ was produced by a major Hollywood studio, a lot of money would have been spent on the marketing of the film and so cinemagoers would have been aware of its release long before it came out in cinemas. Many viewers would have gone to see it after viewing the trailer, and some would have read film reviews. Thus their outlook and opinion of the film would have been influenced by what they had heard and seen before going to see the movie.
Looking specifically at the opening two scenes of the movie, there are many elements in the film which clearly characterises it as a romantic comedy. As previously mentioned, the starring roles are played by Hugh Grant and Julia Robert. Both these characters are well-known for their appearances in films in this genre, specifically Hugh Grant who has become the archetype of your upper-middle class British male in romantic comedies. William Thacker is not unlike many of the other characters that Hugh Grant has played in similar films, most of them being insecure, conflicted, handsome and charming. His floppy chestnut hair and somewhat stiff manner, softened by his open and warm smile, has become a typecast for the hero of a romantic comedy. Hugh Grant and ‘Notting Hill’ is very much a part of a collection of romantic comedies that portray the lives of upper and middle class individuals in British society. It is for this reason that ‘Notting Hill’ and other similar films, as well as the actors and actresses starring in them, have become so popular. ‘Notting Hill,’ and other similar films, are not just romantic comedies, but also a critique of an idealistic view of British society.
The film starts in equilibrium. William Thacker and Anna Scott haven’t met and are both leading separate and contented lives. The film starts with the non-diegetic sound of a presenter talking about Anna Scott and the sound of cheering while the Universal Studios logo is still on the screen. This established Anna Scott’s role as a major Hollywood actress before we even see her onscreen. The soundtrack ‘She’ by Elvis Costello starts playing simultaneously to a series of shots of Anna Scott looking very glamorous with styled hair and wearing designer dresses at premieres, photo shoots and on magazine covers. The soundtrack, complemented by the diegetic cheering of the crowds at premieres, the continuous flashing of cameras and the close-up shots of Anna Scott, clearly introduces her character. Also, the opening of the film self-consciously plays on the British view of American “glamour.” The soundtrack subtly implies the storyline of the film by the lyrics “She may be the love that cannot hope to last” and “For where she goes I've got to be, the meaning of my life is she.” This is distinctive of romantic comedies as music is often used as a means to create a certain atmosphere, or the communicate a message to the audience
As the soundtrack comes to an end, the image of Anna Scott at a premier slowly dissolves to reveal an image of William Thacker walking down a street in Notting Hill. The un-tucked shirt and scruffy hair contrasts to the glamour of Anna Scott in the previous scene, and as we watch the rest of the scene we realise that the two characters lead completely different lives. William Thacker narrates and makes the comment that he had seen her films and “always thought that she was… well… fabulous” but that she was “a million million miles from the world I[he] live[s] in.” It is at this point where the audience start to expect that the two characters will end up together at the end of the film. This expectation is based on the fact that romantic comedies often tell the story of two completely different characters who meet and then struggle to overcome their differences in order to stay together. The way in which the two main characters are revealed separately, showing their different lifestyles, is fairly typical of a romantic comedy.
When we first see William’s house “that my [his] wife and I [he] bought together before she left me [him] for a man that looked exactly like Harrison Ford” we are introduced to his flat mate Spike, who turns out to be a very comical character due to his inability to make simple decisions like what shirt to wear when going out on a date. Although the audience will find William’s efforts to help Spike choose an appropriate shirt out of a selection that reads “I love blood,” “Get it here” with an arrow pointing down and a shirt that says “You’re the most beautiful women in the world” on the front but “Fancy a fuck?” on the back, they will also realise how lonely he is. He lives in a house in “Notting Hill” with a senseless flat mate and owns a bookstore. His life isn’t exactly exciting and it is obvious that since his wife left him there has been no other love interest in his life. The inclusion of a character in a romantic comedy that can only be described as daft and a little idiotic is not uncommon, and so Spike’s character is another example of ‘Notting Hill’ conforming to the expectations of the romantic comedy genre.
The equilibrium in the film is disturbed when Anna Scott walks into William Thacker’s bookstore. Although the meeting does not result in much, it is obvious that William Thacker is rattled. He struggles to think of anything to say and when he does say something it comes out sounding a little daft, which is amusing for the audience. As with any other romantic comedy, the storyline will now commence in a struggle as the two characters overcome their differences. A new equilibrium will be reached when the two characters can finally overcome their differences by discovering that opposites attract, but until then the audience will be entertained by their efforts to get along as they fall for each other. This is the conventional plot on which most romantic comedies are based and ‘Notting Hill’ is no different.
In conclusion, ‘Notting Hill’ conforms to the typical conventions of the romantic comedy genre as it follows the traditional plot for romantic comedies. Also, the film contains two stars renowned for their appearances in romantic comedies and is also written by a writer who is famous for writing similar films. The use of sound is in the film is also conventional. The tagline for the film is “Can the most famous film star in the world fall for the man in the street?” According to the conventions of romantic comedy, the question is not if she can fall in love with him, but when?
