10 Movies You Constantly Have To Defend Hating

Try critiquing Love Actually in front of your friends, and you'll forever be branded as the miserable Scrooge who won't Just Let People Enjoy Things. The "Ultimate Romantic Comedy" has achieved status as an immortal Christmas classic alongside It's A Wonderful Life and Batman Returns.

Which is all the more baffling when Love Actually feels so insincere. For a life-affirming Christmas comedy all about the power of love, it chooses some dubious characters with which to get its message across. He's been endlessly deconstructed since, but Andrew Lincoln's lovelorn best man Mark employs truly unnerving tactics when interacting with his love interest, and his behaviour remains totally unexamined. Furthermore, characters with engaging and nuanced struggles, such as those played by Emma Thompson and Laura Linney, are ultimately denied the happy endings afforded to the infinitely more privileged players.

Another major failing of the film is its completely overstuffed nature. There are around ten different concurrent storylines happening, without a single one being given a chance to gain any real depth. Jumping disconnectedly between so many insufferable, frequently problematic vignettes results in a film that is at once unbearably saccharine and utterly emotionally dishonest.