Entertainment

This 'Love Actually' Reunion Is An Early Christmas Gift

by Mary Grace Garis

The nostalgia button has been getting hit pretty hard recently with all of the reunions put together by Entertainment Weekly, but this one is a gift I can barely handle. In line with mini-sequel, Red Nose Day Actually (which has yet to come to the U.S., but debuted on March 27 to U.K. audiences), there is now a fuller snapshot of what the Love Actually cast looks likes in 2017. And it will make fans feel all fuzzy inside seeing everyone together again, especially considering how 14 years has changed the gang (mostly for the better)

I mean, OK, it doesn't include everyone on the list. Suffice to say that Love Actually's massive cast and their intertwining stories are part of its appeal, part of what spawned a series of holiday-themed rom-com jamborees. Unfortunately for us, the multitude of high-profiles names means that organizing the whole team is a Herculean task, and therefore, there are some people missing. (And, of course, the late Alan Rickman is notably absent.) But one cool thing is that we learn just how writer-director Richard Curtis was inspired to bring that format to the genre. “I was such a great fan of Pulp Fiction, Robert Altman’s films, Woody Allen’s films, those movies with multiple story lines that crisscross each other,” Curtis told EW.

In this case, I'll can take what I can get, and arguably the best thing about this cast photo is the fact that Rick Grimes from Walking Dead is cuddling up with Peter (Chiwetel Ejiofor). Like, never forget that before he started killing zombies left and right, Andrew Lincoln was trying to smarmily profess his love to his best friend's girl via cue cards.

Also, even though I've seen a million cast photos confirming this, I still can't believe that bug-eyed bb Sam (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) is like a full-grown adult. Like, the dude is my age, how is that possible? Why didn't they just freeze him as a child for this sequel? Anyway, the bottom line is that 14 years has taken an interesting toll on everyone, except Bill Nighy's Billy Mack who looks 110 percent the same. Those shoes, though.

Like the first gift you open Christmas Eve (a Joni Mitchell CD, obviously), this preview comes with a slice of disappointment: Red Nose Day Actually won't be seen by American eyes until it hits NBC on May 25. But if you want just one more treat to tide you over 'til then, you can read the oral history of the rom-com in Entertainment Weekly's Untold Stories double issue.