Of course, not everyone agrees. Despite all the hubbub around the cue card scene, EW’s Shirley Li wrote in 2016 that the movie pulled the odd, climactic moment off, saying: “Lincoln and Knightley sell the hell out of it: She laughs at the right times, he looks at her with puppy eyes, and even though this love story is all kinds of messy, it’s a better idea to just let it do its thing instead of slicing it apart.” In a poll posted by the website, 66% of readers voted that Mark was more of a “lovestruck sap” than a “stalker creep.”
One of the scene’s most notable supporters is Natalie herself, actress Martine McCutcheon. “I think people do crazy things when they are in love,” the “Love, Actually” star told Digital Spy in 2020. “He had his moment where he thought ‘enough now, I’ve told her how I feel, I love my friend too but I had to get it off my chest in the right way,'” she added, noting that the scene isn’t his first love confession but a sweeter restating of the feelings Juliet had already gleaned from the wedding video. “She’d already seen the video, and I think it was his way of making things explained and comfortable,” McCutcheon said.
If “Love, Actually” were made today, it would no doubt be different. It probably wouldn’t include a reference to 9/11, women like Juliet would be presented as more than the object of mens’ desires, and I personally hope to God superstar Billy Mack (Bill Nighy) would’ve smooched his manager (Gregor Fisher) on the mouth at the end. Instead, though, we’re stuck with what we’ve got: a messy, funny, sappy movie that both fans and naysayers seemingly can’t stop watching — even when Mark shows up with his cringey cue cards.
