Richard Curtis

A group of pirate-radio DJs duck the British government in this 1960s period comedy from romantic comedy guru Richard Curtis (Notting Hill, Bridget Jones's Diary). Philip Seymour Hoffman and Rhys Ifans play competitive disc jockeys who work under Bill Nighy on a busted-down boat on the English Channel. Kenneth Branagh, Nick Frost, and January Jones co-star in the Universal Pictures release. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

Mr. Bean -- the stick-legged goofball man-child created by Rowan Atkinson on television in the early '90s, and in the 1997 feature Bean -- undertakes his second cinematic adventure in the comic romp Mr. Bean's Holiday. Growing thoroughly sick of the wet, cold, and clammy London weather, Mr. Bean (Atkinson) finds just the right tonic when he wins a trip to sunny southern France, all expenses paid, with a new digital video camera to accompany him. However, he runs headfirst into a series of outrageous and unpleasant situations, such as winding up in a French restaurant where a maître d’ (Jean Rochefort) convinces him to eat bizarre varieties of seafood that he's never before encountered, and discovering that the "Very Fast Train" certainly lives up to its name. Eventually, Mr. Bean (accompanied by a Russian traveling companion whom he meets along his journey) stumbles onto the French Riviera and spoils the latest movie production of snobbish, egomaniacal filmmaker Carson Clay (Willem Dafoe) -- little realizing that his own klutzy video footage will accidentally end up in Clay's film and be screened at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival. Unlike the first big-screen incarnation of Atkinson's character, Mr. Bean's Holiday adheres more closely to the formula of the original series by rendering the character almost completely mute. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Produced for HBO, the Capraesque romantic comedy The Girl in the Café stars Bill Nighy as Lawrence, a mild and unprepossessing British civil servant assigned to his country's delegation at the G8 Summit in Reykjavik, Iceland. Although he'd resigned himself to a life of lonely bachelorhood, Lawrence finds himself drawn to Gina (Kelly MacDonald), a odd, outspoken young woman whom he has met in a café. On a whim, the shy Lawrence invites the decidedly un-shy Gina to accompany him to Reykjavik. The burgeoning relationship between these two seemingly mismatched souls is counterpointed by the political jockeying at the conference, where the avowed purpose of G8 -- to adopt the all-important Millennium Development Goals as a means of reducing world poverty -- is obscured by egomania, xenophobia, and foot-dragging. Ultimately, the time comes when both Lawrence and Gina must make crucial decisions, with not only their own future but also the future of humankind in the balance. Written by Richard Curtis of Four Weddings and a Funeral fame, The Girl in the Café first aired on June 25, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

All of London is in love -- or longing to be -- in Four Weddings and a Funeral writer Richard Curtis' first directorial effort. Billed as "the ultimate romantic comedy," Love Actually involves more than a dozen main characters, each weaving his or her way into another's heart over the course of one particularly eventful Christmas. The seemingly perfect wedding of Juliet (Keira Knightley) and Peter (Chiwetel Ejiofor) brings many of the principals together, including heartsick best man Mark (Andrew Lincoln), who harbors a very unrequited crush on Juliet. There's also recent widower Daniel (Liam Neeson), trying to help his lonely stepson Sam (Thomas Sangster) express his true feelings to a classmate. Across town, devoted working mother Karen (Emma Thompson) tries to rekindle the passion of her husband, Harry (Alan Rickman), who secretly pines for a young colleague of his. In the same office, the lonely Sarah (Laura Linney) not-so-secretly pines for a man just a few desks away (Rodrigo Santoro), who returns her affections but may not be able to dissuade her neuroses. Providing the unofficial soundtrack for all of the couples is an aging rocker (Bill Nighy) who just wants to cash in and get laid -- but even he might find a meaningful relationship in the most unlikely of places. A working print of Love Actually premiered at the 2003 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide

Can a beautiful and internationally famous American actress find happiness with a frumpy British bookstore clerk? She can -- at least for a while, it seems -- in Notting Hill. William Thacker (played by Hugh Grant) is a bookseller at a shop in the Notting Hill district in West London, who shares a house with an eccentric Welsh friend, Spike (Rhys Ifans). One day, William is minding the store when in strolls Anna Scott (Julia Roberts), a lovely and well-known actress from the United States who is in London working on a film. She buys a book from William, and she is polite and charming in the way a famous actress would be with a star-struck sales clerk. Their relationship would logically end there, if William didn't run out a few minutes later to buy some juice. While dashing back to the shop, he bumps into Anna on the street, spilling juice all over her blouse. Since he lives nearby, William politely offers to let her stop by his house to clean up; since William seems harmless enough, Anna agrees. When Anna has to stop back to pick up a bag she left at William's house, they kiss -- just in time for Spike to show up. A romance slowly blooms as his friends and family (not to mention the world at large) wonder out loud what he's doing dating a movie star. Notting Hill reunites Hugh Grant with producer Duncan Kenworthy and screenwriter Richard Curtis, who previously worked together on the international hit Four Weddings And A Funeral. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Comic actor Rowan Atkinson brought his bumbling character Mr. Bean from television to the big screen with this British comedy. Mr. Bean (Rowan Atkinson) is a well-meaning but not especially bright fellow with a gift for making the worst of any situation. Bean is about to be fired from his job as a guard at the Royal Nation Art Gallery for sleeping on the job, but the Chairman (John Mills) intervenes at the last moment. To insure that his incompetence will manifest itself so completely that there will be no choice but to get rid of him, Bean's superiors come up with a plan -- they'll send him to America to speak at a posh private gallery owned by George Grierson (Harris Yulin), where General Newton (Burt Reynolds) will display the most recent addition to his art collection, "Whistler's Mother." It's even money whether or not the museum will still be standing before Bean is done; as if this weren't enough, while in L.A. Bean is mistaken for a surgeon and forced to operate on an injured police officer. Richard Curtis, one of the film's producers, said after viewing the final product, "It's an unpleasant family movie. I'm very pleased." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Rowan Atkinson once more stars as the eminently clumsy and clueless Mr. Bean in this 30-minute comedy special. The fun begins with the first of three brief sketches, "The Hospital," in which Bean gets his hand stuck in a teapot, then tries to get instant service at the local outpatient ward. In "Camera," our hero prepares a dour security guard for a very special photograph. And in "Bedtime," Bean sees nothing illogical in using a calculator to cure his insomnia. Originally telecast in Britain on September 20, 1995, "Goodnight Mr. Bean" has since been issued to video in such compilations as The Final Frolics of Mr. Bean and The Complete Mr. Bean, Vol. 1. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Rowan Atkinson repeats his familiar role as the terminally stupid, disastrously clumsy Mr. Bean in this 30-minute BBC comedy special. This time around, the action is divided into three brief segments. In "Bus Stop," Bean tries his best to revive a heart attack victim before using an ambulance to jump-start his own mini-car; in "Letter," our hero loses his only stamp, but that doesn't stop him from posting an important missive; and in "Holiday,", Bean demonstrates a novel (if not entirely efficient) method of packing, disposes of a bothersome train passenger, and tries to entertain an airsick boy during a plane flight. "Mr. Bean Rides Again" first aired in Britain on February 17, 1992, and in America on May 6, 1992. The special has since been included in such video compilations as The Terrible Tales of Mr. Bean and The Complete Mr. Bean, Vol. 2. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This heart-warming made-for-television holiday comedy drama from Great Britain tells the tale of a recently unemployed art dealer whose every Christmas wish comes true after he finds a genie bottled up in a tarnished old lamp. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

British comedian Rowan Atkinson, best known to American audiences for his character Mr. Bean, stars in this collection of comic sketches, performed before a live audience of enthusiastic fans. Highlights include "Someone Called Jones," "Pink Tights and Props," and "The Invisible Man"; Angus Deayton joins Atkinson for several bits. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Rowan Atkinson stars as the monumentally stupid and klutzy Mr. Bean in this half-hour BBC comedy special. The action is divided into four short, hilarious segments: "The Carpark," wherein Bean has all manner of trouble with his celebrated mini-vehicle; "Swimming Pool," a study in courage -- or lack of it -- at the diving board; "The Park Bench," in which Bean demonstrates the proper (?) method of making a sandwich; and "Horror Movie," a cautionary tale of false bravado. Originally shown in Britain on December 30, 1990, and in America on April 16, 1992, "The Curse of Mr. Bean" has since been included in several video compilations, among them The Exciting Escapades of Mr. Bean and The Complete Mr. Bean, Vol. 1. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Rowan Atkinson stars as the incredibly clueless, accident-prone title character in this first of 13 half-hour Mr. Bean specials. The action is divided into three segments: In "The Exam," Mr. Bean hasn't got the answers; in "The Beach," he tries to change his trunks without removing his trousers; and in "The Church," he just can't seem to stay awake. Mr. Bean was the winner of the 1990 Golden Rose of Montreaux award (one hopes that Bean didn't collect the prize!). The special first aired in Britain on January 1, 1990, and in the United States on April 2, 1992; it can be found on several video compilations, notably The Amazing Adventures of Mr. Bean and The Complete Mr. Bean, Vol. 1. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The fourth series of Blackadder episodes, logically titled Blackadder Goes Forth, commenced on September 28, 1989. Rowan Atkinson was back as the latest in a long line of Blackadders, this one named Captain Edmund. Having joined the Army to meet beautiful and willing damsels, the cowardly Edmund was aghast when Great Britain entered the First World War. In the episode titled "Plan A: Captain Cook," Edmund conspires with his traditional crony Baldrick (Tony Robinson) to avoid combat duty by becoming Official War Artist. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide