Barry Jenkins might be the talented director of the gorgeous, Oscar-winning movie Moonlight, but he is also just like all of us and loves a classic romantic comedy on a long-haul plane ride. Better yet: watching someone else watch a good romcom on a plane. Who among us hasn’t felt that strange yet comforting feeling of watching someone else’s movie on a plane, without any sound for context? It’s hard to explain but those who’ve done it will get it.
Jenkins found himself on a plane to Los Angeles on Wednesday (Jan. 3) and spotted the woman sitting next to him watching Notting Hill, the iconic 1999 movie starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant. (“I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.”) He had just spent some time in London and stayed at a hotel in the Notting Hill neighborhood; guided by a glass (or more) of Woodford Reserve and a WiFi connection on his flight, Jenkins took the only logical next step: he livetweeted the entire movie.
It’s a long thread, but it's honestly one of the best gifts we could've gotten this year.
In other news, the woman next to me is watching NOTTING HILL. A few choice folks will get the irony of this happening on my last flight of this sojourn. Also... Julia Roberts is STUNNING in this film. And holy shit Lester Freamon is in this?!
After peeping these dolly/zoom combos in this dinner scene I looked up the director and OF COURSE it’s Roger Michell!!! a G and a Gent, was a Telluride regular for quite some time.
The best part of Jenkin’s thread might be the soundtrack that Jenkins chose for his creep-watch of the romcom: Rick Ross and DJ Shadow. But it’s only rivaled by Jenkin’s very loud crush on Julia Roberts.
And this really is THE primo soundtrack for a NOTTING HILL watch, fyi pic.twitter.com/VAGoyPUUXo
Okay somebody tweeted me that Hugh owns a bookstore, but... on their first date Julia had that braid AND that onesie body suit tucked into jeans and flat heel boots, she was basically Jay-Lo on IN LIVING COLOR! Translation: TEW MUCH FOR HUGH!!!
And my ITunes is starting to actually sync with the movie. They seemed to break up and now Julia is in a space suit (?!) and THIS just came on!!! pic.twitter.com/FF2LTL0s5d
“That wild lookin English cat” is probably Hugh Grant who does, indeed, have some “crazy hair.”
Okay I maybe should stop drinking I had NO IDEA that woman was in a wheelchair. Like... is that a reveal or did I just miss it??? I mean, obviously this thread is being helped along by our friend Woodford Reserve 😬
WHY IS THERE A SCENE OF HUGH GRANT SHAVING?! Everybody knows HUGH GRANT DONT SHAVE!!!! That dude ain’t NEVER NOT BEEN CLEAN SHAVEN!!! I doth protest!!! English cat game means HUGH AIN’T TO SHAVE BRUH!!!!! Flag on the play Coach Michell!!!
But Jenkins was also smart enough to drop some choice social commentary: with property values the way they are in large cities, a movie like Notting Hill, that takes place in a mostly upper-class neighborhood of London, would be entirely unrealistic if filmed in 2017.
Clearly a period piece BTW: what kind of bookstore owner has a flat like THAT in NOTTING HILL? This one actually isn’t a joke, what we’ve done to our neighborhoods, to property values and the VALUE of certain jobs is so damn sobering, depressing
Oh god oh god watching a quasi love making scene between Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts over someone’s shoulder is like CRAZY AWKWARD!!!!
Or was it HER hand on HIS back?!?!?!?
Random thought: the makeup artist working with Julia on this film is SUPERB. At first I thought it was too cute a tell to reduce her makeup as she grew comfortable with him but they stuck to it and it’s subtle and just superb. Hats off to script sup and make up artist there 🙌🏿
Fuuuuuuuuuug JULIA ROBERTS IS LIKE... Julia Roberts is a lamp you find in some antique shop in Novia Scotia. A bulb rather. With infinite lumens and a millionwatt range. She looked at him and I felt his loss. There was a time when this woman’s smile could literally replenish you
But... all I can think as I watch this is... I love that I get to do this for a living. And I have no idea what he’s saying but he better be spitting some SERIOUS English Cat Game because that’s JULIA FUGGIN ROBERTS bruh and she is SHO NUFF in this flick!
She’s not coming back, right?! Tell me there’s no epilogue?! And now he’s at an AA meeting?!?!?
THATS RIGHT HUGH HUMBLE YOSELF!!! That’s Julia Roberts bruh, chase you must!!!!
Oh LORD this just transitioned into PTSD that’s a press junket! That’s a junket, right?! Look I got love for the press but oh LORDT that wide shot sent a shiver down my spine 😬
YAAAAAAASSSSS!!!!!
BUT WHAT DOES HE SAY?!?!?!? What does SHE say?! Damnit she’s smiling. His ass had better had EARNT THAT! What did he say?!
Okay I has whiplash they got married she had a premiere the woman in the wheelchair got a FANTASTIC bob and now... there’s kids running around an English park with Hugh reading.... what on earth was he reading to her???
It’s over, y’all.
I hope this isn’t embarsssing tomorrow....
Two hours closer to LA though, there’s joy in THAT 🙌🏿
And FYI, I have no idea what the next film is but it stars Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. I’m going to drink some coffee and abstain from tweeting THAT 🤣
(BTW, Barry, that movie with Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds is probably The Proposal. Just so you know.)
