Entertainment
The Worst Christmas Movie Everyone Loves, Horrible People And Awful Romances
By Jonathan Klotz
| Published
The romantic comedy used to be a mainstay of theaters, and there’s plenty of blame to go around for how it’s now a genre on life support, but I place the blame squarely at the feet of Love Actually. At one point in time, it was considered the greatest rom-com of all time and one of the best romantic movies ever made, but now it’s correctly recognized as a horrible film with horrible messages about horrible people doing horrible things to one another. But every year, with the same sort of grim inevitability as Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas,” the film is in the streaming top ten.
Love Actually Would Never Be Made Today
There are ten distinct stories throughout Love Actually, and admittedly, a few are rather cute and endearing, starting with a down-on-his-luck musician, Mack (Bill Nighy), who suddenly has a hit song again and opts to spend Christmas with his manager, Joe, instead. It’s short, simple, and comes down to friendship. If the film had more stories like this one or the story of John (Martin Freeman) and Judy (Joanna Page), which captures the awkwardness of moving into a new relationship, then it would be a classic film for all the right reasons, but instead, there are two stories that drag the whole thing down into the mud.
Juliet (an 18-year-old Keira Knightley) and Peter (Chiwetel Ejiofor) are newly married when it comes to light that Mark (Andrew Lincoln) is in love with his best friend’s new wife. Mark confesses, admittedly, it’s adorable with printed cards and a boombox, but in any other movie, he’d be the villain, or Peter would turn out to be abusive instead of here, where he’s shown to be a loving, caring spouse. Love Actually manages to go even further, though, and has Juliet give Mark a kiss after his confession, so while she doesn’t accept him or leave her husband, she still kisses her new husband’s best friend instead of telling him to get off her lawn.
Mark’s confession was considered a sweet romantic moment for dozens of Hollywood montages, but as underhanded as it seems, it’s not as problematic as the most infamous storyline in Love Actually. Hugh Grant plays David, the Prime Minister of England, hosting the American President, played by Billy Bob Thornton, when the President makes lewd comments about Natalie, one of the British staffers. It gets worse when Natalie lets David know she loves him, and they actually give in and share a kiss despite the obvious problem of a boss getting involved with one of his staff.
That’s only four out of the 10 stories, which also include a brief tryst that would fit in any rom-com, a British man realizing he’s an exotic foreigner to women in America and winds up going home from a bar with women played by January Jones and Elisa Cuthbert to their roommate, Shannon Elizabeth, and a sweet story of a father and son each discovering love. After watching Harry Potter, one Love Actually story about cheating is enjoyable on one level, and one level only, because it has Alan Rickman cheating on Emma Thompson, so try and imagine it as Professor Snape cheating on Professor Trelawney.
Love Actually Misses The Point
There’s an argument to be made that the purpose of Love Actually wasn’t to be a feel-good romantic comedy but instead a way to show the messiness inherent in all relationships. On that level, it’s a complete miss, given the epilogue shows David, again, the Prime Minister of England, kissing his younger employee, and Peter, Mark, and Juliet are all shown at the airport waiting for a friend, which means that no one told Peter what happened. Normally, I try not to spoil anything, but we are only on this planet for a finite amount of time, and to be precise, none of that should be spent watching this movie.
Love Actually murdered the romantic comedy and somehow convinced director Garry Marshall, who had nothing to do with the movie, that there was money to be made with this format, but applied to other Holidays, giving us Valentine’s Day in 2010, New Year’s Eve in 2011, and Mother’s Day in 2016. There are better options out there, though I’ll admit that New Year’s Eve is probably the best of the bunch, and as with most rom-coms, there are still parts that don’t hold up, but nothing is nearly as bad as the 2003 film.
If you want to watch Love Actually to see how bad the film really is and how horrible most of the characters are, you can find it on Amazon Prime, where it’s been in the top ten for a few days now. Instead, it would help if you streamed a better Christmas movie, like Christmas with the Cranks or Four Christmases, both of which are better than Love Actually.
Entertainment
Best Mothers Day gifts: Show mom some love
Mother figures are the backbone of the world. Yours may be your biological mother, or maybe she’s your mother-in-law, your best friend’s mom, or simply someone whose motherly instinct has helped you through hard times.
Moms teach you the adulting necessities, give advice even if the problem is your fault, and above all, they put up with your shit and (almost) never complain.
The game plan here isn’t just to snag the last bouquet at CVS just so you’re not the kid who forgot Mother’s Day (but definitely also get flowers). And you don’t even need to spend a lot of money. (Peep our list of Mother’s Day gifts that cost less than $50. Want even more cheap gift ideas?
Skip the generic mugs and show your appreciation with a gift picked just for her: Whether it’s something to make a part of her life easier, something she’s mentioned wanting in passing, or simply something to make her feel like a damn queen, you can’t put a price on everything she’s done for you, but heartfelt gifts certainly help.
After all, they say “No matter how hard you try, you always end up like your mother.” But is that even a bad thing?
Entertainment
Ban subscriptions and get Microsoft Office 2024 for life for just £121
TL;DR: Grab Microsoft Office 2024 Home and Business for PC or Mac for just £120.54 through June 1.
You wouldn’t keep paying for Netflix if you could own your favorite shows, right? So why are you still subscribing to Office apps you use every day? Microsoft 365’s price keeps going up, but there’s finally a way to break free — and it’ll cost you way less in the long run.
Microsoft Office 2024 is the answer you’ve been looking for. Instead of monthly payments, simply pay £120.54 once and be set for life (reg. £188.37). It’s that simple. And, yes, this lifetime download works for PC or Mac.
What’s included?
This license comes with:
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Word
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Excel
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PowerPoint
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Outlook
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OneNote
The newest version of Microsoft Office is a little different from Microsoft 365. But just because you’re switching to a lifetime license doesn’t mean you’ll miss out on some of the most recent updates. Word and Excel both still have AI integrations for text suggestions and smart data analysis, and PowerPoint still has improved tools for recorded presentations.
Once you’ve redeemed your purchase, you can install your apps on one computer. After that, they’re yours to use however you want. No more subscription fees or sudden price hikes to worry about.
Why rent when you can own?
Mashable Deals
Get a Microsoft Office lifetime license on sale for £120.54 with no coupon needed.
StackSocial prices subject to change.
Entertainment
Wordle today: Answer, hints for May 9, 2025
Oh hey there! If you’re here, it must be time for Wordle. As always, we’re serving up our daily hints and tips to help you figure out today’s answer.
If you just want to be told today’s word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for today’s Wordle solution revealed. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
Where did Wordle come from?
Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once.
Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.
What’s the best Wordle starting word?
The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.
What happened to the Wordle archive?
The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles was originally available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it, but it was later taken down, with the website’s creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times. However, the New York Times then rolled out its own Wordle Archive, available only to NYT Games subscribers.
Is Wordle getting harder?
It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn’t any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle‘s Hard Mode if you’re after more of a challenge, though.
Here’s a subtle hint for today’s Wordle answer:
Gibberish.
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Does today’s Wordle answer have a double letter?
There are no recurring letters.
Today’s Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with…
Today’s Wordle starts with the letter T.
The Wordle answer today is…
Get your last guesses in now, because it’s your final chance to solve today’s Wordle before we reveal the solution.
Drumroll please!
The solution to today’s Wordle is…
TRIPE.
Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.
Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.
Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Wordle.
A'ja Wilson has no shortage of motivation after Aces' early exit in '24
Best Mothers Day gifts: Show mom some love
