‘Love Actually’ Deleted Scene Was a Massive Mistake To Chop Off
The festive season is upon us, and with it comes endless repeats of classic romantic comedy shows such as Love Actually. Although the show’s diehard fans can recite each of the lines by heart, not many know that some scenes from the beloved series were cut. A scene involving a stern headmistress and her lesbian partner did rounds on social media, and the show’s fans were disappointed that the scene didn’t make it to air.
‘Love Actually’ told the love stories of different people
When Love Actually begins, David’s voice (Hugh Grant) comes on narrating how uplifted he always feels by the arrivals at the Heathrow Terminal. He notes that the arrivals display a complete affection of friends and families welcoming each other lovingly.
After the voice-over ends, the story begins narrating the love stories of the other characters. The show’s central characters include Billy Mack and Joe, who are longtime buddies and recording artists. There is also a love triangle involving Juliet, her husband Peter, and their friend Mark.
The storyline also involves a writer called Jamie, who realizes his girlfriend has been cheating on him with his brother but ends up falling in love with a Portuguese housekeeper. Harry, a managing director at a design agency, fails to dissuade his assistant Mia’s sexual advances. He finds himself even buying her jewelry despite being married to Karen, a housewife.
Karen’s brother is the newly elected Prime Minister, David. He gets close to household staffer Natalie, who he tracks down after having her transferred due to the president’s advances. The story details the events happening a few weeks before Christmas. When the show ends, an epilogue comes on, showing how the characters are doing after Christmas.
One love story was scrapped from the show last minute
Love Actually centers on various love stories and tries to show the viewers how they are all related. One particular love story never saw the light of day as it was deleted at the last minute. The storyline involved a strict headmistress who gets back from work to take care of her ill lover Geraldine.
Anne Reid plays the stern headmistress while Frances de la Tour plays her ill partner. The couple was meant to be linked to a wider story involving actress Emma Thompson (Karen), who had a son in Reid’s school.
The headmistress tries to cheer her sick partner up by narrating how her day was. The couple had two scenes together, with the second one showing Geraldine coughing in bed while the headmistress comforts her. The third scene shows Karen announcing Geraldine’s passing.
After the deleted scenes resurfaced on the internet, the show’s writer and director Richard Curtis explained that the love story was supposed to show that everyone has a complicated love story despite their personality.
Curtis stated that the story was meant to show that no matter how unlikely it seemed that someone as stern as the headmistress was, she too would have a love life and a complicated one at that.
The pair’s love story wasn’t the only one that got cut. Another deleted scene involved an African couple. The deleted scene showed the couple supporting each other and surviving a famine together. The scene showed how resilient true love was regardless of the circumstances.
The deleted same-sex story was a missed opportunity for the show
Love Actually hit theaters in November 2003 and featured an all ensemble cast including actors Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Andrew Lincoln, and Chiwetel Ejiofor. It also had actresses, Kiera Knightley and Emma Thompson.
Although the cast brought magic to the screen, Love Actually missed one opportunity which could’ve solidified its status as an inclusive show today. The deleted same-sex story was a missed opportunity for Love Actually to show how inclusive it was even to the LGBTQ community at a time when that wasn’t a frequent topic of discussion.
