The Battle over Love Actually

[Jason Thurman]

This year's Christmas really came and went quickly - the result of a combination of a late Thanksgiving and a midweek holiday that made everything feel fast and like a bit of an afterthought. The thing I will remember about Christmas in 2013 is not sugar plum fairies or chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Instead, I'll remember 2013 as the year the movie Love Actually, on its 10th birthday, became entrenched enough to be considered a "Christmas Classic" and thus experienced the backlash and vehement defense that comes with the territory. Facebook and Twitter have exploded with attacks and rebuttals for the last few weeks:

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/12/-em-love-actually-em-is-the-least-romantic-film-of-all-time/282091/

http://www.motherjones.com/media/2013/12/why-love-actually-matters

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/12/i-will-not-be-ashamed-of-loving-i-love-actually-i/282160/

http://www.salon.com/2013/12/24/sick_of_love_actually_read_a_romance_novel/

What can we learn about golf course architecture from the battle over Love Actually? Are there similar battles over golf courses? Layouts that invoke such different reactions in different players? Are there courses that are fawned over that are actually total crap? Is there some truth to the notion that pure sugar really does taste better than the intelligentsia will admit? What has the golf world learned from the Internet reaction to an ensemble comedy from 2003?

[Mike Hendren]

Son, step away from the keyboard.

[Dan Kelly]

Son, step away from the keyboard.

LOL.

[Ronald Montesano]

Son, step away from the keyboard.

How many "ha" can I type before Ran bans me forever?

Question the second: Would it be worth it?

Answer to Jason's original question: If we film an onrop with a lass before getting to know the girl, does it kill the magic? Likewise, if we rush into a golf course without getting to know it first, does it obliterate the buzz?

[Jason Thurman]

Ronald, on the flipside, doesn't Love Actually make it seem like true love can only happen with people we barely know? If we play a course every day for 20 years or so, do we turn into Alan Rickman and start giving our classic home course Joni Mitchell CDs while we buy necklaces for the sexy new course down the street?

Also, what do the fat jokes at Natalie's expense throughout the film tell us about how poorly width is understood by the general public as a strategic merit of a well designed golf course? And does it sometimes go too far? Are there advocates of width on GCA who think Aurelia's sister is the most desirable woman in the film?

[Mike Hendren]

Son, when you find yourself in a hole, quit digging.

[Michael Blake]

Ronald, on the flipside, doesn't Love Actually make it seem like true love can only happen with people we barely know? If we play a course every day for 20 years or so, do we turn into Alan Rickman and start giving our classic home course Joni Mitchell CDs while we buy necklaces for the sexy new course down the street?

Also, what do the fat jokes at Natalie's expense throughout the film tell us about how poorly width is understood by the general public as a strategic merit of a well designed golf course? And does it sometimes go too far? Are there advocates of width on GCA who think Aurelia's sister is the most desirable woman in the film?

Jason,

You're assuming that another male on this forum, or even on this planet, has ever seen or heard of the movie 'Love Actually.'

[Peter Pallotta]

Gents - three very funny lines, so thanks for the laugh.

Jason - despite the laughs, I think i know what you're asking about, i.e. a kind of cultural mindset and spirit of the age (as peddled by that shaper of and mirror to such mindsets, hollywood) as evidenced in that film, and how it might be reflected in our experience of and discussions about gca.

You know me: normally, I'd jump right into something like that with both feet; but as Michael suggests, I haven't seen the movie.  If you could reconfigure your post to fit, say, Reservoir Dogs or Glengarry Glen Ross or the Matrix, you'd see a landslide of posts....

Best
Peter

[JLahrman]

The kid and his dad all but ruined the movie.

[Jason Thurman]

I'm with you Pete. But the movie is inconsequential. It's about the backlash that hits when something of debatable "quality" but undeniable commercial appeal becomes entrenched enough in the public consciousness to warrant outcry over the way its popularity has morphed into a consideration of "Greatness." We could have the same conversation about a Shawshank backlash (though I'm somewhat surprised that I can't think of many negative articles about that movie).

Actually, a good comparison might not be Reservoir Dogs, but another Tarantino movie: Django Unchained. It's a derivative, feelgood-in-the-end film of questionable depth and even more questionable motives that doesn't ruffle any feathers as long as it receives mostly meaningless adulation from college kids and Tarantino buttboys. But if it's still part of the Tarantino Canon in 9 years along with movies like Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, the backlash from critics and audiences will be swift in an effort to rebuke its climb up the list of "significant" films, as many will be the voices who do not think it belongs in the same class. And yet, equally loud will be the voices who defend its suddenly lofty status despite the fact that it's the artistic equivalent of a plate of crinkle-cut chili cheese fries. Love Actually is basically the same, except that it's more the artistic equivalent of a funnel cake topped with chocolate and whipped cream and cotton candy.

[Charlie_Bell]

What did we do with all our time before the Internet?

[Jim Nugent]

Charlie, and what did our young people do, and what are they, who will shape the future, doing now?  

[Sean Leary]

Son, step away from the keyboard.

Late entrant for the post of the year contest. Well done.

[Tony_Muldoon]

You know me: normally, I'd jump right into something like that with both feet; but ...I haven't seen the movie.
Best
Peter

Peter, once again, demonstrates impeccable taste.

[Will MacEwen]

Son, step away from the keyboard.

Late entrant for the post of the year contest. Well done.

It's even richer if you are able to imagine the man himself saying it. 

[Grant Saunders]

Ronald, on the flipside, doesn't Love Actually make it seem like true love can only happen with people we barely know? If we play a course every day for 20 years or so, do we turn into Alan Rickman and start giving our classic home course Joni Mitchell CDs while we buy necklaces for the sexy new course down the street?

Also, what do the fat jokes at Natalie's expense throughout the film tell us about how poorly width is understood by the general public as a strategic merit of a well designed golf course? And does it sometimes go too far? Are there advocates of width on GCA who think Aurelia's sister is the most desirable woman in the film?

Dude,  you need to hand in your man card 

[Terry Lavin]

A new low for gca.com

[Bill_McBride]

A new low for gca.com

Really?   .  You have a short memory!

[Terry Lavin]

A new low for gca.com

Really?   .  You have a short memory!

That, of course, is a very handy thing hereabouts.

[Bill_McBride]

A new low for gca.com

Really?   .  You have a short memory!

That, of course, is a very handy thing hereabouts.

Agree with that!