Hugh Grant lashes Boris Johnson over iconic Love Actually campaign spoof
Love Actually might be considered one of the world's most popular Christmas films.
However, not even an iconic scene taken from the movie for a spoof election campaign video by Boris Johnson could save him from a heap of criticism.
Mr Johnson played as a poor understudy for Love Actually’s Andrew Lincoln for his take of the scene.
In the film, Lincoln’s character Mark confesses his love for Julie, the wife of his best friend, with a series of cue card held up to the tune of carol singers outside their London home.
Scroll through the gallery to see the video in pictures.
While the scene has become a classic to reenact over the years since its release in 2003, the decision to use it by the conservative social media machine - which is run by an Australian political strategist and two New Zealanders - has received a harsh response from Britain.
Mr Johnson appears on a doorstep promising to “get Brexit done”.
The clip begins with the classic “tell them it’s carol singers” before launching into the Conservative election manifesto, saying “with any luck by next year we’ll have Brexit done.”
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While some people in the UK have marked the video as “brilliant,” others have remade their own version for the Prime Minister to watch.
What a brilliant @Conservatives broadcast. Everyone is talking about it! Well done @BorisJohnson and team! Here it is https://t.co/uGcNZn0NaR
— Jayne Cowan (@JayneCowan) December 9, 2019
Labour Party MPs also pointed out the scene had been parodied before by a Labour’s Rosena Allin-Khan on 22 November.
The choice at this election... #LoveActually #MerryXmas #Tooting pic.twitter.com/laP589NlMm
— Dr Rosena Allin-Khan (@DrRosena) November 22, 2019
Love Actually star Hugh Grant, who played the role of Britain’s Prime Minister in the film and is a vocal critic of the Conservative government told the BBC he found that the video was “quite well done, very high production values but clearly the Conservative party have a lot of money.”
“Maybe that’s where all the roubles went,” he said in reference to reports of Russian interference in the UK election.
"One of the cards... Boris Johnson didn't hold up was the one saying "Because at Christmas you tell the truth"
Actor Hugh Grant @HackedOffHugh, who wants people to vote tactically against Brexit, gives his view of the PM's version of the famous Love Actually cards scene pic.twitter.com/HyU9Uk47Sd— BBC Radio 4 Today (@BBCr4today) December 10, 2019
“But I did notice that one of the cards from the original film he didn’t hold up was the one where Andrew Lincoln held up a card saying ‘because at Christmas you tell the truth’.”
“And I just wonder if the spin doctors in the Tory party thought that was a card that wouldn’t look too great in Boris Johnson’s hands.”
Scroll through the gallery to see the video in pictures.