Notting Hill

Richard Curtis and Hugh Grant followed Four Weddings with this featherlight, frequently funny romance between an ordinary bloke and a visiting Hollywood starlet.

A contemporary fairytale predicated on a presumably near-universal fantasy (what it’d be like to go out with your favourite movie star?), Richard Curtis and Hugh Grant’s featherlight, frequently very funny follow-up to Four Weddings and a Funeral may not have much to do with the real W11, but the easy-going charm of its leads, sharply written set-pieces and a nice line in knowing irony make for a pleasingly old-fashioned romantic comedy

But the show is stolen by Rhys Ifans and his memorably excruciating turn as Spike, the flatmate from hell.