Do we believe new romcom isn’t a blatant imitation of Hugh’s classic? No, Actually!
WITH its distinctive scarlet ribbon around a series of boxes depicting the cast, bold black- and- red colour scheme and even a title with the same initials, posters for the new British romcom The Loss Adjuster bear an uncanny similarity to those of the Hugh Grant blockbuster Love Actually.
And what might charitably be called the coincidences don’t end there. Both films are set in a Christmassy London, both feature middle-aged male co-stars taking their clothes off, both involve cheating wives, and both end with a heartwarming happilyever-after montage.
But the similarities do not extend to the cast. While Love Actually featured an impressive ensemble of A-listers including Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Keira Knightley, Bill Nighy and Rowan Atkinson, the main star of The Loss Adjuster is former 1980s boyband drummer Luke Goss, doyen of a dozen straight-to-DVD releases.
And while Love Actually has brought in £180 million since its 2003 release, The Loss Adjuster has taken just £4,000 since opening on November 27.
Covid-imposed cinema closures have not helped, but last weekend The Loss Adjuster failed to make the top 100 at the box office, while a rerelease of the film that apparently inspired it took more than £40,000, even though it’s 17 years old.
Producers of the new comedy insist their movie is entirely original, despite some film fans making comparisons. And no guessing which one comes off worst.
One viewer tweeted: ‘Love Actually has a great cast, The Loss Adjuster… erm.’ Others were less subtle, variously describing The Loss Adjuster as ‘bloody awful’, ‘absolutely dreadful’ and ‘officially the worst film I have ever seen’. Appearing alongside Goss, who plays down-on-his-luck insurance worker Martin, given a new chance of happiness after his cheating wife walks out on him, are Kym Marsh, Martin Kemp and Joan Collins.
In one scene, Kemp strips down to his underwear in the street before stepping on to the Tube, while in Love Actually Nighy’s popstar character gets naked to celebrate securing the Christmas No 1.
Jayney Mackie, writer and producer of The Loss Adjuster, said: ‘I am a fan of Love Actually, but I can’t see any similarities between the two storylines. I hadn’t spotted the similarities between the posters.’
Love Actually writer and director Richard Curtis did not respond to a request for comment.