Whatever it may pretend to be, Notting Hill is basically a tale about beauty, charm, and how hard it is to be Julia Roberts.

Hugh Grant plays William Thacker, owner of an unsuccessful travel bookshop in the ethnically cleansed Notting Hill district of London. Julia Roberts plays herself-aka Anna Scott, international movie star, making $15 million a picture. She wanders into his shop and he is awe-struck. Minutes later, he is out buying orange juice when he runs into her, soaking her with his juice. From this accidental encounter their romance begins.
Written and directed by the same team who created the very successful Four Weddings And A Funeral (Richard Curtis and Roger Michell), it is very hard not to compare the two films, since the plot and characters are so similar: Tongue-tied middle-class Englishman with group of assorted friends meets American woman and falls in love. The film has quite a formulaic feel, but then it is a romantic comedy, of course it follows a formula.

The dead letter office is a place where all the letters go for which a destination can't immediately be found. The letters are full of the hopes, dreams, reminiscences and sadness of many people. Some letters find a home-some, like those addressed to God, can never be answered [God needs an e-mail account - Ed.]. Alice (Otto) gets a job at the dead letter office in the hope of being able to track down her long-absent father's address. The people who work at the dead letter office, seem, like the letters, to have lost their way. But it is here that Alice strikes up a romance with Frank (Del Hoyo). Frank may be able to help Alice to find her father, but Alice must first help Frank to live again.

The acting of George Del Hoyo deserves special mention as his performance carries the film and ensures its success. Dead Letter Office is a sweet little film, providing an enjoyable 90 minutes of entertainment.