I have seen this movie twice now and I have to post my opinions as to why this movie is crap in terms of writing, directing, and editing... possibly even casting.
"Bye Bye, Love" stars the TV star, Paul Reiser, as a guy who divorced his wife for reasons we never really know... and he is still in love with her. Matthew Modine plays an always smiling (never acting) "charmer." Randy Quaid plays another odd character that never is well developed because the movie has too many plots and characters to really focus on anyone in particular.
One thing that sickens me about this movie is how much blatant advertising is done within it. Off the top of my head, I remember Kettle Chips, Minute Maid, and last and certainly not least, McDonald's. I bet MickeyD's patroned the entire movie, to show that divorcees should meet there every weekend to trade their kids, seeing as the divorce rate in America is over 50% of all married couples. What a demographic to hit for! I never heard of people meeting at fast food restaurants to exchange their kids for the weekend before this.
Next thing, Eliza Dushku hitting on the guy who works at McDonalds? How realistic is that? Yes, I realize all of you Buffy fans that she is "Faith" but it doesn't make up for the fact that her character was undeveloped and weak. For example, when she gets drunk and screams at her father and says all of that typical "i broke up the marriage" crap... where did any of that come from? We are given no clues as to why she's angry except for Reiser's "that age between 13 and 36" quote.
The chronology in this movie was hard to follow, too, because most of the scenes played independent to the others, while going back and forth between the 40 stories going on. The music montages added to the story, making it even worse than it already was. The lovely "wrap-up" at the end really made the story feel like it ended at a very awkward place. The climax was very... semi-climatic. Quaid's character is a rollercoaster of uncertainty. He's not a dynamic character... he's a schiz. So is his lovely date, Garafolo.
This movie doesn't give insight as to what men are going through after a divorce... it gives what women want men to be like. I would only recommend this movie to people who want to be brainwashed by Dr. Laura-esque psychology and the mesmers at McDonalds.
