Lovelife

How this one got lost in the cinematic cracks is beyond me. I'm totally loving Carla Gugino these days ever since Snake Eyes but when I saw Saffron Burrows and Sherilyn Fenn in the credits also, I just had to sit and watch. To think I was going to see Logan's Run. I could not get enough of this film. Great writing, subtle direction, and an assurance I haven't seen since Soderberg's Sex, Lies & Videotape. The actresses are great but the actors aren't shabby either. Matthew Letscher has impeccable comic timing. Bruce Davison is so warm and giving in his perf. And Jon Tenney, he's not just Teri Hatcher's beau in my eyes any more. Watch for his scene where he melts a coed into his arms only to be driven to tears by Saffron Burrows a few minutes later. I can't wait for Mr. Feldman's next feature.

When I saw the description and cast list for this movie, I didn't hold out much hope as to its quality. I expected either some ridiculous Zalman King -esque soft-porn thing or the cinematic equivalent of a sitcom. I was pleased to discover that I was wrong; this is a well-made, entertaining movie with engaging characters and great dialogue. The film focuses on the rather complicated romances of seven people living in an unnamed university town. All of the characters are interesting, but I was most fascinated by the neurotic, talkative Amy, played very convincingly by the charismatic Carla Gugino. On the whole, I found this to be a very clever, enjoyable film.

Overall Rating: 7 (out of 10), or 3 stars (out of 4)

The plus side of having cable television with a movie channel or two is that you get the opportunity to see movies you might have otherwise missed somewhere along the way. I'm talking about those charming little films that have a low budget but make up in heart what they're missing in window dressing. Lovelife ain't one of those movies. This is an overlong whine-a-thon where people give each other the shaft and can't figure out why they aren't in satisfying relationships. Pretentious and pathetic all at once, this film tries to find honor in the fact that it isn't a mainstream film, and sacrifices everything that makes a film (mainstream and otherwise) entertaining in the process. Avoid this one. It isn't even a good date movie.

Well, I thought that the film was very sincere and realistic. It did a very good job of eloquently expressing a few relationship situations. The cast did a great job at drawing me in. All the characters were believable and the writing was very heartfelt. I specially like Carla Gugino's character, Amy. I wish I knew someone like that.

An entertaining and insightful evaluation of love, both lost and found. Rang true from start to finish. There was not a false moment to be found. This was due in large part to an intelligent script which was superbly acted with highly believable characters. A wonderful slice of life film that continuously hits the mark and never goes over the top. **** out of *****