Movie Reviews for I Love You to Death

I Love You to Death

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Movie Reviews of I Love You to Death

Movie Review: Take The Family...Please!
Summary: 4 Stars

I hadn't really studied the package that closely, but as the opening credits were playing, I couldn't help but think, "Wow! This is, like, the dream cast." I knew, of course, that it featured Tracey Ullman and Kevin Kline as the leads. But Joan Plowright! River Phoenix (what a tragic loss)! William Hurt! They even squeezed character actress Miryam Margolies. And, of course, you've got Keanu Reeves in yet another stoner role, but you know, you gotta give Keanu credit. No one did those roles better. He is spot on here.

A black comedy based on actual events? Hmm, how often do you come across something of that ilk? It is, as many reviewers have noted, something less than a complete success, and there were actually moments when I was ready to give up on it. Some of the shifts were just too abrupt. But if it falters here and there, the movie seems to somehow pick itself right back up again. The arrival of drugged out Harlan and Marlon (Hurt and Reeves) comes at one such lull and their presence gives the film a shot in the arm (no pun intended).

Not all of the gags work, of course, but the stellar cast is always worth watching. If you've ever wondered whether Tracey Ullman was more of a sketch comedian than an actress, her performance here should lay any such doubts to rest. As her mom, Joan Plowright is an absolute hoot. I can't tell for sure whether this legendary British actress's "Yugoslavian" accent is as flawless as countrywoman Ullman's "all-American" one, but she is so priceless, I can't imagine even the proudest Croatian critic arguing the point.

What of the "actual events" on which this is based? Apparently, the movie gets the gist of it, maybe more. Apparently, the Pennsylvania couple on which these seemingly impossible characters are based really did go through all of this and were still together last anyone knew. And the hubby really did change his wayward ways after his wife's multiple attempts to murder him. One discrepancy that I did read about, however, was that she really did wind up serving some time. But call that cinematic license.

There is at least an interesting subtext about Old World values and codes, and how they can justify all kinds of "outrageous" behavior (by contemporary US standards), while still seeming to be fundamentally "conservative" in nature. But that's for a doctoral dissertation or something. For our present purposes, let's just say that this oddball dark comedy is one worth seeing.

Movie Review: Strange-But-True Dark Comedy
Summary: 4 Stars

A surprise hit....at least with me. I found this dark comedy hilarious in spots and so-so in others, but overall a funny movie. With comedy that's what happens anyway: some jokes connect; others don't. Most are pretty good in here but beware: some of the jokes are in poor taste, but that's a dark comedy for you. Also, some Catholics might be offended because the film takes some shots at them, or at least people who go overboard in rationalizing their sins, as Kevin Kline does in here.

There is an odd assortment of actors in here and they all contribute to the fun: Kline, Tracey Ullman, William Hurt, River Phoenix, Keannu Reeves, Joan Plowright and James Gammon.

Supposedly, this film was based on a real-life happening, which makes it all the more interesting and lending credence to the saying that "truth is stranger than fiction."

Plowright almost steals the show from Kline and Ullman, the husband-and-wife team who have problems because of Kline's persistent cheating on her. Plowright in Ullman's mother and has some of the best lines in the film as mother and daughter plot how to kill the immoral Kline.

Phoenis plays a young New Age devotee and Hurt and Reeves are funny as two totally stoned-out hit men. Hurt is particularly good.
This movie is so-so to start until Ullman finds her husband cheating. Then, after a heart-wrenching minute or so, she and her mother plot to kill the unfaithful spouse. The comedy then goes full out as they hire these really goofy hit men and things don't go smoothly. The ending is quite different and quite touching with a very good message....which is all I will say in case you haven't seen this.

Movie Review: A Silly but Fun Murder?
Summary: 4 Stars

I first watched this movie because of a difficult relationship. It was recommended because the lead, played by Kevin Kline, was like my boyfriend: you needed to hit him over the head with your issues to get him to pay attention. Kline's character, like my boyfriend at the time, thinks he is living in paradise. Kline loves his work, his children, and his wife - and his array of mistresses. Why all the mistresses? "I gotta lotta hormones." His wife, played by Tracey Ullman, decides she's fed up with his playing around and that she will murder him. With the help of her mother (Joan Plowright) and a young male friend (River Phoenix), she sets out to do so - and hi-jinks ensue.

You have to wonder how the husband can miss all the mayhem going on around him, but he does. When the wife brings in a couple of stoners to help her get rid of him (William Hurt and Keanu Reeves, Keanu doing some of the best acting I've ever seen him do), Kline the clueless welcomes them and offers food and drink. Don't despair, though; it all works out in the end. Funny and yet somehow believable, this one is worth watching and having.

Movie Review: SITCOM-STYLE COMEDY OF MISADVENTURES WITH APPEALING CAMEOS..
Summary: 4 Stars

I take off one star for the somewhat slight theme based on the true but quaint counter-intuitive romance of a couple whose marriage was revitalized after the wife almost succeeded in murdering her husband.

But it comes with some brilliant cameos from some big names: Kline as an Italian pizza shop owner, William Hurt and Keanu Reeves as spaced out druggies, Plowright a staunch mother with a thick Yugoslavian accent and extremely funny, and an absolutely pivotal wife's role played by Ulman, who finds the stubborn vindictiveness inside her character, sunny and trusting one moment and unforgiving and brutal the next.

It's not an astounding comedy and some gags are hit-and-miss, but as a saving grace the film is well-paced. The DVD I got features trailers for three other movies (go figure) but I still recommend this one as a decent rental.