ThiefHott Too much of everything

PlatinumRead Just so...so bad

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Phillipa Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

dollywest I've enjoyed watching this movie ever since I discovered it in about 2007, years later than its release. The actors and music have much charm, and somehow it works despite a confusion as to whose story is being told. For a long time now, I've wanted to re-write the ending, to make it more consistent with the characters as they are presented... More recently, I realized I'd like to go back to the drawing board and write it as it should have been written, given the star billing of River Phoenix, his charisma and the power of his music. It ought to be his story from start to finish, the boy who listened to cheating songs in his father's truck... It can't be re-made with those actors, and it remains a poignant record of what River Phoenix could do, and what he might have done. The other main actors, Samantha Mathis, Dermot Mulroney, and Sandra Bullock are always interesting to watch, as are all the supporting cast, and in particular, K.T. Oslin as Lucy. I recommend this movie as a wonderful trip down memory lane and a tug-at-the-heart glimpse of the most promising young talent.

tieman64 Hollywood has always been good when it comes to films set in Nashville or dealing with country music. Here we have Peter Bogdanovich's "The Thing Called Love", a drama which centres on the lives of four young musicians. It's a fairly conventional narrative - our heroes deal with "love triangles" and the pitfalls of chasing one's dreams - but Bogdanovich skirts around most of the genre's clichés, and does well to capture the romance of Nashville; a world of struggling lyricists, wounded country singers, moody bar rooms, and southern drawls.Fittingly, "The Thing Called Love" attempts to deal with the difficulties present in pursuing any kind of love, be it the love of a woman, man or song. Bogdanovich's conclusion seems to be that the pursuit of desires hamper the desires of others. Or, in the case of this film, for one singer to be successful another must not be. For one couple to be in love, another potential couple must not be. End result: the film's trampled hero learns to put aside the wishes of others and selfishly pursue her own dreams, while other characters learn to be more responsive to the wishes of others. Final image: friends and foes sharing a truck ride together, the dreams of the few and the many awkwardly reconciled.7.9/10 – "Love" stars actor River Phoenix in the final role before his death. For this plot done better, see "Tender Mercies" with Robert Duvall, Hal Ashby's "Bound For Glory" and Altman's "Prairie Home Companion" and "Nashville". See too "Country Strong", "Crazy Heart", "Payday", "Coal Miners Daughter" and "Be Here To Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt".Worth one viewing.

secondtake The Thing Called Love (1993)Whatever happened to Peter Bogdanovich? He directed several really deeply felt, nostalgia filled, honest films in the late 60s early 70s. But he had some duds, too, and that seems to be his long term groove, as if he was more comfortable loving movies (he's a buff, an historian, an insider critic) than making them. This one has the stuff for a heart-tugging drama filled with Americana, but it is slow, downright clumsy at times, and improbable.The latter is fine, of course--it's a fiction movie--but it wants to seem real, too, not fantastic. It depends too much on pretty people, so that's false, but these pretty people are trying to make it in Nashville as singer-songwriters, which is a fantasy after all, so who knows? The marriage in the mini-super market is pretty great, I have to admit.What works best, oddly enough (but no surprise), is Sandra Bullock, who plays her part with conviction. The music is supposed to be amateur and downright bad, but it's not bad enough to laugh at (and not good enough to enjoy). A bad spot in the middle. But then there's River Phoenix. Who knew he could actually play? Ah, but some plot is in order, something beyond the obvious. It's supposed to be a dream come true or something, but it just holds no water. If you love country music, there's something here, the general scene, the background, but that's not enough.

Jen McDaniel This is my all-time favorite movie, mostly because a majority of the scenes were shot on location in Nashville, my hometown. Though the area has changed in the last ten years, the "down-home" feel portrayed in the movie is still very much alive and well. That being said, I've given it a "10," but I'm aware that my opinion is a little biased, and others probably wouldn't rank it so highly.But honestly, it's a bunch of different stories all rolled into one. There's the love story, the "true friends" story and a "discovering yourself" story.. and though it does run a little long (over two hours, I think) you'll get caught up in the characters and their struggles. My boyfriend calls it "the white trash movie" and many people may have that opinion, but I love it because it's such an accurate depiction of Nashville in the 90's.. everyone was headed here to make it in the music business. Some did, most didn't. And that was just life.. this movie does a great job of presenting a "real life" feel to this wonderful city in that time frame. And I love every minute of it. Hopefully, you will, too.