True Love (1989)

True Love (1989). 1h 44m | R

“This film has been lauded by critics everywhere, from Leonard Maltin to the acclaimed American Cinema series, so I was truly disappointed when I sat down and watched it. Granted, itu0026#39;s an indie film by a first-time director (Nancy Savoca), and Iu0026#39;m not an Italian American (removing a possible bond to the film) so I couldnu0026#39;t expect a divine epiphany. But the film did not meet any of my high expectations for it (I suppose I should have learnt long ago not to have those;) The plot was passable, though some of it was very unconvincing. I think the acting made it much worse than it would have othewise been. Annabella Sciorra was a standout; she was pretty much the only bright spot of the film. Her characteru0026#39;s parents and friends werenu0026#39;t all that bad either, but any acting quality ended there. Ron Eldard left much to be desired. His character was unrealistic, had no distinct personality, and was *beyond* overdramatized. His immaturity and crudity were overplayed, and his friends were cardboard, without much decipherable distinction between them. I had a hard time believing she would even marry him after most of his antics, which seemed excessive and unbelievable. Not unbelievable in the sense that it couldnu0026#39;t have happened to anyone, but moreso that his character seemd to swing too wildly back and forth between an moronic irresponsible teenager and a future groom with issues to work out. As well, his motheru0026#39;s apathy towards his antics (especially as she sits passively and watches him running repeatedly to the bathroom to throw up after a night of drunken revelry) seemed completely unrealistic. Lack of subplots also contributed to this filmu0026#39;s problems. The attraction of one of Eldardu0026#39;s friends to one of Sciorrau0026#39;s is never properly realized, and his sudden proposal to her has no justification and seems absolutely ridiculous As well, there are quite a few other little side scenes like that one that suspend the realm of reality to the viewer. The characters felt one-dimensional, they were never properly developed (save, perhaps, Sciorrau0026#39;s character). This made it even more difficult to relate to them, and to the film. Overall, this film could have been much more lucid, instead it falls quite flat. There are many worse films of its type, but comparing it to Moonstruck or calling it u0026#39;one of the yearu0026#39;s best filmsu0026#39; (both comments are on the box) is more than far-fetched. 5/10.”