Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Peter Bogdanovitch is obviously in love stars and being among them - the starrier, the better.After a while, some of his films like this one seem to feel like "us" (the stars) vs "them", (the unanointed audience). He seems to have assembled a sure-fire formula for success - the glitziest supported by a Cole Porter score. The problem, of course, is that the singers can't sing or dance at all. What in the world was in the mind of the director. He was star-struck - that much is completely obvious - but it ended up that the stars were stuck. So was the audience.Curtis Stotlar

One thing a movie musical should not do is come to a grinding halt when most of the cast members begin to sing, but that's exactly what happens in Peter Bogdanovich's fitfully entertaining film. An homage of sorts to the sophisticated musicals of the 1930s where high society types live, love and break into song (usually written by the Gershwins or Irving Berlin) and dance. Instead of Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, and Edward Everett Horton, we get Burt Reynolds, Cybill Shepherd, and John Hillerman...and Madeline Kahn, Eileen Brennan and somebody named Duilio Del Prete. Not necessarily lacking in talent, but this crew, with the exception of Kahn, show absolutely no musical capabilities. Reynolds looks the part, with Gable-esque mustache and tuxedo, Shepherd is undeniably charming and both Hillerman & Brennan are great comics, but Bogdanovich really sets them up for failure, having them sing (croak in most cases) a slew of Cole Porter songs and dance around lightly to mask their lack of ability. The film is not REALLY bad, but it is bad. There's cinematography by the great László Kovács, art direction by Gene Allen and a few clever wisecracks (delivered in most part by Brennan). There are a few colorful cameos by the likes of M. Emmett Walsh, Liam Dunn and Mildred Natwick, as Reynold's energetic mother.

There are worse films. There are worse musicals. There are far worse singers than Burt Reynolds, and far worse dancers than Cybill Sheperd. This movie is full of things that are far from as bad as they could be.It's a worthy attempt at making a traditional musical in a contemporary way, and the segues into the Cole Porter songs kind of work, and it reminded me more than once of the camp original Batman series, in terms of its grip on reality. But A.L.L.L collapses at the first hurdle because the characters and plot absolutely fail to engage within the first scene, let alone the first twenty minutes. As the actors drift, some more stiffly than others, into one cheerfully interpreted Porter classic after another, you realise that that's all this movie has got: it's shot its bolt within 15 minutes. So if you want a high camp disaster musical get Xanadu or even Cliff Richard's Take Me High or Wonderful Life - or the Bee Gees' Sergeant Pepper for a real jaw-dropping treat. At Long Last Love is not worth your time on any level, which is sad really because with the right pacing and a stronger story Bogdanovich might have carried it off. The musicality isn't the worst thing about it - don't imagine it's a camp classic.

AT LONG LAST LOVE was an unmitigated critical disaster when it premiered at Easter 1975. 20th Century Fox was so displeased with it the studio pulled it from distribution and it signaled the end of director Peter Bogdonacvich's up until then promising career which included the classic THE LAST PICTURE SHOW, the very funny Barbra Streisand screwball comedy WHAT'S UP DOC?(which foreshadowed this Cole Porter inspired film with Streisands dynamic and playful rendering of Porter's "You're the Top" over the beginning credits) and the much beloved PAPER MOON. Three years in a row, 3 blockbuster hits and 12 Oscar nominations later, Peter BOGgeddownabit with 1974s DAISY MILLER before crashing and burning with AT LONG LAST LOVE. If nothing else, AT LONG LAST LOVE is a beautifully costumed and art directed film thats a heck of a lot of fun. Very often , as a 40 something guy, I try to recapture memories of old movies I remember consuming endlessly on HBO and finding that with very few exceptions looking at films through a 12 year old eyes doesn't translate well 30 years hence. AT LONG is one of those exceptions. There is much to admire as an adult(AT LONG LAST LOVE had its biggest strike against it for a randy 12 year old-it was rated G! We loved HBO precisely for the opposite reason-to see naked girls in R rated movies.). The Cole Porter songs-however out of key they may be sung by Burt Reynolds and Cybil Sheperd-are a pleasure to "hear". Its like watching your favorite cool Aunt and Uncle at a wedding drunkenly singing some standards-yes they sound none too good but because of their dynamics you infectiously smile, grin and have a great time. Burt and Cybill get over as those favorite Aunt and Uncle did-they were young, carefree and beautiful to look at-who cares how they sounded? You are compelled to watch them. The story is as thin as the chiffon on the dresses but as a whole-it worked. Madeline Kahn , Eileen Brennan and Eileen Heckart add heft as a triumphant trio of comedic /singing talent. AT LONG LAST LOVE is like a dazzling Broadway show that has a great score, a credible book and likable stars-but the featured players steal the show. As a Broadway show it probably would have drawn raves, as an expensive studio musical in 1975-a year chock full of musicals with FUNNY LADY, TOMMY and LISZTSOMANIA among others-it flopped, and shouldn't have. Fox seems to be digging in their vaults lately, releasing movies to DVD that never even made it to video. I can only hope that they are planning a Burt Reynolds box set from 1975-including WW AND THE DIXIE DANCEKINGS , LUCKY LADY and AT LONG LAST LOVE- now that would be De-Lightful!And hopefully they'll allow Bogdonavich-with his new clout as an actor on The Soprano's-to revisit this musical classic and do it justice. While director Bogdonavich is no SAINT, he just need to remove his actors MASK and try to direct again. After all-when he did it in the 70s the audiences were grateful-THEY ALL LAUGHED.