Waste of time

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Matt Leland (Chris O'Donnell) has talkative best friend Eric (Matthew Lillard). Matt is taken with new girl Casey Roberts (Drew Barrymore). They begin a wild relationship. She gets suspended and her parents put her away. He helps her escape the psych ward and they go on a road trip. However, her manic depressive state gets more volatile and beyond his ability to help.I never bought Chris O'Donnell as a romantic lead. He's too white bread and doesn't have the passion. This is love at first sight and who can blame him. Drew can do that to many men but I don't see them as Romeo and Juliet. Drew is convincing with mental illness but it is a little overwrought. I'm not really that invested in this relationship. This is a lesser 90s teen melodrama.

Just when you thought movies in the 1990s couldn't get any worse, along comes this lumpy stew of a teen romance. I wasn't sure the picture could actually sink any lower from the ludicrous opening sequence (scored with an abominable rock song); unfortunately, it does. Boy meets girl at school, they flirt, they date, they run off together. The conceit here is that she's mentally unbalanced. It isn't a fresh spin, although the filmmakers and the cast proceed like they're doing something new, and who knows? Maybe the young audience targeted for the picture actually believe in its sentiments. To all of us over 30 it's pretty excruciating, not to mention terribly irresponsible, and not quite the "wild and sexy adventure" advertised. NO STARS from ****

Mad Love probably generated as much of a viewer ship as it did because of the likability of the two principal, Drew Barrymore and Chris O'Donnell. I never thought of the movie as anything special, and figured that this would probably survive obscurity by fans of the cast or those who appreciate a decent dreamy romantic drama every now again, for which it is quite abundant.O'Donnell, though never a spectacular lead, carries well himself well as the good-natured, soft-spoken high school teen, Matt Leland. Upon meeting flamboyant, rule-breaker Casey Roberts (Drew Barrymore, working with the type of characters that always seem to suit her), Leland falls in love with the rather tragic character and goes through one of those earmarked defiances and coming-of-age experiences. That is because Casey is an emotionally unstable character because she is bipolar.As their relationship furthers, free-spirited Casey grows rather obsessive in the relationship and a bit too detached from reality. After a few minor incidents, or at least what you might consider relatively minor while the characters in the story might not, Casey's parents want to commit her to a mental institution to undergo therapy. Destined not to let his first true love being lobotomized and unnecessarily drugged, Matt and Casey hit the road like fugitives in love. The material is very routine, but there is something at least, from the principal actors' ability to carry it out well and, for the most part, believably (save some of Barrymore's poor delivery at points) and with minimal corniness. Best of all, it does a good job with getting you to stay connected to the characters. You feel a bit free-spirited yourselves when (if you're enjoying the movie, of course) Matt and Casey endure their hijinks. You get that connection when Casey is forced into the hospital; the uneasiness that Matt feels when he runs away with Casey; and the pressure that he faces throughout. At least they had effectively done that much.Not an impressive or all to memorable movie, though, as I said before, you should be pleased if you generally enjoy O'Donnell and Barrymore, or, if you're just a sucker for dreamy romantic dramas.

Story about a high-school senior, Matt Leland (Chris O'Donnell), who draws like a moth to a flame to maniac-depressive Casey Roberts (Drew Barrymore). Together they go on a road trip against parental wishes after Matt heard Casey was brought to a psychiatric hospital due to her problems and helped her escape - him not seeing what was wrong with her at the time. Though this little film might not sound interesting enough to watch, which it really isn't at certain points in the story, you will find that if you pay enough attention to its subtle charm and unique script and direction, especially through the first half of picture, you can fully appreciate what makes it worth watching. The extent of this appreciation will most likely only go so far, however. The film's first hour is good, as well as the last six minutes, but the remaining half hour is uninteresting. Even though 'Mad Love' brought something a bit different to the table, if the star duo weren't in this project, it wouldn't be worth watching. See Barrymore at her sensual best in this one. Rating: Two out of Five Stars (Fair).