The Worst Film Ever

It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

It's a shame that people would call whatever they don't like "The Worst". This movie isn't the best, but it has its own good parts.You see, if you are a River fan then you need to watch it because he is hot beyond imagination in this, there's 2 stars just for that, because I couldn't keep my eyes off of him for his whole style was a delight to look at. Yeah!The acting isn't bad, Sandra Bullock is pretty funny, Dermot Mulroney is good, Sam is pretty good and so gorgeous and River is really good as a sullen young man; so there's 2/5 stars.I liked the music, it's catchy and I usually find myself singing them. Especially "Blame it on Your Heart" and "Until Now", so there's another 2/5 stars for a good music in a kinda musical movie.It's entertaining, though it could've been better. I expected better love scenes for a rom-com, the story could've been more together and more mature even as a story about some confused young souls.You can watch it and not be bored if you're looking for an average romantic comedy.

Pick up the DVD: listening to the director's commentary adds an overlay of seriousness that is-- on further reflection--a kind of simplification. It's all about where we were, how long the shot was, who added what, and how much it cost. "That's really Trisha Yearwood...those are her own clothes..." While the movie has its own sweet compelling (if minor) power (a sort of American Idol thang, as if you see it from the pov of the wanna be), there's something immensely tragic about having to face the fact that THIS is what the director of The Last Picture Show comes to... Then there's the tragedy of the loss of River Phoenix, this being the last film he completed; measured against the joy of seeing the young Sandra Bullock. Some of the advice Bogdanovich gives about cutting is really useful, and there's something tender about his obvious love for the actors...even if manifests itself in lines like "I thought...this kid is not just brilliant, he's also commercial." Alas...it turns out that the director was / is more commercial than brilliant.

One of River Phoenix's last film roles was as part of a quartet of performer/songwriters looking to get a break in country music in Nashville. The rest of the quartet in The Thing Called Love is Samantha Mathis, Sandra Bullock, and Dermpt Mulroney. The whole thing kind of reminds me a little bit of Stage Door in the hopes and dreams and the camaraderie shared among the hopefuls.In the two hour running time of the film there are almost 20 musical numbers, so many the plot almost gets in the way. When the quartet isn't singing, they're acting out the usual angst romantic and professional that are common to the young. And several country stars do some musical bits here, chiefly Tricia Yearwood who sings her hit, She's In Love With The Boy.Tricia also figures into the plot when Mulroney and Mathis break into Yearwood's car in order to leave a cassette tape of Mulroney's latest song. It sounds like something out of I Love Lucy and it all works out in the Lucy manner with Yearwood being a good sport about it. In real life, those two would have been in court with Yearwood taking a restraining order out.The plot is pedestrian, but the music is nice, especially if you are a country and western fan.

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.