What Love Is Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES PLOT SUMMARY
Tom plans to surprise Sara with an engagement ring, and he's asked his four best friends to witness the popping of the question at his place on Valentine's night. Trouble is Sara's left him a "Dear John" letter and will be by soon for her suitcases; plus, thinking it's a party, Tom's friend Sal has invited five women who were at his bar to come too. First the men talk - about women, sex, love, and homophobia (Tom's pals include a happily married guy, a gay man newly engaged, a metrosexual, and Sal, an inveterate player). Then the women arrive and argue in the loo about men and sex before joining the boys for talk, alcohol, and hookups. But what of Sara, and what of love?
| Cuba Gooding Jr. | Tom |
| Sean Astin | George |
| Matthew Lillard | Sal |
| Mars Callahan | Ken |
| Anne Heche | Laura |
| Gina Gershon | Rachel |
| Tamala Jones | Katherine |
| Andrew Daly | Wayne |
| Terrence 'T.C.' Carson | Kwame |
| Shiri Appleby | Debbie |
| Jud Tylor | Amy |
| Victoria Pratt | Sara |
| Gillian Shure | Karen |
| Johnny Drocco | Delta groove bar patron |
| Greg Fellows | Bar patron |
| Mars Callahan |
3.70 out of 10 (131 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Great. simple, fun movie!
posted on 18 Jun 2009This movie is the best I've seen in while. And I have been watching almost everything new to the big screen. I've seen that some people find this to be a bad move. Nothing could be farther from the truth! It depicts real people in a real situation have a real conversation that almost anyone could relate to at some point. The acting was great! Cuba Gooding Jr. delivers as always but I was amazed at the performance of Matthew Lillard. His performance was full of passion and simply said force! The fact that I enjoyed watching this movie although it was shot 99% in one room just means that the script was solid and the performances of the actors. This just goes to prove that a movie can be great without special effects or any other form of eye catching bull that we've grown to appreciate while loosing site of what movie making is all about.
Stageplay-style comedy
posted on 31 May 2009I don't believe that What Love Is was a play before it was shot as a movie, yet I found it reminiscent of some stage play-turned-films I've seen. The main reasons are that it takes place primarily in one room, the dialog is very fast-paced, and emotions are high from the first moment and rarely drops.In this sense, it's not terribly original. What's more is that the small plot line is pretty predictable. However, where this movie shines is in it's advice and the characters' heartfelt monologues. Perhaps it my male bias, but the men's part far outshone and impressed me than the women's scene. Each of the characters reminded me of one of my friends and although it's unlikely these friends would say the things they did, it's something that they would actually believe. For example, Matthew Lilliard's homophobic rant is probably not something he'd say aloud, but you know he would think it. And the other characters react pretty well, continuing the dialog until they each have their turn to chime in with their thoughts on love, sex and women.The second and third acts aren't as good as the first, but there were a few gems that really got me, especially the gay man's sex advice (it's 99.9% correct) and Judy Tylor's (the dumb girl) thoughts on what love really is.So the characters were interesting, the dialog was funny, but mostly it was the gems of wisdom of the characters that really made me think, made me laugh and made me cheer.
Loved it!
posted on 02 Mar 2009I just went to a screening of this film and I think that it is hilarious! I think guys everywhere will relate and love the movie as well. I also think women will think it is extremely funny! I love the humor of Cuba Gooding. He is a very talented actor and does fantastic in this film. I am also a huge fan of Anne Heche. She always does a great job and she did not let me down in this film. The entire cast worked extremely well with each other and had great chemistry. The comedic timing of each character was right on point. I was very impressed with this film and look forward to the future films by Mars and Big Sky Motion Pictures. Two thumbs up from me!
An entertaining refreshing new comedy!
posted on 27 Jan 2009What Love Is spins a great twist on the romantic comedy and turns the usual genre upside down on its head. Directed by Mars Callahan, this film has a great ensemble cast with stars, such as: Cuba Gooding Jr., Mathew Lillard, Sean Astin, Anne Heche, Andrew Daly, Gina Gershon, Tamala Jones, Jud Taylor, Shiri Appleby, Victoria Pratt and Terrance 'T.C.' Carson. The scenes in this film were great. It is a frank, unapologetic film that explains at its very core what Love truly means. Mathew Lillard was amazing as Sal, especially in the scene about monogamy, Sean Astin's character's diatribe about women is great, Andrew Daly's scenes with Mathew Lillard and Anne Heche are hilarious! It's a great Valentines Day movie for guys. I don't know how many times I remember having similar conversations with my friends about women just like these characters do in this film. The writing seems almost as if it were recorded. What Love Is is a laugh out loud, realistic riot that will keep you entertained and satisfied that you went to see what could be the best comedy of the year.
Quick witted and extremely funny
posted on 03 Jan 2009OK this is my first review and I have seen tons of movies. I found this movie to be so much more than I expected and a breath of fresh air from the usual movies I see. Maybe we could get more directors to do things that are creative and take a chance. because I am in introspect now is why I comment on this movie. It was a blast. A movie filmed like a theatrical play. Great stuff. The actors and the acting witty. I am a guy and I think this is how we men bond period when we hurt as well as when we celebrate. The women talk just like some of my girlfriends and all in all they are just like us guys. I would assume we all have friends in these characters. Its a fun ride to watch. See it.......!!!!!!!!!.
Very Funny and Entertaining Movie!
posted on 04 Dec 2008After reading the reviews, I had to see this movie! I went with my husband and friends and we laughed endlessly! We all agreed that we want to see it again because we missed some of the humor because of the exciting fast pace!!! Cuba Gooding was excellent and Mathew Lillard gave a convincing performance!!! Mars Callahan is a great writer and director!! Keep it up!!! We also noticed that the camera angles and facial feature close ups were very unusual in that there was incredible definition and expression. Great camera work as far as we were all concerned! The women in the movie were very forthright and outspoken as well; not to be outdone by the men! A definite must see!!!
Awesome!
posted on 02 Nov 2008This is a great flick! I laughed and laughed and was thoroughly engaged in the fast-paced dialogue. It's great to see "what love is" from both a male and female perspective- and interesting to have spelled out in an artistic way all of the games men and women play in this thing called love. It has the style of a David Mamet film- dialogue driven and stage-y. But it has the content of a great romantic comedy- but with a cerebral twist. Cuba Gooding Jr is great as the dumped on character who doesn't know how he's going to get his girlfriend back. But it was Andrew Daly who really stole the show for me. While his character is a walking stereotype, he is so funny to watch and delivers his lines with perfect timing. Check it out!
Good Ideas, Not So Good Storyline
posted on 17 Oct 2008I was given the chance to preview this movie a couple months ago. I thought "Oh, it's Cuba Gooding Jr., it's going to be decent." So, I went in with hope it could be a possibly good movie. Well, I will be honest, the first twenty minutes were captivatingly interesting, but as time progressed, I was wondering why they didn't move onto another location, why it was all at one location. I thought the dialogue was good, but the lack of change in location made the story suffer. If it had more of a storyline, this probably would be a classic. The ideas were good, but with lack of change and relying heavily on dialogue tends to make it suffer.
A great movie to see how guys think
posted on 11 Oct 2008I feel compelled to warn users "Dont listen to critics" I am an average person male and I watch a lot of movies. I am not a professional and often times think they lose the point of enjoying a film due to the fact they are always looking for whats wrong with it. I had the opportunity to view this film and thought it was a fresh take on the situations that arise from the dilemmas of love. I thought the dialogue was very honest and sincere. At times a bit over the top but none the less accurate. I have been in all these situations personally and know that a lot of men have too. These days the illusion of love is portrayed in the movies as being fairytale like and in reality it is far from it. The perspective given is of friends with different personalities all looking for love. The characters do a fine job of spanning all lifestyles and situations. The conversations are truthful and honest. I highly recommend this movie if you are trying to understand male thinking in relationships. So give it a try and see what it does for you before you accept the word of a critic
Talking About What Love Is
posted on 15 Sep 2008When I entered the the screening for this movie I expected nothing more than a love comedy aimed at couples probably too busy having fun to watch the movie. When I came out I felt as though I'd sat through an awesome stage performance where dialog is the driving force, the action.Now perhaps some may snicker at the thought of watching a stage play on film when you could just watch it on a stage. But this I say is where the beauty and advantages of using the film medium come in. Closeups and careful editing are used in this film to help create action within the conversations occurring of the movie.In What Love Is the camera isn't used to scream that "LOOK, here's Cuba Gooding Jr.... and LOOK here's Gina Gershon." Instead it's used to emphasize the key to this movie, the well-written dialog.I do realize that I'm probably sounding like a broken record with the dialog this is what keeps it real and easy to relate to. Just think, how much of the communication in your daily life consists of the spoken word.And again this is probably another aspect of the movie that may be frowned upon. But how often do we get to hear and see the actual thoughts of the opposite sex. The characters in this movie are the characters of our thoughts, and some of them are the voices we try to suppress, and the voices we never hear but only imagine.I just realized that I forgot to add the bit about the movie being funny, but not in the slapstick sense. You've gotta listen and be attentive to get it. Listening is the key to understanding this movie and perhaps to understanding what love really is.Couldn't all love use a little more communication, listening and attention?
worst movie I have seen in 20 years-
posted on 08 Aug 2008Like one of the other critics, I feel compelled to warn the public to not waste their money or time seeing this two hour gibberish of self-indulgent, trite diatribe that takes place in one room of a house for 99% of the film. While the trailers and great cast lead you to believe this movie is something worth seeing, it is so far from worth seeing. I am almost enraged that it is out there for the public to see, something that should rise to some standard of quality - yet, completely fails to do so. I was stunned at how bad it was. I guess it just takes rich friends to get something on the big screen. I was also stunned to see how the writer/director/actor is so self-aggrandizing as to exaggerate his bio on the www.bigskymotionpictures.com website, stating that he was "cast opposite Brad Pitt" in Kalifornia, and was "featured with William Hurt" in the Accidental Tourist. Then look up the films on IMDb and see if you can find him short of 50 credits down the pike.
An actor's movie!!!
posted on 21 Jul 2008I just saw this movie last night at the premiere and could not wait to comment on it! I LOVED it! The writing was EXCEPTIONAL. The acting was EXCEPTIONAL. I don't know if I've ever seen a movie that was basically: ONE location, ALL dialogue ; but still keeps you totally engrossed the entire time!! A friend of mine commented that this movie would also make a great play and I totally agree. I think I may even have to use one of the scenes for a monologue when it comes out on DVD!! I laughed SO MUCH and I even shed a few tears. Cuba...as always, AWESOME, as well as EVERYONE in the cast! Great job guys, I was honored to be at the premiere (and had a blast at the after party!)
Truly Bad in an Interesting Way
posted on 07 Jul 2008This movie fails, but it fails in an interesting way.First of all, it's not a film. It's an unsuccessful attempt to permanently record a stage play, masquerading as a film. The director seems to have no clue to the techniques, nuances and flexibility possible with film.Instead, 90% of the "action" takes place on two very contrived stage sets. The characters are merely stereotypes. The "action" consists of each character delivering a long soliloquy on their philosophy regarding sex. However, the writer is so self-absorbed that every point of view is that of a young male "player." Ultimately, this is a few hours of audible naval-gazing. Instead of presenting different points of view, this feels like an inner dialogue from one really immature, boring guy.The female characters are especially shallow and unbelievable when they talk about sex, which is all anyone does in the movie. They are clearly women speaking words written by a clueless man who is developmentally about 25 years old.The director also doesn't trust his actors to convey complex emotions on film. That's unfortunate, because there are some fine actors in the film, who are capable of much more. Instead, the performance are so "big," the gestures so exaggerated, that they seem a parody of stage acting. Only Sean Astin's nice-guy character manages to escape this curse, appearing understated by comparison.Whenever the script calls for strong emotion on screen, the director goes into a series of cartoonishly distorted quick cuts. Again, this indicates a lack of trust in the actors, or respect for their abilities.If any of these tactics worked, they would be interesting artistic choices. Unfortunately, they don't, and there's nothing interesting about this movie.
Look at it as a play and it's great
posted on 19 Jun 2008This so well written that everyone is down on it because most movies are written by a whole group of non-writers. I think Callahan's big mistake is wrting this for the screen, where it can't be appreciated. He should be writing for the stage, this screenplay is as good as anything Mamet, McNally or Lanford Wilson writes. As a film it is static with it's one set, but it is great theater. I would love to see this performed on a stage where it would be appreciated. As for the actors, all gave a believable performance, except the gay character which was more caricature than real person. And that pole dance fantasy which just didn't fit the rest of the film.
You should see this movie for the following reasons :
posted on 13 Jun 2008Two good reasons : 1) You will find out(if you don't already know) all the things that are wrong with relationships these days. Why everyone is playing on defense, and why (as a good friend told me) if two people are in love, they f*** (each other up)2) It's a chance to learn a lot of vital information about relations from a man's points of view and a then a woman's. This could help you from not having to go through all the torments of an ended relation (from a reason that you do not understand) and learning all this on your own.I can not understand why the movie has such a low rating. Maybe because people would have expected more action or i don't know. But this movie is more like 'food for the brain'. It can really make you wonder what you want in life, what you already have and what you might be searching for. It sound easy, but after this movie, i saw that all the years spent on relationships that ended badly, one night stands, and being the person that always has to hear what a jerk he is, but how their love will conquer all, all that experience can be summed up in about 90 minutes (even less, because i didn't know for sure what the women thought about all this). So .. in conclusion, if you seem interested about the subject you should see it. (and please ignore some of the bad acting and sometimes the cliché dialog because it's worthwhile )By the way .. this is my first official review, and the idea of the movie made me so determined to write it. Also if you like this sort of movies where more ideas flight around than bullets, check out The Man from Earth (2007).
Bring a blue bag
posted on 07 Jun 2008Keep your money. "What love is" appears to have been regurgitated by an unsuspecting toilet. That said, if you enjoy spittle punctuated rapid fire dialogue spawned by pubescent boys in high school locker rooms, this movie is for you. Credits do go to Mars however for stretching his imagination and gifting the viewers with verbiage so politically incorrect one wonders if it is truly imagination at work or do these thoughts literally reside permanently with Mars. If men are from Mars then where is Mars from? Yes I was at the premier in LA. Yes there was laughter. Yes there were 599 minds in the same gutter.This movie may very well end up being a cult classic.My condolences to a cast worthy of much better.
A tiring tirade of endless attacks
posted on 14 May 2008This film is about a group of friends having honest discussions about what love is.I was hoping "What Love Is" to be entertaining and fun. With the amount of known stars, I thought it would be good. However, "What Love Is" turns out to be a great boring disaster.The entire film features conversations spoken at a rate of 10 words a minute. And I am not joking. There is not even a pause between one person and another. People humiliate and attack each other constantly, shouting loudly all the time. The end result is an endless tirade that cannot be described as entertaining at all. Obviously the filmmakers realises this, and hence added a fantasy scene of strippers. However, even the super big breasted Paris Hilton look-alike fails to save the film.
Out of this world
posted on 04 Apr 2008The trailer for "What love is" is so funny I couldn't stop laughing. I can't wait for the movie to be out in theaters so I could laugh some more. The dialog was precise and slapstick. It just seems to be the right movie for the season. Hope everyone goes to see it and that this movie gets Cuba back on the map. Romantic comedies are so "safe" and this movie seems so politically incorrect that I love it. Everyone will laugh and laugh and laugh,laugh, laugh, laugh, laugh. Wait, I think I'm having a laugh attack now...oh boy, "you gotta go deep". Great, hope to see all of you at the premiere in L.A. and bring tons of tissues cause you're going to need it to wipe the hysterical tears from your eyes.
Interesting movie
posted on 17 Mar 2008Hi guys, I only saw a few bites of the movie on you tube, but what I saw was incredible. I can't wait to see more. The story is fresh and it has a lot of great actors in it. The Directod also directed another movie that I can highly recommend. I'd love to get some more information about the movie and when it comes out. Does anybody have more information about up coming projects of the director? I am becoming a huge fan of him. You should definitely go on you tube to get a taste of it. You won't be disappointed and you'll get hooked. If been waiting for another great comedy for a long time, seems like the waiting time is over.
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couldn't sit through this at all
posted on 12 Jul 2009i started to watch this expecting it to be mildly amusing but overall watchable, and ended up not being able to force self to watch to its end.within 5 minutes it grated on my nerves from a non stop barrage of unrealistic dialogue between supposed friends which just didn't let up,and far from being a witty and interesting take on male/female perspectives it just seemed trite and annoying with 'maybe' the occasional observation that would have been funny if i wasn't already so far gone as to not care.if it wasn't so full-on in your face trying to force the characters views on you it may have worked,but am sad to say it is full on and doesn't work at all in my opinion,only giving it a 3 rating and thats because there's a small possibility it improved after i gave up watching it( which i doubt).