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Movies / On DVD / The Thing Called Love
The Thing Called Love

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The Thing Called Love (1993)

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55 %
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Reviews Counted:20

Fresh:11

Rotten:9

Average Rating:5.3/10

Runtime: 1 hr 58 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: New Yorker Miranda Presley (Samantha Mathis)--no relation to the King--buses it to Nashville and arrives with her guitar and the dream of making it big in country music. She meets other... New Yorker Miranda Presley (Samantha Mathis)--no relation to the King--buses it to Nashville and arrives with her guitar and the dream of making it big in country music. She meets other twentysomethings at the Bluebird Café, a popular local nightspot/talent showcase: Linda Lou Linden (Sandra Bullock), a sweet, talentless southern girl who becomes Miranda's roommate; Kyle Davidson (Dermot Mulroney) a Connecticut Yankee with country dreams and crush on Miranda; and River Phoenix as James Wright, a moody, talented musician to whom Miranda is drawn. These four hopefuls struggle with life and love as they try to achieve success. Various country stars, including Trisha Yearwood and Pam Tillis, appear as themselves, and K.T. Oslin plays Lucy, the talent gatekeeper at the Bluebird Café. Mathis, Phoenix, Mulroney, and Bullock all performed the vocals for their characters' songs. The film, directed by Peter Bogdanovich (MASK), marks Phoenix's final performance. The young actor died in 1993. [More]

Starring: River Phoenix, Samantha Mathis, Dermot Mulroney, Sandra Bullock

Starring: River Phoenix, Samantha Mathis, Dermot Mulroney, Sandra Bullock

Director: Peter Bogdanovich

Director: Peter Bogdanovich

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Release:

Mar 7, 2006

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for The Thing Called Love

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Peter Bogdanovich brings conviction but little else to this upbeat response to Robert Altman's Nashville.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
06/14/09
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Perhaps there's not much new to say about the dues and disappointments involved in breaking into the country music scene, but the scenes are fresh and the emotions real in Peter Bogdanovich's tune-laden, mixed-mood drama.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
03/26/09
Variety Staff
Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's good enough to watch, but not good enough to re-watch.

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
04/08/06
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com

Nothing terribly new happens here, but Bogdanovich plays out his scenes with tenderness and affection, and the honest performances spring to life.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
04/06/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

The Thing Called Love charms and touches.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
03/11/06
Fernando F. Croce
Fernando F. Croce
Slant Magazine

Bogdanovich's modest staging is occasionally awkward -- his kids still watch John Wayne movies at the drive-in -- but there's a convincing sense of what Nashville's like and how country music works.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out

It's so sad that Phoenix went out not with a bang but with this whimper.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
01/12/06
Don Willmott
Don Willmott
Filmcritic.com

No review available.

comment Comment
09/06/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

comment Comment
08/29/05
Todd Jorgenson
Todd Jorgenson
Denton Record Chronicle (TX)

A highlight of Phoenix's career

comment Comment
03/11/05
Clint Morris
Clint Morris
Moviehole

No review available.

comment Comment
11/18/04
Randy Shulman
Randy Shulman
Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)

Although well acted, with early scenes that deftly sketch the atmosphere, the movie, written by Carol Heikkinen, never takes off.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
08/30/04
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
05/30/03
Jeffrey Westhoff
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

Sometimes Bogdanovich is just too intelligent for his own good. While he hardly puts a foot wrong in his observation of shattered ambitions, his curse seems to be that his work will forever be unfashionable.

Full Review Source: Film4 | comment Comment
05/24/03
Film4

No review available.

comment Comment
03/04/03
Mike McGranaghan
Mike McGranaghan
Aisle Seat

No review available.

comment Comment
01/10/03
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

It bears as little relation to the real Nashville as Altman's 1975 feature, but director Peter Bogdanovich, the talented cast, and the credited and uncredited screenwriters are so busy conjuring up a charming world of their own that I didn't mind.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
06/23/02
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Aside from its blatantly commercial aspirations and predictable storyline, there is an appealing cast, enjoyable songs and some funny bits of business.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

River Phoenix gives a somnambulant impersonation of Christian Slater impersonating Jack Nicholson, and Samantha Mathis spends much of the movie trying to figure out exactly who her character is.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Louis Black
Louis Black
Austin Chronicle

Perhaps no one could have saved Phoenix, who was not lucky enough to find a higher bottom than death. But this performance in this movie should have been seen by someone as a cry for help.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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