Adictos al amor

How did they manage to create such a beautiful film, a pretty love story, when the story is about two nutters spying on their former partners. When you think about what the story is about, and how far Sam (Matthew Broderick) and Maggie (Meg Ryan) are willing to go in order to get back to (and at) their former partners you would think that both should be either jailed or institutionalized. However, Addicted to Love, manages to create a fairly romantic love story out of it, without us ever doubting the sanity behind their actions. Both Matthew and Meg are here in roles they have portrait many times before in other films, while the star of the film is Tchéky Karyo. You end up hating him and loving him at the same time, feeling sorry for him one minute, wishing him all the worst the next. This is crucial to the story, bringing me to the conclusion that it is Tchéky that really makes the whole film work. One could criticize that even though the idea is original, the story isn't, with no unexpected turns or twists along the way. Simple, but pleasant film. 6/10

Better than average plot but not enough to raise it above B-level.

I think Meg Ryan's star status worked against her because her cute reputation undercut her tough character. However, she proves that she can do something besides "bubbly" and is pretty good in a more edgy role.

Tchéky Karyo was excellent as a semi-likable French guy. One common weakness in romantic comedies is that the viewer can't understand why the "nice girl" would fall in love with the "bad guy." In this movie, we can she why she loves him and, by the end, we even like him a little too. Good writing and acting.

Not Matthew Broaderick's best performance... fairly uneven. He doesn't do "hopelessly in love" very well. Broaderick looked great, even when disheveled. For that matter, all the characters look great.

Kelly Preston is pure cardboard but it sort of works because three developed characters are probably enough in a Romantic Comedy.

The set (the hideout, especially) stole the show. The sound was unusually good for a fluff movie.

Sam is an astronomer who has been together with his school teacher girlfriend Linda about forever.Then she takes a job in New York and finds a new man in her life, a suave French restaurateur Anton.He settles to an abandoned building across the street from Anton's apartment.He starts spying on Anton and his ex, he even borrows a camera obscura from his observatory which projects a life-size image from the apartment.Later he is joined by Maggie, Anton's bitter ex with vengeance on her mind.Now those two try to break up their old sweethearts, in a way or another.Addicted to Love (1997) is actor/director Griffin Dunne's directorial debut.And it's a very nice debut.Matthew Broderick does top-notch work as Sam.His character is a nice guy who ends up making the wrong decisions.Meg Ryan does a very nice job as Maggie.Her character may be a little annoying from time to time, but I guess she grows on you.Kelly Preston is terrific as Linda.Tchéky Karyo is brilliant as Anton.Maureen Stapleton makes a marvelous Nana.Nesbitt Blaisdell is very good as Ed Green.And so is Larry Pine as Street comic.Director's late great father Dominick Dunne portrays Matheson.The movie has pretty many funny and tragicomic scenes.One of them is when Linda's father reads the note to Sam his daughter has left.It is quite intriguing to watch all those ways they use to break up the couple and to make Anton's life miserable.The vendor's monkey wearing lipstick kisses Anton.They plant roaches in Anton's restaurant when a famous critic is dining there.You start feeling some sort of pity for the man when Maggie has caused him an allergic reaction from strawberries and Sam accidentally hurts the guy in a physical way.In a series of romantic comedies this is pretty original.

Revenge, that's the ultimate drive behind this story. Take revenge on your ex, who has cheated on you. Matthew Broderick and Meg Ryan, both have been dumped by their former lovers and now they both wanna take revenge. Will they be able to and will it mend their broken heart?

Bitter sweet romantic comedy. Not the best, but certainly quite funny and charming.

I thought this movie was pretty average as romantic comedies go, and frighteningly similar to Meg Ryan's previous vehicle "French Kiss", which saw Kevin Kline playing a Frenchman she falls for, enroute to getting her cheating fiancé back. "Addicted To Love" could have easily been the sequel! That aside, my one objection is not only the lack of chemistry between the two leads, but also the fact that we are launched into the action far too quickly. One imagines the writer/director desperate to start the story and not being bothered to establish the relationship between Sam and Linda, before BOOM! She leaves him and Sam is in New York, all within a few minutes and seconds. The credits had barely finished!!

I found the character of Maggie difficult to get a grip on. Independent and wilful, one finds it hard to imagine what she sees in the dappy, love-sick puppy, Sam. They are in such completely different leagues. Sam quips that they got together via "Common interests", but this is not enough somehow, since the characters really do not have anything in common, despite trying to separate their ex-lovers.

**SPOILER WARNING**: In another scene, Sam and Maggie sleep together whilst fantasising that she is Linda and he is Anton. Yet Maggie's justification for sleeping with Sam is not made clear - she hates Anton and frequently says so. If she slept with Sam because she was falling for him this should have been made clearer, since he sleeps with her whilst pretending she is Linda whom he still loves. Although good, perhaps this scene could have been cut as it is confusing and largely irrelevant.

The rest of the film was OK, the pranks were cruel but effective. More focus should have been made on the relationship between the two leads.