Just Add Love

My friend Carol and I saw this film at the New York Film Festival and laughed our butts off. If you have ever done the personals you will really get a good laugh. Wendie Malick is great and I couldn't believe they got her in this film. Richard Eden was not only very charismatic but very funny. Who is this guy? Why isn't he a bigger star? Ok, this is definitely a chick flick but I'm sure guys would like it too. It definitely has some good insight into dating. If you ever see it on the shelf at your local video store, check it out and you will have a good laugh. Plus it will prove to you why to stay away from the personals!

While it doesn't tackle any big issues or shake the foundations of the earth, "Just Add Love" succeeds in doing what it sets out to do...present a light and fluffy romantic and comedic storyline. It begins with a simple enough premise: it's really hard to find love in the chaotic modern world. The storyline is set in motion with an "American Pie" style bet, although that's where the similarity to that movie ends. Rather than a pact to have sex, the wager is to find love. There's no raunchy gross-out humor, but there's plenty of slapstick and sitcom-ish situations, which is appropriate since it stars a pre-"Just Shoot Me" Wendie Malick. The movie should be looked at as a caricature of modern dating, and not taken too seriously. In fact, that is the only area where I would say this movie falls short of its established goal of presenting a fun and harmless story...at times, it goes into "serious" mode and presents a subplot involving a father trying to find his lost son. It seems a bit out of place in an otherwise funny film. But soon enough, it's back on track with the comedy, and we're off and running again. But script issues aside, it's well-directed, which is remarkable, considering that it's the director's first feature. I've become accustomed to low-budget first features with bad editing and shaky performances, but all those issues are skillfully handled here. You're allowed to watch the movie without the distraction of a sudden bad cut that takes you out of the film. Overall, this movie is worth it if you're looking for a quick and easy laugh.

After watching this delightful film several times recently on a VHS dub and at the recent New York Independent Film and Video Festival in New York City in February, (and from what I understand, it was an Audience Favorite at the Temecula Film Festival in San Diego) I can't recommend 'Just Add Love' as an irresistibly funny and heartwarming comedy more. I really can't believe that that Pinkflyd777 saw the same film I did, his negative response is probably the result of seeing a rough cut in his college class and not the finished version. I felt that many of the scenes were brilliant in the writing, directing, acting, production design, cinematography, and especially editing. The editing of this film was especially great, and on par with features costing tens of millions of dollars more; many of the jokes and bits of comedy business were hilarious due to the very tight editing. The film also succeeded due to a really well written screenplay by Tony Serdarusich, Gregg Alfvegren and Dave Cole. Their insight into the comedy premise was compelling as well as riveting and brought the premise that much more alive. The production was enhanced by the brilliant performances of the stars such as Wendie Malick ('Just Shoot Me'), Richard Eden (TV's 'Robocop' and 'Santa Barbara') rising star, Jack Maxwell, Rolanda Mendels and Kirk Duncan. What also made 'Just Add Love' hysterical were the comic twists and turns resulting from the absurd dating rituals of the two male leads, seeking to find their soulmates through personal ads. This movie illuminates the theme of "looking for love in the all the wrong places, when you're too blind to see it standing in front of you," in a bewitchingly original, winning and delightful way, that any person who ever fell flat on his face pursuing a date with the opposite sex will clearly relate to and find authentic. It's true that 'Just Add Love' is not yet commercially available on VHS video, that in itself is a tragedy for any lover of low budget comedy gems. This is one movie that just gets better with repeated viewings.

This movie is absolutely terrible. I had the unfortunate experience of seeing this film in a film analysis class (the director and writer were friends of the teacher). The writing was terrible, the direction looked like it was inspired by bad television sitcoms, and the acting leaved a lot to be desired. It's just one bad cliche after another. Hopefully "Just Add Love" will never see the light of day on movie or television screens.