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A slight disappointment from Edward Burns after the fine comedies "The Brothers McMullen" and "She's The One."

There's no faulting the performances, most of which are decent...but the story goes nowhere and neither do the characters here. The movie feels aimless and lacks energy. Burns himself plays a ne'er-do-well and manages to make him almost likable in a scruffy sort of way and Jon BonJovi isn't half bad as a regular Joe. It's just a shame that none of the characters exhibit any real growth or transformation during the picture.

Burns' comedies were somewhat aimless too, but they felt more alive that his stab at drama here. Maybe he should stick to the funny stuff he does best.

Ive seen quite a few Jon Bon Jovi films (except for ROW YOUR BOAT!!) and this one rocks them all!! Hes so believable and the last scene between him and Robin, he was so believable, I just wanted to hold him.

Great stor line. I guess we all go through an identity crisis of what we really want and this film is a pure example that we all have right to dreams (although I dont think we should betray our loved ones like Robin did!!)

Definetly worth a watch!!

4/5

It's always refreshing to see movies that deal with ordinary people and their lives. Burns has made it his "thing" to create normal, fragile characters who live very ordinary lives and, in this film at least, are sad and disappointed over how mundane and uneventful their existence is. Burns taps into this genre quite well but here, unlike his excellent debut The Brothers McMullen, his characters aren't as interesting or well defined.

Lauren Holly plays a waitress who seems to be bored out of her mind, living with blue collar mechanic Bon Jovi. Her old sweetheart (who completely broke her heart) Burns returns and promises her a better life if she will pack up and go with him.

Holly gives an excellent performance in the lead role. She's the best written character as well, and you feel for her and root for her. Other characters aren't as well defined and are fairly one-dimensional and uninteresting, especially Burn's character. The film moves along very slowly and, aside from one scene involving Bon Jovi, avoids any real emotional outbursts. It's very subdued and could have used some form of life injected to it.

Cast is mostly excellent. Holly is terrific, Burns good as usual but most unexpected; Bon Jovi is actually quite effective as Holly's unfortunate boyfriend.

Praise goes also to the excellent music score. There's not one but three Springsteen songs and in my books that indicates some good musical taste.

I watched this movie just recently (had video-recorded it from the TV). Very solid performances of all the actors and I was pleasantly surprised by Jon Bon Jovi. In my view, Edward Burns has given us better performances than this one, although no complaints. Blythe Danner, even though her role is short, is intense and completely into it as always. The setting, a small coastal town, was great and perfectly reflected the mood of the entire movie. As to the soundtrack: superb! But where can I get a hold of it?! The recording I have did not show the credits all the way to the end and I would especially like to know which female singer performs at least two of the songs. Springsteen is, of course, recognizable.

This predictable film will not add anything to Edward Burns' resume. In fact, "No Looking Back", his third directorial effort, has a flat feeling to it, in spite of the people involved with the project. No one decides to go into a losing project, but it appears Mr. Burns was not sufficiently inspired with this tale of a working class situation.

From the beginning, with the arrival of Charlie back home to the small town by the sea, and his encounter with Claudia, the young woman who had stayed behind, we realize where this tale is going. Claudia, who is now involved with Michael, still hasn't been able to forget the man who must have been the love of her life.

The surprise in the film is Jon Bon Jovi in a dramatic role. He plays the kind Michael, who as much as he tries, can't compete against Charlie for the love of Claudia. Mr. Burns, directing himself, should have given the job to another actor because he doesn't appear to be objective in how to play his character. Lauren Holly tries, but her Claudia is, at times, irritating. Blythe Danner also appears as Claudia's mother.

The best thing going for "No Looking Back" is the great soundtrack heard throughout the movie.