Love Hurts

By the beginning of the 1990's Jeff Daniels was mostly known as a leading man in indie comedies like Jonathan Demme's "Something Wild", or he had supporting roles in mainstream dramas like the Oscar- winning "Terms of Endearment." His only real mainstream leading performance came in 1990's Arachnophobia, in which his performance there didn't get the recognition it deserved, as more attention went to John Goodman's role as well as the story and special effects. He was still a few years shy of his roles in Speed and Dumb and Dumber, both released in 1994, that would turn him into a household-name character actor. In between all of those films was this little, hidden, 1990 flick, which got no real critical reviews or audience recognition upon release and mostly remains unknown by the public today. Having enjoyed Daniels other aforementioned roles, I was curious to see if this was a hidden gem, or a piece of trash that should remain in obscurity. Well it's not quite a gem, the story is pretty familiar, and it certainly isn't worth the obscurity status it has received since its release. There are some very good performances here from Daniels and John Mahoney from Fraiser and Cloris Leachman from The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

You have seen this story before in many other movies and sitcoms. Daniels plays a playboy-ish New York City insurance salesman who finalizes his divorce with his ex-wife played by Cynthia Sikes. He bought a country house in Pennsylvania for he and his wife and children to live in, but the wife claimed it after the divorce. The ex-wife and children are evacuated from their home as repairs have to be done for six weeks, so they all move in with Daniels' parents played by Mahoney and Leachman. Amidst all of this Daniels sister is getting married, and knowing his ex-wife will be in attendance at the wedding, he initially declines his wedding invitation until his boss convinces him to do otherwise. So Daniels' goes to spend the weekend with his profane, alcoholic father, a mechanic, and his sweet-natured housewife mother. Along the way he attempts to seduce a young, attractive woman whom he almost hits with his car, who is married to an abrasive painter until he finds out that this woman is a bridesmaid in his sister's wedding. Will he choose her, will he attempt to seduce his ex and win her back? What becomes of the rest of his family? The rest of the movie focuses all on those details.

Daniels manages to squeeze in a few laughs from his dialogue and delivery, but where his performance really scores high is in his more poignant moments. He brings a lot of be-livability into his role and we sympathize with him, while also realizing he is a man with a lot of weight on his shoulder because of his past mistakes and wants a second chance to make things right. Mahoney gets the biggest laughs in the movie. His role here is far different from Martin Crane. He is the dad who is like-ably goofy, yet an embarrassment to his family at the same time. Leachman is sadly given very little to do and her role could have really been expanded.

Burt Bacharach's score also gives the movie merit and the score is very pleasant and captures the plot very well. The director is Bud Yorkin who redeems himself here after directing the ill-fated Arthur 2: On the Rocks a few years earlier. The film also has nice locations. It has a bit of a Frank Capra like quality from It's a Wonderful Life in capturing the small-town life.

This is not an outstanding movie by any means. It's not an underrated gem that many will claim as a forgotten masterpiece all these years later, but it is a heartfelt, sincere comedy-drama in spite of its routine story and it has good performances, music, direction and writing for it to be worth a look for sure.

On a side note: I was disappointed to see that the song "Love Hurts" by Nazareth didn't get played at all during the film. I kept expecting it but it didn't turn up. They should have included it at some point during the film.

This is quite the period piece - Jeff Daniels plays the "hero" role and he is an incredible a**hole - he jumps every woman he crosses paths with, mostly married - altho he has two kids he has neglected per a divorce in process - and it's all OK because the editor had overlaid (no pun intended) all his dalliances with cute-sey 1980's style romantic music.

And Daniels exacerbates the effect by, for some reason, choosing to "act" the part by constantly erupting into screaming fits at the top of his voice like a spoiled 13 year old in every situation in which the character is slotted to express frustration at his existential dilemmas.

John Mahoney plays the Jeff Daniel's character's lout of drunken father - but he's oh so witty, so that that's OK too. And he does a lot of excessive cursing - Mahoney's facile analog to Daniels' screaming fits - and is the best arm-wrestler at the local prototypically small town, oh so friendly & wholesome, local drunks' bar/poolhall and has a vintage Cadillac in his garage - oh wow, emotionally abusive to wife (played by Cloris Leachman who gives the only noteworthy performance in this debacle), but has vintage car, it's all OK then.

Worst part is there is then a "mentoring" scene at the local bar where father and grandfather drunkenly encourage teenage grandson to follow in their paths. It's quite sickening to think the writers and director thought this was the comical scene.

Of course the other supporting cast married guys who are faithful to their marriages are chumps or orgres.

Really don't know what the value schema of this thing is - but it's dated and pretty repulsive by any normal measure.

Oh well.

It's beyond fiction when he calls the married woman "beautiful" . Makes zero sense takes you right out of what might have been a passable movie.

Jeff Daniel's stars in 'Love Hurts' as a man who engages in empty womanizing after experiencing the pain of divorce and losing his kids. His ex and kids have moved to a farmhouse in Pennsylvania near his parents and, in the meanwhile, Daniels tries to heal his hurt with work, cigarettes, liquor and sex.

Then he's asked to attend his sister's wedding in his Pennsylvania hometown (his ex and kids will be there) and we can clearly see some life lessons on the horizon. Weddings are often ripe for human behavior ('Lovers and Other Strangers,' Altman's 'A Wedding' are two good examples) and here is not different. The screenwriter has a good ear for brisk diaolgue that sounds like real people are speaking it. Bud Yorkin directs with a sure hand and makes all the scenes interesting.

But it is the acting by the principles that raises the film up. Jeff Daniels has often given excellent performance that fly under the radar ('Purple Rose of Cauro,' 'Marie,' 'Something Wild'), but here he does something very special : he humanized an average shlub who is fallible and even sometimes a jerk. John Mahoney and Cloris Leachman seemingly effortlessly invest their roles as his parents with humanity and compassion. And Amy Wright (who we never got enough of) brightens the film as the awkward and unsure sister.

It's a quiet film, made of little moments. No CGI here. Just humans grappling with life in a sometimes humorous and altogether honest way. Burt Bacharach lends a nice if somewhat repetitive score. An underrated gem of a film and a certain must for Jeff Daniels' fans. Don't listen to the naysayers.

Paul (Jeff Daniels) is a womanizer. It ruined his marriage, as his wife divorced him about one year ago. He is repentant, naturally, but just can't seem to stop chasing the females. Going home to Pennsylvania for a wedding, he encounters his ex-wife, his children, his dotty mother, his alcoholic father, and the bride, his jittery sister. While waiting for the wedding to occur, Paul and his family go through one trial after another. Paul even makes passes at one of the bridesmaids. Will he ever learn? This film is so tuned to reality that it is a downer to watch. Daniels gives an outstanding performance as the likable guy with big flaws. Sikes also does a fine job as the ex-wife with a lot of baggage. The ending strives to approach a more upbeat tone. Fans of Daniels will want to see this work. All other viewers should be cautioned that it is not a romantic comedy. It is a dark comedy at best, with the happy romance vibes registering a zero on the love meter.