Oliver's Story

Oliver Barrett, a young widower-lawyer in New York City, is morose at singles bars, a dud on fix-up dates and misty-eyed on the analyst's couch; while visiting an old haunt, he meets a beautiful woman jogging who sasses him and challenges him to a game of tennis ("Bring your ass," she tells him, "so I can whip it!"--to which Oliver replies, "Well, I guess you'll bring the balls!"). Erich Segal co-adapted his novel, a sequel to 1970's hugely popular "Love Story", but quickly found that his audience had moved on. Ryan O'Neal returns as Oliver, and Ray Milland is back as Barrett's stern father, but what's the point beyond the hazards of trying to replace a deceased love with a replica? One can sense right away that Segal is trying to resurrect the past, not just follow it up; he has the audacity to begin the film with Jenny's funeral (the mourners sniffling, the casket being lowered into the ground, etc.) while Francis Lai's 1970 love theme rises up in the background. We're just passed the opening credits and the picture is already putting the squeeze on us. Jump ahead 18 months and Oliver, waking up to Jenny's picture on the end table, is being told to get on with it (his father-in-law tells him, "If it had been you who died and not Jenny...well, she wasn't the type to enter a nunnery."). It's all very polished and smooth and banal, with Candice Bergen the all-knowing new girlfriend: too smart, too pert, too sensitive. *1/2 from ****

I found Love Story a very touching and endearing film. I have that movie on video and looked forward to renting the sequel, Oliver's Story. A continuation of Oliver's life without his beloved Jenny.

This was an awful movie. Of course, I wasn't expecting it to be as good as the first, especially since Jenny had passed. But I was hoping Oliver could move on and find happiness elsewhere, in love and his professional life. But Ryan O'Neal and Candice Bergen ignite no sparks together and just plain didn't look good together onscreen. The whole film is dark, shallow and depressing. (Warning: The faint of heart should be careful when watching the film's opening scene at Jenny's grave site. Especially if you are up watching it late at night.)

Only Ryan O'Neal and Ray Milland as Oliver's father are back from Love Story, and I was happy to see that both Oliver Barretts had resolved their differences and began to build a genuine father/son relationship. On the other hand, I was EXTREMELY disappointed when it came to Jenny's father Phil. Not only is he played by a different actor, who has a completely different look, Phil's character has changed from a widowed, simple pastry shop owner to a woman hungry bar-hopper who wants Oliver to come to a singles bar with him. (Phil in Love Story would never have done that!)

Chances are, if you loved Love Story, you'll be extremely disappointed in Oliver's Story. The cast tries their best but they cannot overcome the awful script and the flat direction.

America's favorite romantic couple back in the 70s were definitely Ryan O'Neal and Ali McGraw from Love Story. I think Oliver's Story was a film that Paramount had to remake because I think America wanted to know how Oliver Barrett carried on without Jenny Cavelleri.

That's where Oliver's Story begins, he's become the successful lawyer that he strived for. But he's empty, Jenny so completed him that everything and everyone else is measured by her. That is true of Candice Bergen, a successful owner of a textile company who O'Neal tries to get something going with.

Watching the film they'll be several different schools of thought as to whether things might have worked out between O'Neal and Bergen. It is clear that O'Neal just won't reconcile himself that life goes on and as long as he's fogging a mirror he's part of life.

One thing I did like in this film is the reconciliation between O'Neal and his father Ray Milland, the only two who repeated their roles from Love Story. Those scenes in the mill where the Barrett family fortune was made are quite well done, best part of Oliver's Story by far.

It's not Love Story by any means, but Oliver's Story is a decent enough film on its own merits and doesn't deserve the trashing it got.

The (belated) sequel to "Love Story", "Oliver's Story" was rejected by audiences at the box office, and it's all but forgotten today, even with it being released on both VHS and DVD. Watching it, it's pretty easy to figure out why. For one thing, it's hard to sympathize with Oliver; while he has lost his wife, he is rich and with a good job, and he just silently mopes around instead of expressing anguish or sadness. Not surprisingly, O'Neal performance is lacklustre. While Candace Bergman actually give a better performance than most of the other movies she made in the '70s, she lacks spark and spirit. What on earth do these two people see in each other? And the end of the movie is very unsatisfying, leaving the characters' plot threads in the air. The only real good thing about the movie is Ray Milland, though he only makes a few brief appearances.

History is created by the LOVE STORY millions of million people watch and feel the love so why the hell sequel that hurt on heart should be remains by sequel they try to heal the actor... That the audience doesnot like sometime heart breaks are good..