The Truth About Love

Watching TRUTH ABOUT LOVE (is this a double entendre about the star?) is like plugging in white noise or manufactured water sounds to help you sleep - you put it in the DVD slot because there is nothing else left on the store shelves and you are in need of distraction after a hectic day. And it works for that for that purpose: being a British romantic comedy it is a bit more.

The story is a rather simple one about a wife Alice (Jennifer Love Hewitt) married to an increasingly distant husband Sam (Jimi Mistry) who has put their love life on hold due to the burdens of his busy law practice. His partner Archie (Dougray Scott) is fond of both Sam and Alice, but has a longtime attraction to Alice that goes beyond friendship. Alice pals with her sister Felicity (Kate Miles), a free love advocate, who encourages Alice to have affairs. On Valentine's Day, after a drinking binge with her sister, Alice mails a card to Sam signed 'Anonymous' as a test to see if Sam responds, testing his fidelity. At the same time Archie mails a radish seed packet to Alice on which he has inscribed a suggestive love not. Both have ex post facto regrets. Sam in fact is spending time with a lover Katya (Branka Katic) and is indeed cheating on Alice. Alice arranges assignations with Sam via email and phone calls and plans to meet Sam in disguise as 'Anonymous' to test his fidelity. The entire cast of characters gets caught up in the silly charade and the ending proves that real love must be based on truth - and how that results in the various pairings is the surprise (of sorts) of the fluffy script.

British comedies work because of the quality of writing and the tight quality of acting. Perhaps had director John Hay elected to cast a British actress as Alice instead of pasting a phony accent on Jennifer Love Hewitt the result may have been improved. But in the end this story by Peter Bloore bounces between mildly humorous and pathetic in its messages. One terrible distraction is a musical score that is consistently so loud that it covers all the dialogue and is intrusive. There are some nice scenes of London and a few moments of passable humor, but in the end this little film is truly best utilized as background music/white noise. Grady Harp

Alice (Jennifer Love Hewitt), a quietly beautiful nurse, is married to Sam, a hotshot lawyer. His best friend, Archie (Dougray Scott) is deeply in love with Alice, too, although he settles for friendship. On the eve of Valentine's Day, however, Archie sends Alice an anonymous valentine and some radish seeds. Alice is intrigued but, she starts thinking. How would Sam react if he received a valentine from an unknown source? Would he tell her about it, as she did with him? On her sister's urging, Alice does send Sam a romantic greeting card. In her presence, she watches as Sam reads the card and promptly stuffs it in his briefcase, with no acknowledgement. Huh. Alice goes further and buys a new cellphone. She promptly calls Sam and leaves a message that she, a mystery lady, is interested in him. Will Sam call back? And, is Alice treading into deep romantic waters? This is an intriguing movie, no doubt about it. The principal actors are very good, with Hewitt giving a very interesting character study as the supposedly sedate Alice. The production values, costumes, and setting are more than acceptable. But, it is the jarring inquiring into fidelity and how far one should go to determine the faithfulness of your partner that is most striking here. There are some very adult themes and scenes in this film and any viewer with serious scruples will not want to take a chance on it. That said, this is ultimately a love story and fans of this genre are always hungry for a new addition to the repertoire. For these folks, try this one as an evening's entertainment and wait for the more typical romcoms that are sure to be churned out every year for a less controversial view.

I saw this movie because I am a huge fan of Dougray Scott and he certainly doesn't disappoint in this movie. And you could go a long way to find a sexier voice and accent than Dougray Scott's...he makes check shirts look sexy! I watched it on my computer while my 11 year old watched the TV...he wanted to know what I was laughing about, so I feel there was sufficient comedy to rate the romantic-comedy category. Perhaps I'm not as jaded as some, or just in the mood to be easily pleased, but even after watching it three days running there were still bits that made me laugh. The sub-plot of the soccer star's court case allowed for an excellent backdrop for Sam's 'my head is somewhere else' problems, it gave us insight into the friendship between Sam and Archie and showed us how Sam really only thought about himself...he did not even acknowledge that Archie had won the case for him, he just took all the credit. This movie will not go down as one of the all-time great movies but it will get plenty of playing time in my home...so that makes it a great film in my book.

I admit that I had a teeny weeny part in this film made in 2004 but I didn't get to see it until early August 2006 on DVD. Even though I am in it I must say that I think some of the bad reviews are mean spirited and downright unfair. Above all there are some very moving scenes from Jennifer Love Hewitt (who when I met her in Bristol came across as having an unbelievably lovely personality being a wonderful ambassador for Americans). The scene where she cuts up the hubby's suits shows some heartbreaking facial expressions which any female who has been cheated on will empathise with. The actress playing the artist/mistress gave a cracking performance too - great accent and venom portrayed. I am not surprised it was such a big hit in South Korea. I watched it having read bad reviews and feeling disappointed that it hadn't gone big screen - but when I saw it I was pleasantly surprised. I do so hope directors will use Jennifer Love Hewitt's talents in more films. It also reflects contemporary Bristol so well - great shots of the Suspension Bridge & interiors of our modern buildings. It reflects the nuances of "love" in the early 21st century and future generations will enjoy it for that reason rather in the way we smile when we look back at representations of Victorian "courtship" and love.

Yet another British romantic comedy which audiences all over the world seem to have a ravenous appetite for. This feeble effort is an unintentional parody of the genre - all the classic clichéd scenes are here from ridiculously elaborate misunderstandings to running after departing trains to declare one's love. The characters are one-dimensional caricatures save for Love-Hewitt who manages to bring some cohesion to the film. Things threaten to spiral out of control in the plausibility department as the film progresses; our good-natured suspension of belief finally comes crashing down during the preposterous ending. If you're looking for a Bridget Jones, Notting Hill kind of experience you won't find it here.