What Love Is

Great actors in a script with far too much talk.

This was probably written to be a stage play, that's the entire feel of it.

Way too much chatter, non=stop.

All good actors but of course, Cuba and Gina shine.

Also way too much swearing and sex talk...far more than needed.

Gina and Cuba are just amazing.

I have been curious about WHAT LOVE IS since 2019 because it stars some fine actors I follow and I love to give every movie a chance, including this that has 5,1. But when I saw it last January I could see why it has such a score.

Tom (Cuba Gooding jr) returns home the night before Valentine's Day only to find a letter outside the door and seeing his long term girlfriend leaving him. Soon Tom decides to invite his best friends Sal (Matthew Lillard), George (Sean Astin) and Ken (Mars Callahan, also the film's director) and spend most of the first half talking about women and their experiences. In the second part some women come and after a strip show they'll make our guys think like real men, and Tom will finally learn what love it (nice reference to the title).

At the beginning I was liking it but as it progressed it became so loud that I was even torn for the score to give when it was over. I especially disliked Lillard's character because he not only was loud, but said the crassest of things and the most absurd things (I can't even report them here because they'll violate IMDB standards). And towards the end it seemed confusing that Gooding' character had to learn what love is only after he is left by another woman with which he was trying during the evening.

Overall, a confusing mix of drama and comedy that certainly needed a re-write. Recommended only to fans of the stars of for folks with very low standards.

I don't believe that What Love Is was a play before it was shot as a movie, yet I found it reminiscent of some stage play-turned-films I've seen. The main reasons are that it takes place primarily in one room, the dialog is very fast-paced, and emotions are high from the first moment and rarely drops.

In this sense, it's not terribly original. What's more is that the small plot line is pretty predictable. However, where this movie shines is in it's advice and the characters' heartfelt monologues. Perhaps it my male bias, but the men's part far outshone and impressed me than the women's scene. Each of the characters reminded me of one of my friends and although it's unlikely these friends would say the things they did, it's something that they would actually believe. For example, Matthew Lilliard's homophobic rant is probably not something he'd say aloud, but you know he would think it. And the other characters react pretty well, continuing the dialog until they each have their turn to chime in with their thoughts on love, sex and women.

The second and third acts aren't as good as the first, but there were a few gems that really got me, especially the gay man's sex advice (it's 99.9% correct) and Judy Tylor's (the dumb girl) thoughts on what love really is.

So the characters were interesting, the dialog was funny, but mostly it was the gems of wisdom of the characters that really made me think, made me laugh and made me cheer.

I have a sneaking suspicion that writer/director/actor Mars Callahan originally conceived this movie as a stage play - almost the entire movie takes place in one place, for one thing. But the stagy feeling of the enterprise is just a minor quibble compared to the real problems this movie suffers from. The previous user commenter used the word that I would best describe this movie - "exhausting". Everyone talks very quickly, and the editing is so rapid-paced that it makes a Russ Meyer movie look absolutely restrained. It's not just the speed of the words that hurt the movie, however - everyone in the movie comes across as unbelievably crude and obnoxious. No one is sympathetic or even interesting. The only scene in the movie that works is the last one, which is calmly acted and directed enough that it's interesting. Apart from that last scene, the only other praise I can give the movie is that despite its low budget, it is professionally lit and photographed.

I feel compelled to warn users "Dont listen to critics" I am an average person male and I watch a lot of movies. I am not a professional and often times think they lose the point of enjoying a film due to the fact they are always looking for whats wrong with it. I had the opportunity to view this film and thought it was a fresh take on the situations that arise from the dilemmas of love. I thought the dialogue was very honest and sincere. At times a bit over the top but none the less accurate. I have been in all these situations personally and know that a lot of men have too. These days the illusion of love is portrayed in the movies as being fairytale like and in reality it is far from it. The perspective given is of friends with different personalities all looking for love. The characters do a fine job of spanning all lifestyles and situations. The conversations are truthful and honest. I highly recommend this movie if you are trying to understand male thinking in relationships. So give it a try and see what it does for you before you accept the word of a critic