Coup du sort

I had trouble watching this movie the first time, somewhat irritated by either Kelly Preston's bad acting, or just the idiocy of character. But, I was determined to get through it on a second viewing and was glad that I did.

The story is a good tale of suspense: Eric Roberts is Jack Hart, a crime scene photographer who is having some weird experiences with deja vu (which were not well explained even by the conclusion of the film). Amused by a photograph of Jean Starr (Preston) he finds at the station, he decides to hire her for his entries into the department photo contest, "A Woman's Place Is..." As it turns out, the photos he has taken of her are pictures that have already been taken, though he can't explain why he can foresee these things (although no one seems to be that interested in it, anyways). Of course, weak-hearted Jack gets himself into plenty of trouble by becoming intimately involved with Jean, who is a bit demented and, not to mention married. What becomes the makings of a good tale of psychological suspense, however, eventually just evolves into one of jealous fiancées and weirdo mistresses with Jack at the heart of it all.

The opening and closing sequences, of which the story is the flashback setting for, are great sequences that deserved to be the bookends of a much more interesting thriller, one that entail. Unfortunately, the story wanes as Jack becomes ever more involved with the deranged model and ever more in trouble with his present girlfriend (played by Eliza Garrett, Eric Roberts' real-life wife). Aside from the boredom, relieved by a lot of fast-forwarding, I was anticipating at least a number of good chase sequences, and some more eerie than what actually transpired (for a while, it appears to be nothing more than a scene out of Fatal Attraction). But, they do try to keep that element gained in the opening and closing sequences, but only intermittently throughout the film (like when Jack is watching television and the night's events resemble a soap opera he watches the following day). A tighter story and greater consistency would have helped this movie tremendously.

Fans of an obscure thriller, or simply Eric Roberts fans, should at least give this one a try. You might find something more to appreciate than I did.

There is a strange dreamlike quality to this film, which makes it hard for me to rate after one viewing.

Eric Roberts as "Jack Hart" and Kelly Preston as "Jean Starr," had the lead roles. It wasn't a bad movie. My main complaint was the overuse of the Lord's name in vain" with the crew cut detective and Roberts' girlfriend "Isabel" as the main offenders. Lee Ermey, who played the famous profanity-spewing drill sergeant from "Full Metal Jacket" was the garbage-mouth detective in here ("Frank Deacon") while Isabel was played by Roberts' real-life wife, Eliza.

If that had been reduced, I would have kept this video, because it featured good suspense and was unpredictably strange. Thus, multiple viewing of this would be fine. Could it have been better? Certainly. I am a big fan of cinematography and there was nothing special about the way this was shot. I'm still not convinced I've seen too many good films with either Roberts or Preston starring in them. There is a reason both of them never became big stars.

However, the atmosphere was good in this film; Preston and her exposed boobs certainly were eye-candy, and even Roberts' dumb character, "Jack" was kind of fascinating to watch at times. If this movie came out on DVD, I would give it another look. By then, I'd probably know if it was really good, or just garbage. It's hard to tell on just one viewing, because it's so different.

I thought Eric Roberts was great . It's a wonder the guy never landed a really good roll , and a shame .

Kelly Preston is just so dam hot In this movie , John Travolta was a pretty lucky guy . To me it's one of those surprise movies , a sleeper That no one saw . I'd love to have it on dvd , but it's nonexistent . European disks don't play on u s players . Again , Kelly Preston was so dam hot in this movie !

I am always interested in seeing interesting actors like Eric Roberts, and will seek out his most obscure films. "Love is a Gun" certainly is obscure, and there is good reason why, it is beyond bad. The entire film can only be described as unwatchable, because of nightmare sequences, flashback sequences, and a totally contrived ending. You have seen Eric Roberts play the same crazed character in far better movies, where at least some things made sense. Nothing makes sense in "Love is a Gun", and R. Lee Ermey seems embarrassed to be involved. Believe me, watching Eric Roberts lose touch with reality is not entertainment. Even a very brief Kelly Preston nude scene is actually a body double. This is definitely not worth 92 minutes of your life. - MERK

I like Eric Roberts, even though he plays a moron forensic photographer in this movie. But maybe this is what the scrip called for. The dream sequences and imagery gave one the feeling that this was something David Lynch would write as a teenager but maybe I'm studying too much into it. Truthfully, I rather liked the movie. I found myself laughing right along with `Jack' as he watched his own scenario from the night before; unfold on a TV soap opera, verbatim.at a house of a murder site with the body lying before him. I also wondered where the dream ended and the nightmare began or vise-a-versa and how conveniently reality could be woven into the two. I personally would recommend the movie as I would any Eric Roberts movie. (Even `The Shadow People and `The Immortals.') Ironically when the movie was over, I sat back and exclaimed.what a ****** up movie!'