ADDICTED TO LOVE 1997
A film review by Timothy Voon
Copyright 1997 Timothy Voon
3 Big :-) :-) :-) for Meg
Cast: Meg Ryan, Matthew Broderick, Kelly Preston, Tcheky Karyo, Maureen Stapleton, Nesbitt Blaisdell Director: Griffen Dunne Producers: Jeffrey Silver, Bobby Newmyer Screenplay: Robert Gordon
The naive, 'milky way', 'farm boy' Astronomer (Broderick). Watches the night skies with his 'guiding light', the telescope. Whose passion for star gazing is only matched by his love for his childhood sweet heart, The School Teacher. He is unceremoniously dumped in favour of The French Chef.
The flighty School Teacher (Preston). As fresh as the spring day itself, isn't honest about her mediocre feelings of like for the astronomer, and falls for The French Chef as easily as one can say 'Bona Petite'. She has a sappy, annoying tendency to write 'Dear John' letters which is an unpardonable offence in the 'TMT Voon Books of Courting Etiquette'.
The arrogant, virile French Chef (Karyo) who is not so virile in France, erects with surmounting fertile confidence in New York, and shamefully uses The Photographer to get his Visa. His one saving grace is that he truly is in love with The School Teacher.
The hurt, foul mouthed, bike riding, Photographer (Ryan) is out for revenge. She'll do anything to bring the hard erections of the French Chef down on his cocky head - rashes, cockroaches, monkeys with lipstick, broken arms and ribs are all part of the days work. 'Hell hath no fury like a woman's' and this is one angry bitch.
The camera obscura. Ahhhh, I need to get one of these so that I can watch my neighbour plant her gardenias in her nighty. The reflections will come out perfectly on my white wardrobe wall.
So my astrological charts say that because the 'Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus', the testosterone loaded French Chef deserves the flighty School Teacher - may their relationship be as passionate and fleeting as these gods of love and war. Astronomically, the moon circles the earth and the earth circles the sun. So opposites attract when the Sun, 'The Astronomer', and the Moon, 'The Photographer' find some common ground, the Earth 'revenge'. I also predict a supernova in the year 2500AD.
Intelligent, witty and original. Much appreciated for the effort Griffen Dunne and Robert Gorden. Not big box office material, but this film will probably age well with the passing of time as will most Meg Ryan movies. The eternal youth Matthew Broderick continues to amaze me at how little he has aged since 'Ferris Bueller's'. Kelly Preston is charmingly sweet, and Karyo Tcheky carries that something 'French' which brings women to their knees. Meg, charming, beautiful, funny Meg - will have a special place in my heart, whether she's geared in dark leathers with heavily smeared metallic makeup, or a crazed woman stomping in knee deep mud in 'Restoration' or the slightly, ditzy girl looking for love in 'Sleepless'. She is Meg Ryan and one can't help loving her for who she is.
The bottom line is that we can't choose whom we fall in love with. So in the end past wrongs must be settled and confessions made, before this fiasco of revenge is resolved. Perhaps the means of coming to terms with being dumped is not the most appropriate, or the most mature - but it was sure fun to watch.
Timothy Voon e-mail: stirling@netlink.com.au
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