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Love Stinks (1999)

Rate: 8
Viewed: 10/06, 11/19

LoveStinks
10/06: What an excellent film Love Stinks is.

Sharing similar themes as The War of the Roses, it avoids the label of "clichéd" by letting the ending be a total opposite of what I was expecting which is right on the money given everything that happened.

I didn't realize at first the director was Jeff Franklin. After looking up the internet, it turns out it's his first and only directorial effort after writing the screenplays for Just One of the Guys and Summer School.

French Stewart is fabulous, and he's a funny guy. However, the rest of the cast is okay. Several key elements that led to Love Stinks becoming a terrific picture are as follows: the wonderful chemistry, the ingenious story which has lots of ups and downs of a relationship, and the ending. I thought I would be disappointed by getting the common Hollywood treatment but was pleasantly surprised.

All in all, Love Stinks is a charmer.

11/19: My rating for Love Stinks remains unchanged.

It's still an excellent, well-written picture from the one-time director Jeff Franklin who wrote the screenplays for Just One of the Guys and Summer School and created two TV sitcoms: Full House and Hangin' with Mr. Cooper.

As he was in 3rd Rock from the Sun, French Stewart is funny as ever. Married to Pete Sampras, Bridgette Wilson isn't bad as the biggest bitch and plays well with her co-star, but she wears too much makeup constantly, even to bed. On the other hand, I hate Tyra Banks, who's more interested in looking good than anything else, and don't care much for her character. She and Bill Bellamy make things worse by their exagerrated acting, often trying to preclude Love Stinks from being an all-around solid movie.

An anti-Valentine picture, it speaks to why many are against the idea of marriage which is thought of as a major financial trap when things go wrong. Divorce rate in the United States remains the highest as compared to other countries. The other reason is the unwillingness to surrender freedom and independence in exchange of being stuck in an institution. Hence, they're putting off marriage to later by wanting to spend more time on themselves while contemplating their future.

All in all, Love Stinks doesn't get respect it deserves.