... And that's NOT meant to be a good thing.
LLV is close to 30 years old now, and it spawned (or popularized) the whole depressive, bleak, love story genre. Unfortunately, for many of us (me included), we don't want to waste 2+ hours of our lives watching a slog fest of one bad event, one poor choice, one chance encounter after another. The world has changed. A lot of folks are stuck in situations similar to this. We don't need movies to show us. We could watch the news. We watch movies to escape reality, not be subjected to a fictionalized version of day-to-day news reals.
This genre is (or should be) dead. You'll feel no better, informed, entertained, etc. After sitting through it.
Other gripes: The typical "leg-up" events that occur during the story that are needed to keep you watching. They make no sense and are out of place. This culminates in a "happy ending" which is so obviously Scotch-taped, tacked-on at the end, that you feel you got from Point A to Point Z without ever travelling through B thru Y.
Additionally, the lead love interest is so un-fleshed out, you have a hard time believing she goes from self-destructive druggie to reliable upstart, friend, and lover. Just another example of the jarring transitions in character, setting, situation, all of which aren't developed...they just...happen, and make this hard to watch with any interest.
To the folks that profess this is a "character development study". What character development are you speaking of? The random changes in mood, motivation, and behaviors? That ISN'T character development. That's lazy writing.
LLV is close to 30 years old now, and it spawned (or popularized) the whole depressive, bleak, love story genre. Unfortunately, for many of us (me included), we don't want to waste 2+ hours of our lives watching a slog fest of one bad event, one poor choice, one chance encounter after another. The world has changed. A lot of folks are stuck in situations similar to this. We don't need movies to show us. We could watch the news. We watch movies to escape reality, not be subjected to a fictionalized version of day-to-day news reals.
This genre is (or should be) dead. You'll feel no better, informed, entertained, etc. After sitting through it.
Other gripes: The typical "leg-up" events that occur during the story that are needed to keep you watching. They make no sense and are out of place. This culminates in a "happy ending" which is so obviously Scotch-taped, tacked-on at the end, that you feel you got from Point A to Point Z without ever travelling through B thru Y.
Additionally, the lead love interest is so un-fleshed out, you have a hard time believing she goes from self-destructive druggie to reliable upstart, friend, and lover. Just another example of the jarring transitions in character, setting, situation, all of which aren't developed...they just...happen, and make this hard to watch with any interest.
To the folks that profess this is a "character development study". What character development are you speaking of? The random changes in mood, motivation, and behaviors? That ISN'T character development. That's lazy writing.