Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

What Love Is: A very different type of movie.  One that will appeal to some for the very same reason it will turn off many.  It's a talk-movie.  That's right - a movie with people talking.  Talking so fast, it can make your head hurt at times.  Talking about - you guessed it - Love.  What it is, what it isn't, what it should be, what it sometimes fails to be, etc, etc.  And of course, sex.  This kind of sex, that kind of sex, and every other kind in between.

The movie has three distinct acts. 

The first act consists of "The Men" talking about relationships and sex. 

It starts out with Tom (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) who comes home to discover a "Dear John" letter and his girlfriend's suitcases just waiting to be moved out.  Caught completely by surprise, Tom has absolutely no idea why Sara's leaving him.  Everything was fine in their relationship, as far as he knew.  Perhaps his male friends can help give him some perspective.  Yeah, right.  They consist of a homophobic loudmouth (Matthew Lillard) who just dumped his girlfriend that morning, Ken - a married guy (Mars Callahan) who "escapes" from his wife while she's sound asleep, an all-around nice guy who tends to sleep alone, and the one person really happy person, the gay guy (Andrew Daly) who's about to marry his significant other.

They talk, and talk, and talk.  With language that will turn your ears blue.  I'm talking extremely course language here, with over-the-top use of the F word, and a dissertation about sex acts that you probably don't want Grandma to hear.

The second act consists of "The Women" talking about relationships and sex. 

The women arrive at Tom's house, led to believe there's a party going on over there.  They immediately head for the bathroom for a bit of hair-brushing, makeup-applying, and talk.  What do you suppose the women discuss?  Well, the same stuff the men were talking about, except this time you're hearing it from their perspective.  Most of the talking is done by Rachel (Gina Gershon) who would rather be dumped than deal with the guilt of dumping of someone.  She's advising Laura (Anne Heche) who seems rather clueless about relationships and has a definite opinion about sexual adventure.  There's the young, naïve girl, and Karen, the bold girl who keeps a list of "serves" (as in "reserves" - men you can call whenever you want a completely meaningless romp).

The third act consists of "The Men and The Women" talking about relationships and sex. 

Finally the girls come out of the bathroom and start talking to the guys.  Here's where the movie finally slows down a bit, takes a deep breath and contains a bit of real substance.  Because the women and the men actually talk to each other, and learn from each other.  Most notably, nice girl Debbie tries to help Tom with his problems and advises him on what to say to Sara to try to win her back.  Karen has a heart-to-heart with Ken about marriage, and allows us to see a softer side of Ken than we saw previously.  And then there's Laura who talks to the gay guy about - well - let's just say "a certain activity" that she figures the gay guy would have some expertise about. 

The movie at times made me cringe.  After all, the talk was raunchy and at times offensive.  Between the colorful language, and the detailed sex talk, not to mention the homophobe's viewpoints regarding his gay friend, there were times I really wanted to turn it off.

On the other hand, I also laughed right out loud at times.  Cuba Gooding, Jr. had most of the funny scenes. Remember, he's dying inside knowing his girlfriend is leaving him, but he's surrounded by a bunch of crazy people who won't stop talking for a moment, or get out of his house so he can have five minutes to think.  Adding to the humor, they used some camera tricks with him.  Like speeding him up, and exaggerating his facial expressions. 

Another humorous scene takes place as the women enter Tom's house, and the men's vivid imaginations are shown for our amusement.

So, did I like this movie?

Well, I liked parts of it, and hated other parts.  I think Matthew Lillard was so over-the-top annoying that he really brought the movie down.  He's way too loud, speaks way too quickly, and at times runs roughshod over anyone else who tries to get a word in edgewise.  Add to the fact that he's a complete homophobic jerk, and this guy is not at all likeable.  As he really dominates the first act of the movie, he's likely to cause many viewers to walk out.

But I stuck with the movie, and was rewarded with a more amusing second act, and a genuinely enjoyable third act.   So, overall, I somewhat liked this movie.  I think it will appeal to a very small audience.  You have to enjoy a movie that feels like play, a movie that is 99% dialogue.  And, of course, you have to be willing to listen to a lot of discussion about sex, not to mention some pretty extreme language.  So, for most audiences, this is a non-recommendation.  But, if you can take all of the above, you might enjoy this unique movie.

Recommended: No