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

A good romantic comedy has two main components: A decent amount of humor and main characters that we care about, and want to see together. This second component is really where Addicted To Love fails. I hated both main characters - so much so that I didn't care one single bit if they got together or not. In fact, I felt like they really needed to be "punished" for their deeds, not rewarded with a happy ending.

Sam (Matthew Broderick) is in love with Linda (Kelly Preston). They live in a small town and seem happy. Until Linda accepts a teaching position in New York. She leaves for a two month assignment, but ends up staying there, breaking up with Sam in a letter.

So Sam decides to chase after her. He arrives in New York to find that Linda is living with Anton (Tcheky Karyo), a French restaurant owner. Linda seems to be happy in her new life, but Sam is convinced that she'll eventually come to her senses, and he's going to be there to pounce on her when she does.

So he makes himself at home in the abandoned building opposite hers. He sets up complicated cameras so he can spy on her, watching her every move. In fact, he projects the images onto a wall so he can feel as if he's in a movie theater, watching her at all times.

Then we meet Maggie (Meg Ryan). She's Anton's ex. And she's mad. Because it seems he was just using her, and the minute he was done with her, he dumped her. She wants to get back at him. Thus she moves right in with Sam, and together they add an audio component to their bizarre video set up. Now they can see and hear everything that goes on between Linda and Anton. And then, they decide not to just sit and wait; instead they'll intervene to break up the happy couple.

I'm sure you can see where this is going - Maggie and Sam work together making Linda and Anton miserable. Along the way, they fall for each other. We, the viewers, are supposed to root for them.

But I couldn't. I hated both of them. Sam is supposed to be in love with Linda, but he doesn't respect her enough to approach her and talk to her like a normal adult. His idea to spy on her is so disgusting to me, that I can't have any sympathy for him at all.

As for Maggie, she's even worse than Sam. It's her idea to step the plans up a notch and actively sabotage Linda and Anton's relationship, rather than just watching to see what would happen. Granted, Sam eventually goes along and becomes an equal partner, but it was her idea in the beginning. They find ways to drop clues in Linda's lap so she believes Anton's cheating on her. Then they go even farther, in the end, ruining Anton's business, and causing him physical pain. He may have been a louse for dumping Maggie, but he didn't deserve this "payback".

And Linda certainly didn't deserve to believe her boyfriend was cheating on her. Nor did she deserve the complete invasion of her privacy. The only thing she did wrong, perhaps, was breaking up with Sam in a letter rather than talking to him directly. But so what - lots of people do that. It hardly justifies what he's done to her since.

So, hating both Sam and Maggie, I certainly couldn't wish for good things for them. In fact, I thought they should be arrested for their deeds, not rewarded. And as for Linda and Anton, they're much better off without Sam and Maggie in their lives.

Ok, but was this movie at least funny? Well, parts of it were. Most of the fun was watching Anton - he was really funny. I had to laugh when he ended up in an upper body cast, and had an itch. He delivers some great slapstick comedy in this scene.

So, yes, there was humor. But not enough to save this mess of a story. I just don't find spying, stalking, and ruining careers to be an appealing basis for a love story. I did not like this movie, and I don't recommend it.

Recommended: No

Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age