FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 1997. All Rights Reserved.
Love is stranger in fiction
Romantic film an eccentric and enjoyable taleShe's So Lovely
Starring Robin Wright Penn, Sean Penn and John Travolta
Directed by Nick Cassavetes
Opens Friday, August 29
Check listingsWhile it is far from your traditional love story, She's So Lovely is definitely that, but more.
Maureen Quinn (Robin Wright Penn) and her husband Eddie (Sean Penn) are a close-to-the-gutter couple who love each other so much that it makes them each, well, downright loopy. They are fast livin' and hard drinkin', which of course leads to a bit of trouble. While Eddie pulls one of his frequent vanishing acts, Maureen drowns her sorrows with a neighbor who gets (to put it nicely) a bit rough. Upon Eddie's return, Maureen lies to him about her bruises as she is sure that he will kill the bastard who hurt "his queen." The lies are too much for Eddie to handle and then the truth proves even harder, sending Eddie into a violent rage that lands him in the loony bin for 10 years. Once Eddie is out and realizes what has changed, things really get interesting.
Excellent performances and an entertaining script make this film truly enjoyable (the soundtrack only adds to its must-see status). Wright takes a break from her usual troubled beauty roles (though Maureen is troubled and Wright could never be anything but a beauty) - her character is more charming, albeit dimwitted, than that. And while Sean Penn claims to only act in order to earn enough money to make his own flicks, he continues to do this chore in an outstanding manner. The passion that exists between this real-life couple easily transfers to the screen as they feed off each other in every scene.
This passion, like everything else in the movie, is a little eccentric and even a bit deranged, which is where its charm comes from. And while it is a love story in the truest sense, it is anything but your typical cheese and fluff.
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