Touches You

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

If the critics are to be believed, Peter Bogdanovich is one of those unfortunate directors who ran out of steam all too soon after a positively brilliant start. True the early "The Last Picture Show" is a glorious recreation of young people coming of age in an American hick town nowhere in the '50's that he has never quite equalled since, although "Paper Moon" runs it pretty close. Perhaps his big mistake was to try to catch up with "The Last Picture Show" folk in the best forgotten "Texasville". Great films are better left on their own without sequels. But, this apart, it would be wrong to brand everything Bogdanovich has made in more recent years as inconsequential and therefore of little value. Take "The Thing Called Love" for instance, a film that like "The Last Picture Show" concerns itself with a group of young people that are certainly more aspirational than those in the earlier film. A desire to express their feelings through their music has brought them to Nashville, Tennessee, the home of Country and Western. They meet up in the Bluebell Cafe auditioning for a Saturday evening music spot organised by K.T.Oslin, famous for having first spotted several of the great names from the past. The two most interesting characters are Miranda (Samantha Mathis),who has come all the way from New York on a Greyhound bus and James played by the talented River Phoenix in what was sadly to be his last film role. I am fairly certain why I enjoyed this rather slight film to the extent that I watched it on two consecutive evenings, even though I had "La Regle du Jeu" and others queueing up to be seen. It just felt nice to be in the company of a group of comparatively uncomplicated youngsters getting by, doing something really meaningful for them. There is very little in the way of action apart from Miranda and James's drive to Graceland and their killing time before it opens by getting married. I guess Bogdanovich made the film because he loved its characters, otherwise he could not have conveyed them with such affection. He hasn't made a great film this time, but it is certainly nice to get out of the art-house on occasions to savour such a sweet little number.

The Thing Called Love (1993)Whatever happened to Peter Bogdanovich? He directed several really deeply felt, nostalgia filled, honest films in the late 60s early 70s. But he had some duds, too, and that seems to be his long term groove, as if he was more comfortable loving movies (he's a buff, an historian, an insider critic) than making them. This one has the stuff for a heart-tugging drama filled with Americana, but it is slow, downright clumsy at times, and improbable.The latter is fine, of course--it's a fiction movie--but it wants to seem real, too, not fantastic. It depends too much on pretty people, so that's false, but these pretty people are trying to make it in Nashville as singer-songwriters, which is a fantasy after all, so who knows? The marriage in the mini-super market is pretty great, I have to admit.What works best, oddly enough (but no surprise), is Sandra Bullock, who plays her part with conviction. The music is supposed to be amateur and downright bad, but it's not bad enough to laugh at (and not good enough to enjoy). A bad spot in the middle. But then there's River Phoenix. Who knew he could actually play? Ah, but some plot is in order, something beyond the obvious. It's supposed to be a dream come true or something, but it just holds no water. If you love country music, there's something here, the general scene, the background, but that's not enough.

Okay...Well...Ummm...I really don't know what to say. River Phoenix looked BAD in this film, so I'll always try to remember his "brighter" days such as when he did the movie, "Running on Empty." I know how hard it is for people to watch this flick and think highly of it, but everyone should really know what a musical genius River was. I also found it ironic that Johnny Cash was singing in the background in this film a couple of times, and then years later, River's own brother portrays Cash! Very strange, folks, but bitter-sweet.I loved some of the music, and especially the song, "Bad Dreams" sung by Samantha. I want to know the lyrics to this song, but when I look for them, they are nowhere to be found. I wonder if anyone ever did remake this song. It has such powerful lyrics, and I love the melody.When my 13-year-old daughter saw River, she said, "Wow; he had Johnny Depp's high cheekbones, and a touch of Leonardo's style with Kevin Bacon's nose. What perception! It's just all so sad that he had to follow the Hollywood crowd by taking too many drugs. (Ironic that he died just outside of Depp's nightclub.) Also, if I were Sandra, I'd stay as far away from parts that call for singing as I could. She's an incredible actress, but she needs to just sing while she's alone or in the shower! Dermont used more emotion in this film than an anything else I've ever seen him in. That was surprising. Let's keep him away from the mic too! Anyway, I know my comment does not cover any of the plot, but there was not a whole lot of depth to it. It's too bad it was the last movie River did before his untimely death. I bet the cast felt horrible when they found out. I do believe he was headed for bigger things with his acting and music, but we'll never know now... unfortunately.

Man, not even the lure of good looking babes and music could save this flea-ridden dog. Its my 4th sitting and I still can't get thru it. If I paid to see it in a theater I'd want my money back. The blonde in this movie is making me contemplate a new gay lifestyle. Gad, I wouldn't marry her if Donald Trumps life depended on it. Please bypass this cinematic fertilizer and go read the Daily News or The NY Post. I can't find anything redeeming about this flick. I want my money back from Blockbuster. Why do I need 10 lines to post this? Sandra Bullock has this bad fake southern accent that never quite makes it. I'm still wondering what this movie is about.