Love Is a Four Letter Word

February. 03,2007      
Rating:
5.6
Trailer Synopsis Cast

Margaret and Martin Harper, both sixty years old, are filing for divorce, but plan to keep everything as civilized as possible. Complications arise when their respective attorneys, the equally cynical Emily Bennett and Kenton Rhodes, unexpectedly fall in love, throwing an extra kink into the proceedings both in and out of the courtroom.

Teri Polo as  Emily Bennett
Robert Mailhouse as  Kenton Rhodes
Donna Mills as  Margot Harper
Barry Bostwick as  Martin Harper
Mariette Hartley as  Audrey
David Shatraw as  Larry
Madison Mason as  Mr. Kendrick
Francesca P. Roberts as  Judge Doolittle
Michele Santopietro as  Betsy
Cameron Dye as  Bruno

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Reviews

AniInterview
2007/02/03

Sorry, this movie sucks

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Smartorhypo
2007/02/04

Highly Overrated But Still Good

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Zandra
2007/02/05

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

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Bob
2007/02/06

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

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huggibear
2007/02/07

Yes, love is just a four letter word, but it can be much more than just a word. It can be a thought, it can be a spoken word, it can be a focus and it can be an on purpose choice of creation if we all knew what love meant to us. To me, love is the way I feel or the way I choose to deliberately feel. But about the movie....Clever and well acted! I loved the script as well. Two lawyers battling against each other in the same divorce case and happening upon love? Love and divorce or love and love? Which one will win both sides of this equation? You'll have to watch and find out for yourself. However, I believe this movie should be rated a little higher than it is. It deserves better! The acting was great and the story was sweet.

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ksf-2
2007/02/08

Barry Bostwick (Brad, from Rocky Horror)... and Donna Mills (Knots Landing) are Martin and Margot, getting divorced. This Hallmark film is mostly about their attorneys, Ken and Emily, who meet at a wedding, and see sparks. (have you ever heard such loud birds??) The other big name in here I recognize is Mariette Hartley.. she's been around forever but honestly her biggest role I can think of is the film commercial. Hartley is Emily's mom, who lives down the street. Of course, as expected, there is the sparring between the two clients, and even between their attorneys, who now have different priorities. We watch the banter and bickering, but I'm surprised that such professional attorneys would let their personal feelings flare up in court. I expected the judge to fine them for contempt. kind of a chick flick. I appreciated showing how the groom gives up his circle of friends and his man-cave, and the same idea with the chicks. Can the divorcing couple work things out? how about their lawyers? catch it on Hallmark! No plot holes. no big car chases.Directed by Harvey Frost, who has directed a lot of cable, and oddly enough, Beverly Hills 90210. Story by Jill Blotevogel. Not a lot of info given on her, but she has written a lot of stuff for television.

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edwagreen
2007/02/09

A very satisfying comedy film featuring a girl and guy who meet at the wedding of their best friends. They are truly a perfect match for each other until they walk into court as divorce attorneys handling the opposite side of a divorce case.The film deals with how their handling of the case affects their relationships.This is basically a story of love, conflict, divorce and redemption.This is told along a backdrop of the true California beach scene.The couple who is divorcing after 30 years are being described as a retirement divorce. You hear so much of the husband retiring and the marriage faltering as he is around more often now at the home. This was a very interesting plot and is well resolved by film's end.

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TallPineTree
2007/02/10

*sigh* They don't make screwball romantic comedies today like they did back in the 1930s and 1940s. The characters today are too cynical, self-aware, and guarded. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised when the movie is titled: "Love is a Four-Letter Word". While a 1930s comedy would have the title be a wink and nod, or a double-entendre with charm, here love is indeed a four letter word to be overcome with effort.The story is about two divorce lawyers representing opposing clients. He is a new lawyer in town and unfamiliar to her. She has a mother pushing her to meet a man. She is more cynical on love than the man even though she doesn't utter the common phrase "I don't need a man".Yes, it very similar to "Laws of Attraction" with Pierce Brosnan and Julianne Moore. The difference being:1. Brosnan was a lawyer equal to Moore, unlike here where Robert Mailhouse's character is not the equal to Teri Polo's character as a lawyer.2. Brosnan has charm and a twinkle in his eye. Mailhouse is a decent, sincere, and boring, guy.3. Moore was fun as a sputtering character whose life and routine was turned upside down by Brosnan. Polo's character is always in control and more cynical on love.The cynical part is my problem with this film. While the characters probably are more realistic, and the situation and divorce they are handling are not as outrageous as in "Laws of Attraction", they are also not as fun. Polo's character is too cynical and guarded in the beginning and throughout much of the film. By the time she warms up to love it was too late. For me at least. I didn't care.In the "boy pursues girl" phase of the "boy gets girl, boy loses girl, boy pursues girl" situation I was thinking the Mailhouse character needed to get out more and meet people. While he was new to town, she wasn't the only person out there that he could date. She wasn't worth the trouble to pursue. She is too cold. I saw no spark of warmth under that cold exterior. Yes, I know, not a good thing to think when watching a romantic comedy.The movie is not bad, it is earnest. Maybe too earnest as I am having trouble of thinking of something funny from the movie. Maybe my mistake was in thinking this movie was a romantic comedy when it is just a romance movie. I *think* there were scenes where they were trying to be funny, but they seemed kind of flat.I liked that the couple were older as he at least admitted to be 40. The supporting characters, while not all were well developed, at least most seemed to be more than simplistically one-note.I didn't feel like I had wasted my time watching the movie, but it will be quickly forgotten.

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