ThiefHott
Too much of everything
Livestonth
I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible
Ginger
Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.
edwagreen
Good writing evidently comes from the heart as this picture tries to tell us.Arliss Howard, as the painter who wants to write, experiences rejection upon rejection letters from various publishing houses.His personal life is in the tank as well. Separated from his wife, played quite well by Debra Winger, who again shares her term of endearment, the Howard character has trouble with the bottle and is constantly smoking throughout the film. Angie Dickinson appears as his mother and Roseanna Arquette offers fine support as a town lady.Everyone within the family seems to be running. Are they running from this film? What's the point of all this? This question is really never answered. Does life change when personal tragedy strikes? Of course, but the theme is so emotionally attached, that it is never really realized.
Kingsnake
Rest in peace Larry Brown. It's so bizarre. I was just re-watching one of my favorite movies of all time last night (Big Bad Love). Larry Brown wrote the book, and he also has a small part as Barlow's father in the film.Then I read on-line that Larry died today of a heart attack (11/24/04). That is very strange. Anyway, if you haven't seen it, watch the movie "Big Bad Love" (see my review in an earlier listing 4/21/03). I found the story, acting and music to be some of the most moving material I've ever experienced. Don't worry, there are plenty of laughs too. If this flick doesn't draw some emotion from you, you better check for a pulse.Also get the soundtrack CD. It has some of the coolest blues that you'll ever hear. It features several artists from the North Mississippi Hill Country region, where the movie was filmed. R.L. Burnside and Kenny Brown even have cameo appearances. It's some big bad music.Crawlin' KingsnakeAustin, TX
mmk1962
Well at least in that respect the film is authentic. An all around not terrible film, with vignettes into lyrical prose and surreal flashes into Barlow's imagination. The film is also accompanied by a pleasing soundtrack.
raysond
During the entire decade of the 1980's and toward the early 1990's,Debra Winger was one of the hottest actresses working in Hollywood at the time and she had a beau of leading actors that took her to the title of the box office queen. Some of her leading men were John Travolta,Richard Gere,Marlon Brando,and Jack Nicholson as well as with actors Robert Duvall and Ed Harris. However,she would win the Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 1983 for "Terms of Endearment",and after that she went in submission for a while.......only to resurface.However,Debra Winger makes her return here in one of the best performances of her career. "Big Bad Love" is a film based on the writings of Mississippi author Larry Brown. She people think that she retired from the cimema in recent years(her last film was nine years ago under the direction of Bernardo Bertlucci),but takes this chance to star opposite her real-life husband Arliss Howard(who stars,directs,and wrote the script). Howard plays,Leon Barlow,a depressive,alcoholic Vietnam veteran and aspiring writer. Aside from holding a candle for hs ex-wife(Winger),most of Barlow's time focuses on daily trips to the mailbox,sending off plies of manuscripts,and following enough rejection letters to wallpaper hs bathroom. He is played as a sympathetic ne'er-do -well,lovable enough to be excused for shirking his familial responsiblities as a father(including his two precious children),until the end of the film,when tragedy strikes and Barlow is forced out of his cynical melancholy.Strong performances from Angie Dickinson as well(in a grand return to the silver screen)as Rosanna Arquette(whom I haven't heard from since the 1990's)and Paul Le Mat. This movie had the heart,the guts and the soul that makes it a piece of grand cimematic work. A must see!Rating: **** out of *****
