The Truth About Love (2005) Reviews

• A young married girl realizes just how unhappy her marriage is when confronted with her husbands infidelity, the true meaning of love, and her own growing sexual identity.

  aarongilmore12006-01-17

  This is not a bad film. Let me start by stating that. It is also not a great film. Like all films involving Jennifer Love Hewitt most viewers are going to rate this picture entirely upon his or her opinion of the young actress. For reason I have never entirely understood, this brunette seems polarizing to people. The film clearly is a vehicle for the actress. But it is not her performance that drives the picture. This is a genuinely intelligent film about sex, fidelity, and the strange way that love itself often gets lost in people's best efforts to supposedly find love. Jennifer Love Hewitt plays Alice Holbrook, a young nurse who discovers that her husband is either cheating on her or is attempting to play games with her in order to spice up their sex life. Desperate for a change, and eager to believe the best about her husband, Hewitt engages in several attempts to learn the truth, and to entice her husband further. Like a bad episode of Three's Company, this film uses every trick in the book to keep all of its characters colliding in silly scenarios. Hewitt disguises herself, her voice, people mistake each others cell phones, etc. All of this wears thin. Yet, the innocence of Hewitt's character keeps the viewer in a forgiving mood. The cheap, predictable, and goofy plot twists are not executed in the film very well at all. There is a strange side plot involving the trial of a soccer player that makes no sense. The comedy part of this rom-com is lacking. This is why the film does not approach greatness. But apart from the antics, this film has its moments. The dilemma that Alice faces is all too real for young girls. And her attempt to keep her cheating husband at the cost of her own pride is also true to form. Most women, when faced with keeping a broken love or their own pride, choose broken love. At least for awhile. Of course, Jennifer Love Hewitt plays dress up for both Alice's husband as well as for her male fans. No actress does both "goody goody" and "sexy sexy" like Jennifer Love Hewitt. The film teases, seems to promise more, then simply teases. What redeems the film is its uplifting message about love and hope, while contrarily pulling no punches with its assessment about human nature. It is a refreshing thing to find a film that is daring enough to be honest, and also not too arrogant to shy away from optimism. Men are sex crazed pigs. Women do dumb things to save relationships best left behind. People make mistakes. And yet, things still work out. Now back to our polarizing actress. This is one of several movies, and now a television show as well with Ghost Whisperer, that Hewitt has made which intentionally works to show a moral and hopeful perspective about the world. I don't want to give too much credit to the young girl- but why not?- I am deeply impressed with her consciousness choices of work.

• A romantic comedy, but lacking romance

  nqa19722008-05-25

  Contains spoilers Not a bad movie, but not a great one. It has an interesting premise about a wife (Jennifer Love Hewitt) who is sent a anonymous Valentine Card by her husband's best friend (Dougray Scott) who is drunk and secretly in love with her. Things spiral out of control as Hewitt, at first thinking the card is from her husband, (Jimi Mistry) decides to test him by conducting a secret affair with him(first by phone calls and then by assignments where he is blindfolded). As can be expected things don't go as she expects and secrets are uncovered. So far so good. Dougray Scott is excellent, as usual and Hewitt puts on a convincing British accent. And kudos to the filmmakers for choosing a city outside London to set it in. The problem is that there is no chemistry between Scott and Hewitt. She makes a big play in the film that he's her friend, and that's believable. But there's next to no real passion between them - so when (as is so common in romances) she makes a desperate race to stop him moving to Japan you wonder why he doesn't stay on the train and she doesn't remain at home and curl up with a good book.

• Oh, it wasn't that bad...

  eas04232005-12-28

  I just watched this movie and while it's not the best thing I've ever seen it was a cute romantic comedy. Can't say that I saw any of the goofs that have been mentioned -- but then I wasn't looking for them. Or maybe the DVD copy I rented had been edited/fixed. Some of the nice things from my perspective: 1) Nice location shooting - I think it was Bristol. It had a different feel from the usual London setting and was very well photographed for the most part. 2) The leads were just fine - it was good to see Dougray Scott sporting his native (at least I think it was native)Scottish accent(it's an American thing :)and I have to say I do like Jennifer Love Hewitt. It did seem like her accent may have been looped at the beginning (the tone of the soundtrack suggested it)maybe to give her a better chance to nail the dialect, but overall I do think it was her. And while I think she needs a bit more seasoning/maturity as an actress, she has a very expressive face and natural way about her on screen -- and that's got to be a plus. So, if you just want a kick-back, lazy day on the sofa movie this is worth 90 minutes of your time.

• Excellent - funny and smart

  susanjanetoh2005-07-29

  I loved this movie! It was so refreshing to see a romantic comedy with people in a marriage rather than the distraught single women we see all the time in other movies like Bridget Jones. It was funny and smart and I really liked all the twists and turns. You totally went with Jennifer Love Hewitt trying to save her marriage even though she should have ditched her cheating husband long ago for the gorgeous Archie (played by Dougray Scott). I also really liked her sister who injected a lot of fun into the movie. I saw it with family in Korea but I will definitely see it again with my girlfriends at home when it comes out in the U.S. Its not ground breaking but if you want to watch a chick-flick with a bit more bite than usual then this movie is for you.

• Like a 1930s or 1940s romantic comedy

  Sonetto2007-06-10

  I enjoyed "The Truth About Love"because frankly it evokes memories of the improbable romantic comediesof the thirties and forties (with the addition of cell phones and phonesex to give it a contemporary touch). It's comparable to films like TheAwful Truth and Bringing up Baby, though not quite of theirquality. I liked the fact that the three main characters, the husband,the wife, and the best friend, were very distinctive -- that they didn't have the dreadful sameness of the looks of some of today's Hollywood leading men and women. Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jimi Mistry and Dougray Scott deliver good performances in this screwball comedy. When I select a movie to watch, I don't always require a blockbuster film with a perfect script, just one that is pleasant and fun to watch. The Truth About Love was just right for middle of the night viewing.