Telling You (1998)
8/10
Moving but not funny
8 March 2008
Films are like fires, they start with a spark, warm up and build up the heat or they splutter out and die. This film is somewhere in between; there is a fire burning but it is just that someone comes along once in a while and throws cold water on it. To begin, the film is not really a comedy, it is a serious drama with light-hearted moments. Without the lighter moments you fear the story would be too heavy. What it really comes down to is whether you can empathise with the perfectly cast Dash Mihok as Dennis Nolan. If you've ever found yourself alone out in the yard at night wondering where life went wrong you will click in with Dennis and enjoy the story. So often Mihok manages to convey his pain and confusion without words, so you either understand him or you don't. The film so neatly sets out his problems and then neatly provides the answers. But like all films, there are the scenes we would like removed; the opening monologue by Peter Facinelli is painful and Jennifer Love Hewitt grossly over acts her minor part. The worst is a scene in a club where glamorous females sit alone at tables awaiting for any male to come up and sort out their life. This scene should be put back in the Male Fantasy file where it belongs, but apart from that it offers an original story and some brilliant acting (especially Jennifer Jostyn) though Facinelli's character is too shallow to show his great ability. I might add the original title 'Telling You' is perfect; I cannot believe that anyone who saw it would name it 'Love Sucks as it is marketed in the UK.
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