46
Metascore
19 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75Chicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonChicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonThe best things about The Thing Called Love are its cast, style and mood. It has a snap, pace and rhythm we don't ordinarily see in today's movies. The dialogue scenes have a headlong pace and crackling self-confidence reminiscent of Howard Hawks, and the three- and four-way love combats recall Ernst Lubitsch.
- 70Time OutTime OutPhoenix is fine in an odd, transitional role, but Mathis (who looks more like his sister than his girlfriend) really steals the show with a bright, sassy performance.
- 63Slant MagazineSlant MagazineSuch strained touches notwithstanding, The Thing Called Love charms and touches, not the least for revealing Bogdanovich as a rare filmmaker still interested in human behavior, keeping the action mostly in medium shots and extended takes to better catch the emotional nuances from character to character.
- 60The New York TimesStephen HoldenThe New York TimesStephen HoldenMildly engaging, formulaic.
- 40TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineDespite her underwritten character, Mathis easily takes top acting honors with equal parts toughness and tenderness.
- 25Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertBut at the center of the film is an actor whose mind and heart are far, far away, and he is like a black hole, consuming light and energy. He's running on empty. Sometimes there are even scenes where you can sense the other actors scrutinizing Phoenix in a certain way, or urging him, with their tones of voice, to an energy level he cannot match. It is all very sad.
- 0Austin ChronicleAustin ChronicleThis is stilted stuff. The acting is disjointed, the movie should be subtitled Three Actors in Search of Their Characters. River Phoenix gives a somnambulant impersonation of Christian Slater impersonating Jack Nicholson, and Samantha Mathis spends much of the movie trying to figure out exactly who her character is.