Cheap Love Liza (DVD) (Philip Seymour Hoffman, Kathy Bates) (Todd Louiso) Price

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Customer Reviews of Love Liza

lost in the woods, mired in the fog
Love Liza is a bizarre little film, very slow moving and incomprehensible, as though the viewer is supposed to be as unclear and dazed as its main character, Wilson Joel (always excellent Philip Seymour Hoffman). Wilson Joel is aimlessly drifting, a grief-stricken widower. He lives in a state of perpetual denial, unable to cope with the fact that his wife has committed suicide without explanation (although she has left behind a letter he refuses to open, much to the anger and disappointment of his dead wife's mother, played by Kathy Bates). In "coping" (if you could call it that) with his grief, he neglects his work, becomes addicted to huffing gasoline, and obsesses about remote-operated vehicles. His friends and colleagues begin to worry about him, but also seem to have a certain disdain for his increasingly erratic behavior. Unfortunately this is a very real part of grief: the grieving party just is not ready to move on and feels like self-destructing but the rest of society expects grief to be contained and temporary, like you can put it on and take it off so simply. While Hoffman's performance here is solid, the story is a bit too bizarre and off the beaten path. While there is nothing inherently wrong with "off the beaten path", I would say this one gets a little lost in the woods. Though it might well portray accurately and sensitively the various stages of denial, loss, grief and acceptance as they occur, it meanders and lacks a certain concision. However, as a debut by director Todd Louiso, it is promising. Louiso is best-known for playing small, offbeat roles in films like The Rock and High Fidelity but clearly has a talent for directorial pursuits.

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Little Indie..Big on Talent and Storytelling
This review refers to the DVD edition of "Love Liza" Columbia TriStar/Sony PIctures)... <
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>More and more I find myself turning to the Independent films to find a story with substance. Although shot on a low budget, "Love Liza", is one of those Indies, that manages, with the help of an intellegent screenplay, and some innovative filming(and a little help from Philip Seymour Hoffman and Kathy Bates), to tell a story that will touch it's audience on many levels. <
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>As the film opens, we watch the first scene in silence, and see a man distraught over the recent suicide of his wife. Wilson Joel(Hoffman) is a man who cannot even bring himself to sleep in his own bed. A man who cannot even sleep at all. But this is quite a different take on loss then we have seen in such films as "Sleepless In Seattle". Wilson seems to be sinking more and more into his own world, using gasoline fumes to take him away from reality, and not even noticing the rest of the world going by around him. <
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>Friends and co-workers walk on egg shells around him, knowing the pain he is feeling...all except his mother-in-law Marianne(Bates), who never lets up on trying to bring him back to the living. Wilson has found a note left by his wife, and although he carries it with him everywhere, can not bring himself to read it. The audience may sense that the guilt he feels, and what he may find in the letter, may be too much for him to bear. <
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>It's a drama about grief, but with comedic touches just in the right places, as well as some nice ironic twists to think about. Hoffman is superb. He portrays Wilson in a way that will be tugging at your heart one moment and laughing the next. Kathy Bates excellent as always, as the woman grieving over the death of her daughter, but strong enough to see and do something about the world Wilson has gone to. I hope we will see more from Director Todd Louiso(You remember him..Chad the Nanny from "Jerry Maguire"). His wonderful behind the camera talent is obvious from this film. Gordy Hoffman's extraordinary screenplay couldn't have been in better hands. <
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>The DVD presents a very nice clear picture in Widescreen. Colors are used well in this film and are vibrant on the transfer. The sound is very good in Dolby Surround. Features include commentary by Louiso, and Hoffman, Filmographies and trailers. <
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>This film in an hour and a half, had me really caring about the main character, something I don't often see in recent films that are twice as long. <
>Recommended for those who are looking for something a little different from the rest. Something with substance, something to think about afterwards.....Laurie <
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Bloated, Gassy and Boring
Wearisome, like its character <
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> Sorry folks, this film is a big miss. Mr. Hoffman and Ms. Bates are two great talents vastly wasted in this film. With careful pruning this would have made a fascinating short, both hilarious and heart breaking. As it is the extended scenes of Hoffman's exhibitions of grief, gas sniffing, waking up in various locales, staring into space or at the unopened envelope containing his wife's suicide note become quickly wearisome. <
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> Then there are touches of brilliance such as the two recurring gas sniffing teens lending a wonderful, bizarre, John Waters quality. <
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> Talented as Mr. Hoffman is, he has of late played a string of characters too similar in their compositional make-up and offering far to minimal variance. This necessitates doing that actor thing: substituting "acting" for emotion, drawing attention to the "acting" rather than the story, inspiring a certain type of audience to say - usually during the movie: What A Great Actor! He probably does a job than probably anyone else could have with this material, and therein lies the problem: the screenplay. Great monologues, dialogue, etc. are not always necessary to make great cinematic art, but a too heavy reliance on blank stares, forced smiles, odd characters, nervous laughter and long shots does not automatically equate great art either. In fact, not not only do they become flaw revealing, they put everything under the microscope or magnifying glass as in Love Liza. <
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> There is a leaner, tauter wonderful little film waiting to break out of this bloated, gassy mess - I only wish someone would have made it. <
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