Love at Large (1990)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Alan Rudolph

Writer (WGA):

Alan Rudolph (written by)

Release Date:

9 March 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Romance | Thriller

Plot:

A down and out private detective (Berenger) is asked by a beautiful woman (Archer) to follow her lover...

Plot Keywords:

Private Detective | Train | Mistaken Identity | Detective Agency | Used Car Dealer

Cast

Tom Berenger	...	Harry Dobbs
Elizabeth Perkins	...	Stella Wynkowski
Anne Archer	...	Miss Dolan
Kate Capshaw	...	Mrs. Ellen McGraw
Annette O'Toole	...	Mrs. King
Ted Levine	...	Frederick King / James McGraw
Ann Magnuson	...	Doris
Kevin J. O'Connor	...	Art the Farmhand
Ruby Dee	...	Corrine Dart
Barry Miller	...	Marty
Neil Young	...	Rick
Meegan Lee Ochs	...	Bellhop
Gailard Sartain	...	Taxi Driver
Robert Gould	...	Tavern Bartender
Dirk Blocker	...	Hiram Culver, Used-Car Salesman

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:M | Finland:K-10 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Bend, Oregon, USA

Trivia:

Harry's revolver is a nickel-plated Colt Detective Special.

Quotes:

Harry Dobbs: The one who loves, waits.

Soundtrack:

You Don't Know What Love Is

Not well-known (or liked) but I loved it!

I was one of the (very) few people who saw this in a movie theatre back in 1990. It was a small audience but everybody enjoyed it and I thought this would be a big hit. For some reason though this faded quickly.

Detective Harry Dobbs (Tom Berenger) takes on a case for Miss Dolan (Anne Archer) to track her boyfriend. What Dobbs doesn't know is that he himself is being tracked by female detective Stella Wyntowski (Elizabeth Perkins). They end up meeting and set out to solve a mystery.

Sounds strange...and it is but it's lots of fun too. The movie is always switching tone from romance to comedy to drama yet it always manages to stay coherent and entertaining. There's director Rudolph's excellent use of color and music and a script which goes whipping every which way.

The cast is up to it. Berenger (purposefully?) adopts a gravelly voice and dresses like he just stepped out of a film noir. He perfectly plays the drama and comedy nicely. Perkins has a very difficult role but she grabs it and runs with it. Only Archer is a disappointment--REALLY overplaying her part. Kate Capshaw ans Annette O'Toole shine in minor roles.

This is not a easy movie to categorize or explain--you've just got to watch it. It's sort of like a film noir with comedy, style and color...but it's also a romance with a mystery thrown in...OR a comedy with some dramatic moments. It goes all over the map. Beautifully done and well worth seeing.