The Pompatus of Love (1996)

Director:

Richard Schenkman

Writers:

Jon Cryer (writer)
Adam Oliensis (writer)

Release Date:

26 July 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Plot:

Four guys sit around drinking beer and talking, trying to figure out the meaning of "the pompatus of...

Plot Keywords:

Title Based On Song | Independent Film

Cast

Jon Cryer	...	Mark
Adrian Pasdar	...	Josh
Tim Guinee	...	Runyon
Adam Oliensis	...	Phil
Mia Sara	...	Cynthia
Kristin Scott Thomas	...	Caroline
Arabella Field	...	Lori, Phil's Wife
Paige Turco	...	Gina
Dana Wheeler-Nicholson	...	Kathryn
Kristen Wilson	...	Tasha
Charles Q. Murphy	...	Saxaphone Man (as Charlie Murphy)
Lianna Pai	...	Ting (as Liana Pai)
Jennifer Tilly	...	Tarzaan
Roscoe Lee Browne	...	Leonard Folder
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Krista Marie Bonura	...	Phil's Daughter
Lisa Casillo	...	Flight Attendant
Angela Featherstone	...	Times Square Kisser
Helen Haft	...	Real Estate Broker
John Hoyt	...	Big Toe (as John Glenn Hoyt)
Mai Lin	...	Choking Stripper (as May Lin)
John Mazzello	...	Phil's Son
Jennifer McCarthy	...	Alien Babe
Michael McKean	...	Sitcom Star
Eda Reiss Merin	...	Older Woman on Plane
Jack O'Connell	...	Bartender
Renee Props	...	Flynn (as Reneé Props)
George Riddle	...	Strip Club Patron
Fisher Stevens	...	Sitcom Star
John Norman Thomas	...	Cabbie
Jim Turner	...	Dick Spellman
Dawnya Welsh	...	Leonard's Stripper

Also Known As:

The Pompatus of Love (France) (TV title)

MPAA:

Rated R for sexuality and language.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

France | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

USA:R

Company:

BMG Independents

Trivia:

The title phrase was taken from two songs by Steve Miller; the mysterious word "pompatus" was originally spelled "pompitous" in the printed lyrics. But it originally comes from the Medallions' 1954 song "The Letter", written by Vernon Green when he was 14. Green explained in the 1990s that the word actually began with "puppet" and was a term he'd made up for "a secret paper-doll fantasy figure, who would be my everything and bear my children".

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Killing Floor (2007)

The X Factor

I saw this when it first was released on video, and now, 5 years later, got to watch it again from a different perspective.

Character development - there's not much with the exception of Josh.

Plot - sort of vague, it goes from one situation to the next with aside comments and monologues spliced together and thrown in just for fun and transition.

So what is it about? Very simply put - the differences between men and women and how difficult they can be to understand.

Why this title? No clue. But it sort of makes sense; how many people over the years have understood that Steve Miller was saying "the pompatus of love", and if they understood it, how many knew what the heck he meant by it?? Exactly! But the song was still a big hit. It sounds cool and is a blast to sing along with. Men and women, despite all the griping, jokes, cliches and misunderstandings between the two genders, still keep getting together and, hopefully, can make it through life with their sanity, intelligence and love intact.

There is no pat answer with which to end this movie. Life doesn't have any either. I'm not one for vague endings. I usually prefer to have a Hollywood Happy Ending. But this works for me for some reason. There's no blinding vision of how one must change to be able to live happily ever after with the object of one's affection. It's just an acceptance that there are differences. Maybe not understood, but now one knows that they are there and can work with them; or around them; or whatever it may take.

It's a good look at relationships for the over 21 crowd. It's a good movie.