ADDICTED TO LOVE

"ADDICTED TO LOVE"
(1997) (Matthew Broderick, Meg Ryan) (R)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Mild	Minor	Moderate	None	*None

Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Moderate	None	None	None	*Mild

Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Moderate	Mild	None	Mild	Mild

QUICK TAKE:: Romantic Comedy: Two jilted lovers decide to enact revenge upon those who dumped them and end up falling for each other.

PLOT:: Sam (MATTHEW BRODERICK) is a small town astronomer who, when not looking at the stars, literally aims his telescope at his childhood sweetheart, Linda (KELLY PRESTON), the local teacher. She moves to New York, however, and ends up falling for French restaurateur, Anton (TCHEKY KARYO). Hearing the news, Sam heads for the Big Apple and "moves in" across the street from Anton's apartment where he can spy on his former girlfriend and her new lover. Sam gets an unexpected partner, though, when Maggie (MEG RYAN), a photographer, shows up. It turns out her former fiancé was Anton and she's now seeking revenge on him. Seeing that they're in similar predicaments, Maggie persuades Sam that the only way he can get Linda back is to destroy Anton's life, which coincidently is what she wants to do. As they proceed with their plan, however, an unexpected twist of fate occurs as she and Sam begin to fall for one another.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: If they're fans of anyone in the cast or are in the mood for a romantic comedy, they probably will.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R: For sexual content.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:: MATTHEW BRODERICK plays a man who spies on his ex-girlfriend, does what he can to ruin her new boyfriend's life, and has a one night stand with Maggie.
MEG RYAN plays a woman who will do anything to ruin Anton's life, and she sleeps with Sam.
TCHEKY KARYO plays a Frenchman who uses women for sex and citizenship.
KELLY PRESTON plays a woman who dumps Sam and moves in with Anton, her new boyfriend.; MEG RYAN plays a woman who will do anything to ruin Anton's life, and she sleeps with Sam.
TCHEKY KARYO plays a Frenchman who uses women for sex and citizenship.
KELLY PRESTON plays a woman who dumps Sam and moves in with Anton, her new boyfriend.; TCHEKY KARYO plays a Frenchman who uses women for sex and citizenship.
KELLY PRESTON plays a woman who dumps Sam and moves in with Anton, her new boyfriend.; KELLY PRESTON plays a woman who dumps Sam and moves in with Anton, her new boyfriend.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

OUR TAKE: 6 out of 10: "Addicted to Love" is for those who like a darker edge to their romantic comedies. Playing off the notion of two jilted lovers teaming up to bring about the downfall of one of their ex's, this film is somewhat similar in tone to last years "The Cable Guy" that tried to mix standard humor with black comedy. While it's not as dark as that film and is much funnier, it still has that harsh edge that blunts the normally soft, fuzzy feeling you get from most romantic comedies. Although that doesn't destroy its charm, many audience members may feel a bit uneasy when the revenge tactics go on a bit long and have major repercussions. Others, however, will enjoy this somewhat fresh take on the funny romance genre as it provides a novel way for the main characters to meet. Of course it's never a question as to whether the leads will get together by the story's end -- the fun is supposed to come from their stumbling and bumbling into each other's arms. And there is some fun to be had, but none of it's of the wet-your-seat-cuz-it's-so-funny variety. The fact that they sleep together before they romantically fall for each other, however, ruins the anticipation of the inevitable romance. Still, Broderick and Ryan are as charming as ever and perfectly cast as the has-been lovers, while both Preston and Karyo perform admirably in their roles. While the plot is intriguing enough to keep you interested throughout and offers some funny lines of dialogue, it doesn't provide any real surprises or anything out of the ordinary to make this story stand out from the crowd. Those who like their romantic comedies will probably enjoy this film, but it's doubtful it will break out from the crowd and be a big hit. With the onslaught of heavyweight summer films lining up behind this movie, this release will probably be quickly pushed out of the way and will soon find itself on the shelves of your local video store. While we enjoyed the movie as a lightweight diversion, it's not a fantastic production. If you go with little or no expectations, you'll probably like it. We did, and give it a 6 out of 10.

OUR WORD TO PARENTS:: Sexual content is what gives this film its R rating. While there's almost no nudity (just a shadow- covered scene of Anton standing nude in the kitchen), some sexual encounters are heard, and other lines of dialogue address that subject. The revenge factor that Maggie talks Sam into helping with might be of some concern to parents, as might the fact that the two try to convince Linda that her new boyfriend is having an affair (which he isn't). There's some drinking and smoking, but nothing anywhere near extreme. A few punches are thrown and a scene near the end has more meanspirited violence, but again, none of it's too bad. While preteens will probably stay clear of this film, teens -- especially those who are dating -- will probably want to see it. We therefore suggest that you examine the content before allowing them to do so.

ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE: Sam chills champagne for Linda's return to their town.
Linda has a glass of wine.
While spying on the other two, Maggie drinks what appears to be whiskey straight from the bottle. She offers the bottle to Sam who accepts, but isn't seen drinking any of it.
Sam and Maggie drink wine while in Anton's home.
Anton drinks wine while eating in his restaurant.
Anton pours wine for guests at his home.
Sam and Maggie celebrate by drinking champagne.
While sitting on a park bench, Sam and Maggie drink what appears to be beer wrapped in brown paper bags.
Not wanting Sam to leave, Anton has him try different kinds of wine.

BLOOD/GORE: Maggie tells a brief story about her father putting his finger up their dog's butt to pull out maggots "one by one" to save the dog's life.
A restaurant critic unknowingly eats a live roach.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE: Both Maggie and Sam's behavior approaches that of stalking, and their efforts to break up Linda and Anton reek of both types of attitude.
Maggie's general intent -- to ruin Anton's life for dumping her -- has strong bits of both types of attitude.
Anton admits to dating women to try to get his green card.
Linda dumps Sam and gets her father to deliver the bad news to him.
Sam looks through Maggie's personal belongings while she's gone and later he and Maggie snoop through Anton's place.
Maggie steals Anton's credit card and, knowing his password, withdrawals large sums of money from ATM machines and racks up large charge amounts on it to ruin him financially.
Not knowing who he is, Anton tells Sam (who's applying for a job), "I don't like your face."

FRIGHTENING SCENES: None.

GUNS/WEAPONS: There are no real ones, but Sam finds what he thinks is a handgun in Maggie's handbag, but it turns out to be a squirt gun. Later, squirt guns are used to spray perfume on Anton.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR: Phrases: "Your t*ts look like hard little rocks," "Monkey man," "Bastard," "Boning" (sex), "You maggot," "Will you shut up," "Stupid," "Idiot," "Bohemian hell hole," "Nuts" (crazy), "Go to hell," and "I hate you."
Spying on others.
Sam looks through Maggie's bag, and later the two of them let themselves into Anton's home and look through all of his belongings.
Maggie wears a lot of very dark eye makeup.
Maggie pickpockets Anton and steals his credit card.
Maggie takes off her underwear and throws it to Sam, telling him to put it in the sofa to make it appear as if Anton is having an affair.
Sam dips Anton's hairbrush into the toilet.
Maggie tells Sam (after he thinks there's a budding romance between them), "If I thought I was like you, I'd tie a rope around my neck."
Sam purposefully breaks a dish to get out of dishwashing duties at Anton's restaurant.
Maggie pays children to squirt perfume (from water pistols) onto Anton.
Sam lets roaches loose in Anton's restaurant.
We see that Linda has a stud in her tongue (ie. a pierced tongue).
Maggie puts strawberries into Anton's bed, knowing full well that he's extremely allergic to them.

JUMP SCENES: None.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE): None.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE): None.

PROFANITY: 3 possible "f" words (and 1 other term, "boning," used for sex), 1 "s" word, 1 slang term for penis ("willie"), 1 slang term for breasts (the "t" word), 11 hells, 2 damns, 1 S.O.B., 1 crap, 6 uses of "Oh God," 3 uses each of "Oh my God" and "God," 2 uses of "God damn," and 1 use of "For Christ sakes" as exclamations.

SEX/NUDITY: Maggie occasionally wears outfits that reveal some of her cleavage.
We see Anton standing nude in the kitchen at night. The dark shadows obscure any nudity, but he does pour something from the fridge all over his body (presumably for an encounter with Linda).
Maggie tells Sam, "I sleep naked...don't think of it as a come on or I'll nail your willie (penis) to that beam."
Maggie comments on Sam and Linda's relationship, "Except for boning my boyfriend, you're the perfect couple."
Maggie tells Sam about Linda, "The only way that girl's coming back to you is if a blast of semen catapults her through the window and across the street."
After Maggie has set up a listening device aimed at Anton's home, she and Sam hear Anton and Linda having sex. While nothing's seen, the rather long and exaggerated sexual sounds go on for some time (and are meant to be comical as Sam and Maggie are tortured by the sounds).
Sam comments about Linda, "She likes to make love quiet and slow and gentle." Hearing the sounds, however, Maggie comments, "That girl of yours is a carnival ride." Later she says, "It's the longest orgasm I've ever heard."
Maggie says, "French men are (usually) very small," but then says about Anton's "size," "It's like Godzilla's tail...he could take down Tokyo with that thing."
Some sexual sounds are heard as Anton is seen moving between Linda's legs as she lies back on the kitchen table. She removes his shirt and there's some kissing, but the scene ends there.
Sam and Maggie passionately kiss and he then moves on top of her as she removes his shirt. The scene ends there, but it's implied that they have sex and he's seen in bed the next morning.
Anton says, "Why have sex with hamburger when I can make love to a steak?"
Anton comments about being French in the U.S. He says, "I could read the phonebook (with a French accent) and women would be as wet as morning daisies."
Anton comments about the first time with a particular woman, "She came like a rocket."
Linda tells Anton (about if they're ever poor), "We'd crawl into our refrigerator box and make love all night."
Anton comments on having sex with a woman, "I hardly came. Just a fraction of what I was capable of."

SMOKING: One of Sam's co-workers smokes a cigarette.
Anton smokes in several scenes.
Linda smokes a cigarette in one scene.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES: None.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT: Spying on others.
Accepting the end of failed relationships.
Plotting and then trying to run another person's life.

VIOLENCE: Maggie breaks through a dilapidated building's skylights to make her way inside.
Sam and Anton get into a scuffle after Sam purposefully bumps into him on the street. Sam then punches Anton (for "stealing" Linda) and then runs away.
Anton, recognizing Sam as the guy who earlier struck him on the street, punches him in the face. After saying they're even, he tells Sam, "If you ever mess with me again, "I'll rip out your eyes and (xxxx) your skull. Pardon my French" The xxxx sounded like "rape" or "break," and Sam later mentions that Anton said "something about having sex with my skull," so "rape" is probably the correct phrase.
Linda's father punches Anton in the face (thinking Anton cheated on Linda).
Sam, thinking Anton is about to run over by a motorcycle, pushes him out of the way and over a railing and down some stairs. We later learn that Anton broke both arms and several ribs.
Anton tries to hit Sam, but being in a full upper body cast he has problems and runs into columns in his place. He does manage to kick Sam several times in the stomach and both end up falling through a glass window. Anton finally tries to strangle Sam, but gives up after a moment.

Reviewed May 20, 1997

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