Big Bad Love (2001)

41% of critics liked it
(58 reviews)
71% of users liked it
(1,154 ratings)

Actor Arliss Howard made his debut as a director with this emotional drama adapted from a handful of short stories by Larry Brown. Barlow (Arliss Howard) is a deeply troubled Vietnam veteran who has been chasing a career as a writer, with little success; when he isn't struggling with his typewriter,… More Actor Arliss Howard made his debut as a director with this emotional drama adapted from a handful of short stories by Larry Brown. Barlow (Arliss Howard) is a deeply troubled Vietnam veteran who has been chasing a career as a writer, with little success; when he isn't struggling with his typewriter, he's usually drinking, and his wild mood swings and alcoholic fits of rage have driven away his wife Marilyn (Debra Winger), who has taken their son Alan (Zach Moody) and daughter Alisha (Olivia Kersey) with her. Barlow would like to see his children, but Marilyn refuses to allow it until he catches up on his alimony and child support payments; one of Barlow's few loyal friends, Monroe (Paul LeMat), a buddy from his Army days, is able to get him work as a house painter. With steady paychecks, Barlow is finally able to clear his debts to Marilyn, but she refuses to acknowledge that he's made much progress in turning his life around, and he doesn't get much more emotional support from his ailing mother (Angie Dickinson) or his friend Velma (Rosanna Arquette). Big Bad Love marked the second screen pairing for husband-and-wife Arliss Howard and Debra Winger; it was also Winger's first screen appearance in six years. Acclaimed songwriter Tom Waits composed the film's original score. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 51 min.
Directed By: Arliss Howard
Written By: Arliss Howard, Jim Howard
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

In Theaters: Oct 11, 2001 Wide
On DVD: Sep 24, 2002
Studio: IFC Films

Critic Reviews

Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune
Though you couldn't call Love a complete success, it's packed with talent and intelligence, wayward poetry and bluesy longing.
Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star
A movie that can't get sufficient distance from Leroy's delusions to escape their maudlin influence.
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail
The movie is obviously a labour of love so Howard appears to have had free rein to be as pretentious as he wanted.
Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News
A rough, uneven but admirably imaginative film.
Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press
While Howard's appreciation of Brown and his writing is clearly well-meaning and sincere, the movie would be impossible to sit through were it not for the supporting cast.
Carla Meyer, San Francisco Chronicle
Admirably ambitious but self-indulgent.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
This ambitious drama about a Vietnam vet trying to create fiction out of his troubled life and former marriage (to Debra Winger) is messy, rambling, and overlong.
Jurgen Fauth, About.com
Makes you wish you'd stayed at home with a book -- preferably one of Larry Brown's.
David Nusair, Apollo Guide
The very definition of what critics have come to term an "ambitious failure."
Keith Uhlich, ToxicUniverse.com
Ultimately a failed actor's piece...
Widgett Walls, Needcoffee.com
Offhand, if you'd like to see some great imagery about writing, then you should by all means rent this and skip to the good parts.
Jean Lowerison, San Diego Metropolitan
A flawed effort at best, but intriguing nonetheless.
Jason Clark, Matinee Magazine
The worst kind of independent; the one where actors play dress down hicks and ponderously mope around trying to strike lightning as captured by their 1970s predecessors
David Sterritt, Christian Science Monitor
The movie's best asset is Howard's filmmaking.
Manohla Dargis, L.A. Weekly
A mess, but it's a sincere mess.
Duane Dudek, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
It's a drawling, slobbering, lovable run-on sentence of a film, a Southern Gothic with the emotional arc of its raw blues soundtrack.
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Its pleasures are ... sharp and not to everyone's taste
Adam Nayman, eye WEEKLY
It retains enough moments of twangy gallows humour, mostly courtesy of Paul Le Mat as Leon's corpulent drinking buddy, to keep the film from becoming a bludgeoning experience.

Read all 18 critic reviews

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Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]In "Big Bad Love," Leon Barlow(Arliss Howard, who also directed and co-wrote) is an aspiring writer who tapes his rejection letters to his bathroom wall. His wealthy friend, Monroe(Paul Le Mat), gets him the occasional job housepainting, where they hang… More
[font=Century Gothic]In "Big Bad Love," Leon Barlow(Arliss Howard, who also directed and co-wrote) is an aspiring writer who tapes his rejection letters to his bathroom wall. His wealthy friend, Monroe(Paul Le Mat), gets him the occasional job housepainting, where they hang out together, followed by much drinking of beer. Due to his economic situation, Leon is often unable to come up with the child support for the two children he walked out on.[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]"Big Bad Love" is a rambling stream of consciousness movie that stays one step ahead of total incomprehension. It is a tricky approach to take with a movie because the reality and the fantasy can be hard to tell apart at times but here it works due to Howard's keen visual eye which does a very good job of showing Leon's mental state.(And it is especially clear that Leon has not had sex in a good long while.) But a little of that goes a long way, and after a while, it does get tedious before a huge event shakes up the movie, shoving it into an entirely new direction. In the end, the movie might have worked had it been about 20-30 minutes shorter.[/font]

Cast

            Arliss Howard as Barlow

            Debra Winger as Marilyn

            Paul Le Mat as Monroe

            Rosanna Arquette as Velma

            Angie Dickinson as Mrs. Barlow

            Michael Parks as Mr. Aaron

            Alex Van as Deputy

            R.L. Burnside as Himself

            Jo Ann Robinson as One Night Stand

            Sigourney Weaver as Betti Deloreo

            Gloria Winters as Mrs. Shepard

            Larry Brown as Mr. Barlow

            Michael Williamson as Young Barlow

            Coleman Barks as Minister

            Edwin P. Hicks as Judge

            Zach Moody as Alan

            Olivia Kersey as Alisha

            Kevin Mitchell as Twin #1

            Sue Peavey as Cindy

            Kenneth Carter as Nurse

            Melody Wilson as Young Mrs. Barlow

            Preston Duke as Farmer

            Jacob McAnally as Farmer's Son

            Ian McAnally as Farmer's Son

            Bob Muse as Lost Freezer Guy

            Cool Man as Himself

            Kenny Brown as Boxcar Marine/R. L.'s Band

            Christie Jackson as Betti Deloreo

            Reginald Wilson as Boy Athlete

            Johnny McPhail as Mop Guy

            Jaymee Vowel as Rebuffing Woman

            L. Jay Mckinney as Geranium Drunk

            Cedric Burnside as R. L.'s Band

            Matt Mitchell as Twin #2
See full cast