Crazy Love (2007)
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78% of critics liked it
(86 reviews) -
70% of users liked it
(5,495 ratings)
Filmmaker Dan Klores recounts the true story of one of the most bizarre romances of the 20th century in this documentary. In 1957, Linda Riss was a receptionist in her early twenties who bore a striking resemblance to Elizabeth Taylor, while attorney Burt Pugach was married and in his mid-thirties.… More Filmmaker Dan Klores recounts the true story of one of the most bizarre romances of the 20th century in this documentary. In 1957, Linda Riss was a receptionist in her early twenties who bore a striking resemblance to Elizabeth Taylor, while attorney Burt Pugach was married and in his mid-thirties. That didn't stop Pugach from falling in love with Riss on first sight when he saw her walking past her home in the Bronx, and he quickly asked her out on a date. Riss accepted, and continued to see Pugach even after she discovered he had a wife. However, after a year of wining and dining, Riss broke off the affair, convinced that Pugach would never divorce, but continue to string her along. Pugach desperately tried to convince Riss to give him a second chance and began stalking her, but when that failed and he learned she had decided to wed someone else, he told her, "If I can't have you, no one else will have you, and when I get through with you, no one else will want you." Pugach's statement was no idle threat -- a thug hired by Pugach threw lye into Riss' face in order to scar her for life, and ended up blinding her in one eye. The crime earned Pugach a 15-to-30-year prison sentence, but less than a year after he was released on parole, a peculiar thing happened -- Linda Riss and Burt Pugach got married. Crazy Love (aka Love Is in the Air) shares the details of this very strange love affair, and how this extremely unlikely couple has stayed together for 30 years. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Dan Klores, Fisher Stevens
- Genres
- Documentary, Special Interest
- In Theaters
- May 30, 2007 Wide
- Studio
- ThinkFilm
Critic Reviews
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Melissa Anderson, Time Out New York
As with all banner-head stories, there comes a point when you tire of being screamed at.
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Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
A Bronx tale full of jaw-dropping behavior and jaw-dropping hairdos.
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Andrew Sarris, New York Observer
It's too easy to feel superior to these two people and their marriage in hell for the sake of some easy (or even uneasy) laughter.
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Manohla Dargis, New York Times
Far too readily tends to play this pathetic story for laughs.
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Kerry Lengel, Arizona Republic
Particularly because many viewers have already seen the TV-news version, almost any other genre would have been even more compelling -- a fictionalized drama, perhaps, or Truman Capote-style narrative non-fiction.
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