Love and a .45 (1994)

83% of critics liked it
(6 reviews)
62% of users liked it
(3,500 ratings)

Two young lovers go on the run from the law after a convenience store robbery goes bad in this road movie. Love and a .45 centers on philosophically inclined thief Watty Watts (Gil Bellows), who believes in a little robbery but not real violence. An ill-advised collaboration with a crazed,… More Two young lovers go on the run from the law after a convenience store robbery goes bad in this road movie. Love and a .45 centers on philosophically inclined thief Watty Watts (Gil Bellows), who believes in a little robbery but not real violence. An ill-advised collaboration with a crazed, drugged-out biker (Rory Cochrane) ends badly, however, forcing Watty to go on the run. His girlfriend Starlene (Renee Zellweger) joins him, and the two become media darlings thanks to television coverage of their flight from the law. First-time director C.M. Talkington's combination of violence and ironic attitude recalls both 1970s crime dramas and Quentin Tarantino's violent, quirky takes on the genre. However, the film's warmed-over feel may be redeemed by its irreverent tone and appealing performances, including a self-parodying appearance by Peter Fonda. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 41 min.
Directed By: C.M. Talkington
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure, Art House & International, Mystery & Suspense, Comedy

In Theaters: Nov 23, 1994 Wide
On DVD: Jun 8, 1999
Studio: Trimark

Critic Reviews

Clint Morris, Film Threat
quite a BANG!
Brian Mckay, eFilmCritic.com
Captures that Texas Rockabilly Highway Outlaw spirit . . . a bit silly and lags in places, but [it] puts the fun back into antisocial and homicidal behavior
John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
...this Tarentino road trip rip-off nevertheless has its own silly charm.

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Featured Audience Ratings

xGary X

When a convenience store robbery goes wrong, a professional thief and his true love head to Mexico pursued by the cops, a pair of drug addled hitmen and his psychotic ex-partner. Original, Love And A .45 is not. But although blatantly pillaging True Romance, Wild At Heart and… More
When a convenience store robbery goes wrong, a professional thief and his true love head to Mexico pursued by the cops, a pair of drug addled hitmen and his psychotic ex-partner. Original, Love And A .45 is not. But although blatantly pillaging True Romance, Wild At Heart and Reservoir Dogs, it's written and directed with enough style and understanding of the genre that it has enough going for it to make it a pretty decent blood spattered road movie. Gil Bellows and a surprisingly hot Renee Zellweger make a likeable couple and they are ably supported by Rory Cochrane's manic turn as the scumbag who's the source of all their woes and Jeffrey (Reanimator) Combs is clearly enjoying himself as the obligatory wacky hitman. The one handicap is its insistence on having wacky characters shoot up drugs and wave guns around instead of any real plot development which means it has run out of steam by the rather anti-climactic ending. The low budget means it's not the measure of a Tarantino or Rodriguez, but it's still at least as good as the likes of Kalifornia and Red Rock West and a lot better than the wildly over-rated Natural Born Killers.
moon r

the hot empty wastes of the american west inexorably bring trouble to mind and so herein a lonesome tale of love and death for one trailerpark couple that simply are minding their own business...with a pair of .45's, welcome to america. gil bellows (what ever happened to him?)… More
the hot empty wastes of the american west inexorably bring trouble to mind and so herein a lonesome tale of love and death for one trailerpark couple that simply are minding their own business...with a pair of .45's, welcome to america. gil bellows (what ever happened to him?) and renee zellweger dance with the devil in a cousin coda to "natural born killers".
Michael G

Picture True Romance. Except not as good.