Robb's If Only Review

robbb · 11-08-2004, 06:12 PM

I just watched If Only last night. If you're a Love fan, damn, a must see!! They both did a great job!! A definite chick flick all the way, but it was really well done. At first I thought it was a bit over acted, but then it settled down and you really cared about the characters. I liked the soundtrack songs too.

Robb [img]graemlins/spin.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/spin.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/upside.gif[/img]

11-08-2004, 08:24 PM

robbb: thanks for the review! glad you liked the movie. I think it's Love's best.
I don't think I would necessarily classify it as a chick flick, though. When I think "chick flick," I think "Steel Magnolias," "Mona Lisa Smile" -- the kind of movie with a lot of women, figuring out their lives, talking about their feelings, etc. I think this is definitely a great date movie, and there are certainly a lot of romantic moments that will appeal to women, but it feels more universal than a chick flick would imply: the idea that we should all live life to the fullest (as ilovelove observed) and that we should appreciate what we have while we have it. I think that's a more universal, human theme than you find in most chick flicks.

robbb · 11-08-2004, 08:35 PM

Yeah, I agree with everything you said Boo Boo. Totally right!

Robb

i love love · 11-09-2004, 05:32 AM

I feel the movies that are labeled "chick flicks" tend to be some of the great movies. I loved Steel Magnolias, Fried Green Tomatoes and then again I loved Pulp Fiction and Saw too. In my opinion, movies with heavy emotional acting are the best, from DeNiro's Awakening to DeNiro's Taxi Driver to Hurt's The Elephant Man to that chick flick romp Thelma and Louise.

Anyway, I feel "If Only" delivers on a few levels. Almost sci-fi almost pure drama. The twist is subtle and leaves you questioning what exactly happened. And DAMN Love sings more than once and with a full orchestra to boot. This is certainly the best movie, plot and character Love has done in my opinion.

**Trotter** · 11-09-2004, 05:58 AM

[img]smile.gif[/img]
The movie was AMAZING for so many diffrent reasons, it was by far Love's best EVER acting performance.

But at the end of the day I was left banging my head agaisnt a wall thinking how much this would help Love's career and her standing as an actor if this film was shown world wide..... :(

LOVE YOUNG GIFTED & GORGEOUS

11-09-2004, 11:51 AM

*cries* i wanna see it :(

11-09-2004, 01:38 PM

ROBBB: thanks [img]smile.gif[/img]
ILOVELOVE: you make some good points about "emotional" movies often being the best -- because they're ABOUT something, not just about car chases, or explosions. I just feel "chick flick" is a limiting label and felt it might encourage people to dismiss the film as too touchy-feel girly ... which it isn't. It's emotional and powerful.
TROTTER: sadly, I agree with you, too. I saw this film a LONG time ago, at a special screening in the spring of 2003 and I knew then this could be Love's big break -- to make her the even bigger star she deserves to be and to gain her more credibility within the industry for a stunning performance. That's why I've been so obsessed with the film -- it shows what she is capable of, as both an actress and a singer. It shows good taste in material (since she produced it) and I think it would win her a new generation of fans. I can't believe the release of this film got so screwed up, but I'm still hoping for something positive in the English-speaking regions of the world. It's too good of a movie for something good not to come from it ... even if it has to be TV or DVD.

11-09-2004, 02:14 PM

hahaha, i love that he said at first it was overacted...when I saw this in Sarasota during the first 5 minutes I was going "OH GOD this is going to be a horrible performance" but after the once the opening bedroom scene was over everything fell into place and the acting was great. I'm glad I wasn't the only one to notice this.

11-09-2004, 03:18 PM

Is the version of the movie shown in Sarasota the same cut of the film on the DVD? I think I remember someone (BooBoo?) saying they made some changes and removed some underwear scenes... something like that.

It's without question Love's best performance in a movie. I also remember another post where someone said she nailed the crying scenes on the first take?

11-09-2004, 04:01 PM

yes, Xator. This is definitely the version shown in Sarasota. There are still underwear scenes -- the ones that are organic and make sense (like the two of them waking up in bed together ... she wouldn't have on a full length evening gown, of course!) What they got rid of -- after a test screening last year -- was a scene of Love at the apartment by herself, washing her soiled sweater ... she's standing at the sink, wearing revealing underwear while washing her sweater. And the females in the audience at the test screening thought it was gratuituous (I bet the guys disagreed ;) )

11-09-2004, 04:04 PM

gratuitous, that is (sorry for the misspelling).
P.S. I don't know whether Love nailed the crying scenes in the first take or not (though even if it took several takes, she did a fantastic job).
What I heard was that she nailed the SONG "Love will show you everything" in the studio in the first take. That would be really impressive, as she sounds fantastic.

11-09-2004, 05:15 PM

Check your PM, BooBoo.

11-09-2004, 08:27 PM

In Sarasota they said she nailed the final crying scene in one take...

As for the soiled sweater scene...I definitely can understand why they pulled it and I hate when films have unnecessary scenes, but I will say I wouldn't have complained if they left that unnecessary scene in there.

**superboy** · 11-09-2004, 10:01 PM

This movie sounds real good. I definally need to order this real, real soon.

11-08-2004, 06:12 PM	#1 (permalink)
robbb Member Join Date: May 2000 Location: Bloomington, Minnesota Posts: 113 My Profile	I just watched If Only last night. If you're a Love fan, damn, a must see!! They both did a great job!! A definite chick flick all the way, but it was really well done. At first I thought it was a bit over acted, but then it settled down and you really cared about the characters. I liked the soundtrack songs too. Robb [img]graemlins/spin.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/spin.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/upside.gif[/img]

11-08-2004, 08:24 PM	#2 (permalink)
BooBoo Guest Posts: n/a	robbb: thanks for the review! glad you liked the movie. I think it's Love's best. I don't think I would necessarily classify it as a chick flick, though. When I think "chick flick," I think "Steel Magnolias," "Mona Lisa Smile" -- the kind of movie with a lot of women, figuring out their lives, talking about their feelings, etc. I think this is definitely a great date movie, and there are certainly a lot of romantic moments that will appeal to women, but it feels more universal than a chick flick would imply: the idea that we should all live life to the fullest (as ilovelove observed) and that we should appreciate what we have while we have it. I think that's a more universal, human theme than you find in most chick flicks.

11-08-2004, 08:35 PM	#3 (permalink)
robbb Member Join Date: May 2000 Location: Bloomington, Minnesota Posts: 113 My Profile	Yeah, I agree with everything you said Boo Boo. Totally right! Robb

11-09-2004, 05:32 AM	#4 (permalink)
i love love . Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: a black hole in a back pocket universe Posts: 5,263 My Profile	I feel the movies that are labeled "chick flicks" tend to be some of the great movies. I loved Steel Magnolias, Fried Green Tomatoes and then again I loved Pulp Fiction and Saw too. In my opinion, movies with heavy emotional acting are the best, from DeNiro's Awakening to DeNiro's Taxi Driver to Hurt's The Elephant Man to that chick flick romp Thelma and Louise. Anyway, I feel "If Only" delivers on a few levels. Almost sci-fi almost pure drama. The twist is subtle and leaves you questioning what exactly happened. And DAMN Love sings more than once and with a full orchestra to boot. This is certainly the best movie, plot and character Love has done in my opinion.

11-09-2004, 05:58 AM	#5 (permalink)
Trotter JLH Nut Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Sydenham,London Posts: 42,100 My Profile	[img]smile.gif[/img] The movie was AMAZING for so many diffrent reasons, it was by far Love's best EVER acting performance. But at the end of the day I was left banging my head agaisnt a wall thinking how much this would help Love's career and her standing as an actor if this film was shown world wide..... :( LOVE YOUNG GIFTED & GORGEOUS

11-09-2004, 11:51 AM	#6 (permalink)
Little Love Guest Posts: n/a	cries i wanna see it :(

11-09-2004, 01:38 PM	#7 (permalink)
BooBoo Guest Posts: n/a	ROBBB: thanks [img]smile.gif[/img] ILOVELOVE: you make some good points about "emotional" movies often being the best -- because they're ABOUT something, not just about car chases, or explosions. I just feel "chick flick" is a limiting label and felt it might encourage people to dismiss the film as too touchy-feel girly ... which it isn't. It's emotional and powerful. TROTTER: sadly, I agree with you, too. I saw this film a LONG time ago, at a special screening in the spring of 2003 and I knew then this could be Love's big break -- to make her the even bigger star she deserves to be and to gain her more credibility within the industry for a stunning performance. That's why I've been so obsessed with the film -- it shows what she is capable of, as both an actress and a singer. It shows good taste in material (since she produced it) and I think it would win her a new generation of fans. I can't believe the release of this film got so screwed up, but I'm still hoping for something positive in the English-speaking regions of the world. It's too good of a movie for something good not to come from it ... even if it has to be TV or DVD.

11-09-2004, 02:14 PM	#8 (permalink)
chris h Guest Posts: n/a	hahaha, i love that he said at first it was overacted...when I saw this in Sarasota during the first 5 minutes I was going "OH GOD this is going to be a horrible performance" but after the once the opening bedroom scene was over everything fell into place and the acting was great. I'm glad I wasn't the only one to notice this.

11-09-2004, 03:18 PM	#9 (permalink)
Xator Guest Posts: n/a	Is the version of the movie shown in Sarasota the same cut of the film on the DVD? I think I remember someone (BooBoo?) saying they made some changes and removed some underwear scenes... something like that. It's without question Love's best performance in a movie. I also remember another post where someone said she nailed the crying scenes on the first take?

11-09-2004, 04:01 PM	#10 (permalink)
BooBoo Guest Posts: n/a	yes, Xator. This is definitely the version shown in Sarasota. There are still underwear scenes -- the ones that are organic and make sense (like the two of them waking up in bed together ... she wouldn't have on a full length evening gown, of course!) What they got rid of -- after a test screening last year -- was a scene of Love at the apartment by herself, washing her soiled sweater ... she's standing at the sink, wearing revealing underwear while washing her sweater. And the females in the audience at the test screening thought it was gratuituous (I bet the guys disagreed ;) )

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11-09-2004, 04:04 PM	#11 (permalink)
BooBoo Guest Posts: n/a	gratuitous, that is (sorry for the misspelling). P.S. I don't know whether Love nailed the crying scenes in the first take or not (though even if it took several takes, she did a fantastic job). What I heard was that she nailed the SONG "Love will show you everything" in the studio in the first take. That would be really impressive, as she sounds fantastic.

11-09-2004, 05:15 PM	#12 (permalink)
Xator Guest Posts: n/a	Check your PM, BooBoo.

11-09-2004, 08:27 PM	#13 (permalink)
chris h Guest Posts: n/a	In Sarasota they said she nailed the final crying scene in one take... As for the soiled sweater scene...I definitely can understand why they pulled it and I hate when films have unnecessary scenes, but I will say I wouldn't have complained if they left that unnecessary scene in there.

11-09-2004, 10:01 PM	#14 (permalink)
superboy Sports/Starlets Mod Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Philly Posts: 11,707	This movie sounds real good. I definally need to order this real, real soon.