Tom (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) arrives home all eager to celebrate Valentine's Day with his girlfriend Sara. He even plans on asking Sara to marry him and has gathered four of his closest buddies to witness the occasion. Much to his dismay, however, he discovers upon entering the house that Sara has packed her bags and left him a Dear John letter, effectively putting an end to Tom's vision of eternal marital bliss. Further complicating the issue is the fact that one of Tom's friends, mistakenly believing he's going to a party, has invited a bunch of hot young ladies from his bar to join in the festivities.
You could be forgiven for assuming that "What Love Is" began life as a theatrical work, since writer/director Mars Callahan has filmed it in the form usually reserved for stage-to-screen adaptations. It all takes place on a single set, with the characters declaiming at one another in that histrionic way that stage actors alone are wont to do. The result is an inert, talky, claustrophobic work riddled with heightened dialogue, pseudo-profundities, long-winded speechifying and manic performances. Each character is given his moment in the spotlight – whereupon he proceeds to air his grievances concerning women, gays, straights and each other - then hands the microphone off to the next person, who pretty much does the same.
Then we get the distaff view of things, as the ladies who arrive for the party barricade themselves in the restroom to discuss at exhausting length the outrageousness and inadequacies of men.
Finally, it all comes down to the mixing of the sexes as the party moves into high gear and the characters engage in verbal jousting about the problems and pitfalls of romantic relationships.
The movie indulges in any number of requisite stereotypes, ranging from the loudmouthed, homophobic misogynist to the lisping, swishing homosexual (played by Callahan himself) and just about everything in between.
In the final analysis, a game cast – which includes Matthew Lillard, Sean Astin and Anne Heche, among others – is let down by inferior filmmaking and material.
You could be forgiven for assuming that "What Love Is" began life as a theatrical work, since writer/director Mars Callahan has filmed it in the form usually reserved for stage-to-screen adaptations. It all takes place on a single set, with the characters declaiming at one another in that histrionic way that stage actors alone are wont to do. The result is an inert, talky, claustrophobic work riddled with heightened dialogue, pseudo-profundities, long-winded speechifying and manic performances. Each character is given his moment in the spotlight – whereupon he proceeds to air his grievances concerning women, gays, straights and each other - then hands the microphone off to the next person, who pretty much does the same.
Then we get the distaff view of things, as the ladies who arrive for the party barricade themselves in the restroom to discuss at exhausting length the outrageousness and inadequacies of men.
Finally, it all comes down to the mixing of the sexes as the party moves into high gear and the characters engage in verbal jousting about the problems and pitfalls of romantic relationships.
The movie indulges in any number of requisite stereotypes, ranging from the loudmouthed, homophobic misogynist to the lisping, swishing homosexual (played by Callahan himself) and just about everything in between.
In the final analysis, a game cast – which includes Matthew Lillard, Sean Astin and Anne Heche, among others – is let down by inferior filmmaking and material.