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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
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What Love Is
EMAILPRINTBig Sky Motion Pictures

Overwhelming dislike
Based on 8 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 13 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Comedy
Written by: Mars Callahan
Directed by: Mars Callahan
Release Date:
Theatrical: March 23, 2007
Running Time: 88 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: R for pervasive language including graphic sexual dialogue, and some erotic dancing
Starring Cuba Gooding Jr., Matthew Lillard, Mars Callahan, Sean Astin, Anne Heche, Andrew Daly, Gina Gershon, and Tamala Jones
A sincere, insightful and unapologetically frank romantic comedy about a man who finds out, during the course of one very important night in his life, what love truly is. (Big Sky Motion Pictures)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Poolhall Junkies
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Austin Chronicle Josh Rosenblatt
In its own peculiar way, What Love Is is a testament to the redemptive power of words. Thankfully, Callahan knows to keep it short and sweet, lest his audience go mad from the noise.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Andrea Gronvall
Romantic comedies should never be this exhausting. Despite a few good zingers, Mars Callahan's vitriolic take on the sexes sinks under the weight of its secondhand psychobabble and smug apercus.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly James C. Taylor
Actor-writer-director Mars Callahan's diarrheal 10-character rant about modern relationships sounds like it was researched by eavesdropping on the restroom chatter at a high school prom.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker
It's a shrill cacophony of puerile clichés about men and women and sex, delivered in adrenaline-driven harangues and arrogant lectures. When the stage clears, all that's left is the unpleasant odor of all that hot air.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Mark Olsen
Devotes itself to inflicting serious pain upon innocent moviegoers who wander into what is perhaps the single most poorly conceived and ineptly executed movie released to theaters in quite some time.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Staff (Not credited)
The problem is that if Callahan spent even a week writing this script, he wasted four good days. The dialogue, characters and situations are distressingly bad.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 8.7 (out of 10) based on 13 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Jay H. gave it a3:
Way too yakky and tritely written, at times abrasive as well as stereotypical. The acting isn't too bad, but it seems like a stage play. A waste of some good talent.
Tony W. gave it a10:
Very funny, fast, with a message.
Hondo J. gave it a10:
Auteur Mars Callahan has created a one-of-a-kind hilarious romp through the pitfalls of commitment. "What Love Is" manages to remain true to the rom-com form while at the same time avoiding the sappy cliches. The marvelous Matthew Lillard, last seen in a low-key turn as Shaggy in the Scooby Doo series, is alternately charming and menacing as the required best friend, and Anne Heche is breathtaking as the always-a-bridesmaid-never-a-bride older sister. Callahan's script operates at a breakneck pace, bringing to mind classics such as "The Philadelphia Story" and "Adam's Rib," appropriate since Gina Gershon reveals herself to be the next Katharine Hepburn. If you ask this reviewer "What Love Is," he'll tell you: the odds-on favorite for Oscar glory so far.
John S. gave it a10:
I got the message of the movie. I can see how most people won't. 95% of the world has no idea what love really is and if you have no idea what it is then you probably won't recognize it when you see it. Most people believe that love is what they feel for a person. Love is not about what you feel. It is how you want the person you love to feel. When you care about another person more than you care about yourself then that is Love and that is the message in this movie. Like most people feel for their children, most people would rather die before allowing harm to their child.
Robert R. gave it a10:
This movie is hilarious, a great way to get in to the spring break mood.
Flyin free gave it a10:
I recently had a chance to view this movie at a screening and it is a hilarious comedy. they have some of the clips at the website for the movie and while it may seem like the trailer has all the best parts, it doesn't. This movie has a lot more to give. It';s a love comedy for adults when a lot of love comedies are mostly for teens. In my opinion it's the funniest movie of this year.
