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What Love Is
Metascore
14 out of 100

Overwhelming dislike - based on 8 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 8
  3. Negative: 7 out of 8
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  1. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Josh Rosenblatt
    67
    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.
  2. Variety
    Reviewed by: Peter Debruge
    30
    Picture looks and sounds like an Off Off Broadway play.
  3. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Peter Hartlaub
    25
    An acquired taste.
  4. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Andrea Gronvall
    20
    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.
  5. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: James C. Taylor
    10
    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.
  6. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Staff (Not credited)
    0
    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.
  7. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: Sean Axmaker
    0
    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.
  8. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Mark Olsen
    0
    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.
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User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.8 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 13 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 6
  3. Negative: 1 out of 6
  1. JayH.
    3
    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.… Full Review »
  2. TonyW.
    10
    Very funny, fast, with a message.
  3. HondoJ.
    10
    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.… Full Review »
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