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| Love
Don't Cost a Thing
Directed By: Troy
Beyer Plot
Summary - Review 1 - Review
2 - CURRENT REVIEWS
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| Remake of 1987' Can't Buy Me Love, starring Patrick Dempsey. [TRAILER] There isn’t much love at play in “Love Don’t Cost A Thing;” in fact, love really isn’t the subject at all in this game of teenage popularity and social pressure. This movie is about every kid’s desperate need to fit in and, if you’re willing to look deeper, a scathing indictment of a culture that rewards those who play the social game of repression and domination. Based on the forgettable 1987 film “Can’t Buy Me Love,” the 2003 version is hardly a simple replica of the original. First, it incorporates a cast of little-known, African American actors. The biggest name here is Steve Harvey, and his hilarious, sex-obsessed father character will not likely draw any of this film’s teenie-bopper market segment to the theater. Furthermore, “Love Don’t Cost A Thing” is a bit more cynical that “Can’t Buy Me Love.” There is more of a message this time around concerning materialism, artificiality and acceptance, and although it is only pared out in tiny doses, it still does laps around the painfully shallow first version. The story is one for the ages. Alvin (Nick Cannon) is smart, but a dork and a loser. He has loser friends. He wears loser clothes. He drives a loser car. He has a loser job cleaning pools. But he has saved up money with his job – enough to buy a piece of car equipment that will allow him to win a coveted General Motors college scholarship. He is intent on this being his path to success, until Paris (Christina Milian), the school’s most popular cheerleader, shows up one day at the car shop with her parent’s car. She has crashed it, is in big trouble, and Alvin decides to spend his money fixing her car in exchange for her attention. In simpler terms, Alvin blows $1,500 in exchange for a girlfriend for two weeks. Now before you move on to another review of a film that sounds more intelligent or challenging, please, keep reading. Much like me, I’m sure you’re convinced of where this is going – that Paris hangs out with Alvin, at first out of obligation, and then the two fall in love. Well, duh. But director Troy Beyer has added something deeper to this shallow story of popular cliques, clothes and lingo. Alvin is really never after love. His heart flutters for Paris, and he caves in as soon as he sees her in need, but what he is actually after is popularity. He is a cynical character, manipulating the situation perfectly so that he can leap into the “cool” social class of his school. He does not want to be cool to catch Paris’ eyes, but rather wants OTHER women to notice him together with her. “Love Don’t Cost A Thing” is at times reminiscent of a condensed version of “The Godfather” or “Scarface,” showing a nobody rise to the ranks of the coolest kid at school, and then witnessing his ultimate demise due to his arrogance and greed. The movie’s themes are not unique. Every year, dozens of movies come out targeting younger audiences about the very same thing. What separates each copy is the unique twists it brings to its portrayal of adolescent life and the personalities which breathe life into the formula. Harvey, as Alvin’s dead, is the life of the party. Every scene with him is a gem – most notably when he demonstrates the use of a prophylactic on, of all things, a beer bottle. Enough cannot be said, however, for the mostly unknown Nick Cannon (“Drumline”). Even as the hip, cool Al of the film’s later portions, he feels natural, and this is something rarely found within movies of this sort. In most teenage comedies, we watch pretty people act stupid before they blossom into the hero. Throughout “Love Don’t Cost A Thing,” Cannon is a real kid, enjoying the ride. Asking if this movie is good is a ridiculous question. It is what it is. What I hope for as a lover of movies is for some subtle injection of intelligence, of something that speaks with truth and sincerity. For those willing to listen, there’s some of that here.   Check out Reviews, Commentary, and More at Zertinet.com |
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