Love on the Side (2004)

As Good As It Gets

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Blistering performances.

Eve Stuckley (Marla Sokoloff) is a waitress and the owner of a diner in Squamish. She pines for Jeff Sweeney (Barry Watson) but he doesn't notice. Alma (Jennifer Tilly) is a fellow waitress who is dating funeral director Red (Dave Thomas). Just when Eve is about to do something about Jeff, outsider Linda Avery (Monika Schnarre) walks into the diner catching Jeff's attention. Linda is staying at the Sweeney Inn. She shocks Eve by making out with her. The bisexual Linda sets off competing love interests. Jeff and Eve's brother Chuck battle for her attention.Sokoloff is adorable. The only thing is that she's can't sell being fat. Linda could have been a very limited character but she turns out to be quite interesting. On the hand, Jeff is much less interesting. I can live with a wacky Jennifer Tilly. Pairing her up with a wacky Dave Thomas is a little too much. It's a low budget Canadian rom-com but it does take a few compelling turns. It's not top-level production but it's worth a look.

No matter what film Jennifer Tilly is in I absolutely love her. She is not only original she is gorgeous and almost always she has me on the floor laughing my head off - and here she is at her best. She steals the film hands down and the rest of the cast as good as they are simply do not add up to the talent Jennifer Tilly has in her little finger. She is a treasure - a perfect example of why film remains relevant in a world where so much seems increasingly irrelevant. As far as the film is concerned I just thought of it as a showcase for Jennifer Tilly. The storyline was so fragmented and convoluted that my head was spinning - but it just made me all the more anxious for Jennifer Tilly's next scene and fortunately they always came when I needed them.

Eve is a waitress in a small town. She lives at home with her brother and doesn't have the money to shake things up. Despite being a talented artist and a quietly beautiful and thoughtful girl, a gentleman named Jeff does not give her the time of day. That is, until the day Linda shows up. She is a tall, gorgeous female businesswoman who makes all of the local gentlemen pant. Including Jeff. But, Linda is not interested in the male gender, she has her eye on Eve. Suddenly, in a strange twist of fate, Jeff finds himself looking at Evie in a different way. Is it possible for Eve to acquire what she has most wanted in life? This is a movie that has no tendencies to be sensational but which still may offend those looking for a nice little love story. The lesbian angle is hidden somewhere in the fine print of the box's cover and one may pick it up, thinking it is just a typical love triangle. But, its not. That said, it is truly has a sweet tale to tell, without shoving anyone's preferences in the viewer's face. The actors are all give nice performances, the script is thoughtful and original, and the costumes/settings are quite appealing. Jennifer Tilly and Dave Thomas are on hand to make things lively and funny, even as the story takes a serious turn. If you would be uncomfortable watching a movie with a few homosexual situations, you should avoid this film, yes. But, at its center, this is truly a love story between a man and a woman. For those who are always clamoring for more love dramas, this is an optional choice for an evening, with much to offer its audience.

The movie centres around Eve, a waitress in a small-town diner who has pined for the local football star for years while he barely notices her. She worries about her weight and wonders if anyone will ever really love her. Enter Linda, a leggy blonde from the big city who puts things in motion.A recap from another commentator.It used to be you had to have lumberjacks working in the background, or at least arriving from "lumbercamp" in a rusty pickup or lots of snow and ice...or french Canadians swearing in french to English Canadians for you to be sure it was a Canadian film.Well, I'm here to report that this is no longer so. Canadian cinema has matured and no longer relies on tired clichés to prove it isn't American.Plus, apart from one British Columbia licence plate, there were no overt displays of Canadianism. Didn't see one Canadian flag, no swearing french Canadians etc.So, to the Grade 7 students of Squamish High School I say BRAVO! I'm truly impressed with the calibre of a romantic comedy set in rural BC that they have managed to produce together as a class. The love's story climax in New York City must've really strained the budget.Thanks must also go to the Prime Minister of Canada (former Paul Martin) to have also sanctioned this project. The filming in New York City and the male lead's black Mustang were made possible by his decree that every possible level of federal, provincial, municipal levels of authority and government were there to assist the inexperienced and financially limited immature yet enthusiastic 13 year olds in achieving their goal. I think the US ambassador to Canada must've chipped in too....wow, New York! Regrettably though, moral leadership and mature advice was witheld from the young High School students to ensure the movie was representative of small town life in Canada and an honest portrayal of what's coursing through the Canadian teen mind.As such, the "leggy blond" who visits this backwater heaven is actually a lesbian always on the lookout for new adventures. The main heroine is a naive lovelorn thing and gets crosseyed for the lesbian leggy blonde. From beer swilling jock to suave sincere Casanova....I've never seen a male lead undergo such a transformation. Evidently, the heterosexual grade 7 girls got it right, you can't really expect your female lead to really fall for a beer swilling, unemployed "I only shave once a week", belching, selfish oaf who really needs both hands to be able to count to 10. That may be reality, but it won't do for the silver screen! So, he was remade. At the end, he is (shaved, yes) warm, sincere, intelligent...or much improved anyways, in love of course..and ready to drop his life to join our crosseyed naive waitress studying in New York.Some things will grate on you, especially if your Canadian. For mass market appeal (duh..the US), funny money (or Monopoly money)was not used. In a startling event (I almost fell off my chair), the leggy blonde lesbian, which is now a sensitive, thoughtful leggy blonde horny lesbian, discovers a secret cache of cash in a not so charming pig statuette. All American bills, (with a couple of loonies and twoonies thrown in for eye bauble value) Even if every bill was a 100, there's no way they could've bought what they did with it. There was at best 10K.. Canadian currency was a thumbs down probably because the producers didn't want to raise any alarms about the US being invaded by Canada.Oh well, you get the point. Oh and by the way, if your young and straight, lol, don't move to Squamish B.C. Gays and lesbians abound, and they come from all over too to partake of the few who are not sure if they are.On the positive side, Jennifer Tilly is in FINE form. The lead heroine's eyes are a charming misty grey/blue, and you can't tell the obligatory Parks Canada and Wildlife shots that include pristine lakes are full of acid rain and contain little if any fish.Now, if I was gay or lesbian and American, apart from the licence plate thing and the government department credits at the end, I'd say it was middling to fair and the whole harping about homosexuals that I'm doing is old fashioned and passé. But you will feel a bit disoriented though when you see all those houses and buildings and car bumpers devoid of the American flag. AH HAH you'll say, that movie isn't American!