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Big Bad Love

Play trailer Poster for Big Bad Love R 2002 1h 51m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
42% Tomatometer 59 Reviews 70% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
An investigation into what it takes to make a thing. A chair, a soufflé, a pistol, a bridge. They come into being out of a certain restlessness, an irrefutable drive to put something where nothing was before. It's about running after something that you can never catch, and running from something you can never elude: As many kinds of love as there are in the world, the ones that make your heart beat fastest and the blood rush around in your head are usually the ones you can't put down.
Big Bad Love

What to Know

Critics Consensus

A boozy depiction of a struggling writer, Big Bad Love is too messy and self-indulgent.

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Critics Reviews

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Keith Uhlich ToxicUniverse.com 02/07/2003
2/5
Ultimately a failed actor's piece... Go to Full Review Manohla Dargis L.A. Weekly 08/08/2002
A mess, but it's a sincere mess. Go to Full Review Michael Wilmington Chicago Tribune 07/20/2002
3/4
Though you couldn't call Love a complete success, it's packed with talent and intelligence, wayward poetry and bluesy longing. Go to Full Review Richard Crouse Richard Crouse 01/31/2021
4/5
A well crafted directorial debut from Howard who handles this quiet tale of an artist's redemption with a firm hand. Go to Full Review Mark Halverson Sacramento News & Review 08/07/2008
2/5
Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com 04/12/2006
D+
This ambitious drama about a Vietnam vet trying to create fiction out of his troubled life and former marriage (to Debra Winger) is messy, rambling, and overlong. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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06/01/2021 The greatest film of all time! See more 08/12/2013 One of my all-time favorite movies. Real characters and true life on the screen, dealing with the pain of what average life can take from a person devoted to his/her art. A profound, yet also subtle film -- not appreciated or understood by many. See more 04/26/2012 Superb direction, acting, music, cinematography. Arliss Howard and his colleagues should be commended for this unheralded gem. See more 04/10/2012 an odd film about a southern author's day to day struggles with success and happiness See more 01/05/2012 The main character (an author), starts the movie by getting drunk. Then he drinks a beer while writing. Then his manuscript gets rejected and he drinks. Then he goes to a bar, gets drunk, and sucker punches a guy. Then the next day, he wakes up in his filthy home and has a hangover. Not a fun way to spend 90 minutes. See more 06/13/2009 seriously a gorgeous flick. great writing and directing. with great music too See more Read all reviews
Big Bad Love

My Rating

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Cast & Crew

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Arliss Howard

Director

Arliss Howard

Barlow

Debra Winger

Marilyn

Paul Le Mat

Monroe

Rosanna Arquette

Velma

Angie Dickinson

Mrs. Barlow

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Big Bad Love

Big Bad Love (2001) Bride, Marilyn (Debra Winger) and groom, Leon Barlow (Arliss Howard) with (center) best man Monroe (Paul Le Mat) and Mr. Ed in BIG BAD LOVE. An IFC Films release. Debra Winger (as Marilyn Barlow) in BIG BAD LOVE. An IFC Films release. Arliss Howard (Leon Barlow) is the Direcor, Co-Writer and star of BIG BAD LOVE with Producer and Co-Star, Debra Winger (Marilyn). An IFC Films release. Rosanna Arquette as "Velma" the wealthy heiress to a string of Mortuaries and her twin baby-brothers played by Kevin and Matt Mitchell in BIG BAD LOVE. An IFC Films release. View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis An investigation into what it takes to make a thing. A chair, a soufflé, a pistol, a bridge. They come into being out of a certain restlessness, an irrefutable drive to put something where nothing was before. It's about running after something that you can never catch, and running from something you can never elude: As many kinds of love as there are in the world, the ones that make your heart beat fastest and the blood rush around in your head are usually the ones you can't put down.
Director
Arliss Howard
Producer
Debra Winger
Screenwriter
Arliss Howard, Jim Howard
Distributor
IFC Films
Production Co
Sun Moon & Stars Productions, Big Bad Love LLC
Rating
R (Some Sexuality|Language)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 22, 2002, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 23, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$100.4K
Runtime
1h 51m
Sound Mix
Surround
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)