Loverboy

Starring: Patrick Dempsey, Kate Jackson, Robert Ginty, Nancy Valen, Dylan Walsh, Kristie Alley, Carrie Fisher
Directed by: Joan Micklin Silver
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy
1989

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A college student (Patrick Dempsey) home for summer vacation spends his time working in a pizza restaurant. He stumbles into a gig as a male companion when women start paying him for more than just delivering pizzas.

Review:

Tim: Loveboy is a pretty lightweight, silly late 80's comedy. The movie isn't particularly funny or memorable, but it is not wholly unenjoyable, either. The story is absurd, but if you put that aside, there are a few (a very few) funny moments. However, most of this movie is simply not very good at all. The film is flimsy and forgettable. It simply has no staying power. This is a movie that you begin to forget the moment you finish it. That does not say much about the quality.

This is a movie about a somewhat controversial topic that ignores how un-PC the plot really is. We have a young, college student who acts as a "companion" to a whole host of much older, married women. It really sounds like a set up for pornography, not a comedy. This student's behavior is never really questioned- it is encouraged by those around him, and when parents/girlfriends find out, they are incredibly willing to forgive him. This is unrealistic and stupid.

The cast isn't very good. I suppose Patrick Dempsey does a good enough job in the lead role. He at least brings a great deal of energy and fun to the role. While absurd in an 80s way, Dempsey at least dives into the role, and his high energy does help this movie some. I liked seeing Kristie Alley and Carrie Fisher as two of the older "clients," but neither one really made a huge impact. Kate Jackson and Dylan Walsh were decent, but nothing special. If you want to watch this movie for the cast, Dempsey is the only one worth seeing.

As with many similar comedies, the movie just spirals out of control. Several key plot points are telegraphed, so there are very few surprises here. The movie unfolds as you would expect, so there's not much to get excited about. The longer the movie goes, the greater and greater it starts to unravel. By the time the movie builds to its conclusion, logic has completely gone out the window, and we're just waiting for the movie to end. It is hard to get involved in characters or the story when everything comes cross as so silly and stupid. Why should we get invested at all?

Loverboy is a movie with no heart and nothing underneath its surface. It is representative of the type of 80s comedy that simply was not very effective, but continued to get made throughout the decade. There are so many good comedies from the 1980s, I can't imagine why people would want to waste their time on one that wasn't.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 5



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