Luv

Directed by Clive Donner, Luv follows Jack Lemmon’s Harry Berlin as his attempt at suicide is interrupted by the unexpected appearance of an old college classmate named Milt Manville (Peter Falk) – with the narrative subsequently detailing the oddball friendship that ensues between the idiosyncratic figures. Filmmaker Donner, armed with Elliott Baker’s screenplay, admittedly does a nice job of initially luring the viewer into the erratically-paced proceedings, as Luv kicks off with a promising opening stretch that focuses almost entirely on the appealing chemistry between Lemmon and Falk’s respective characters – with the engaging vibe heightened by Donner’s playful sensibilities and solid work from the picture’s periphery cast (which includes Elaine May as Milt’s long-suffering wife). It’s clear, then, that Luv‘s palpable downfall is triggered by an exceedingly (and often excessively) broad midsection that grows more and more difficult to stomach, as Donner overloads the movie with a series of nails-on-a-chalkboard elements that cumulatively transform it into a seriously unwatchable piece of work – with, especially, the preponderance of unreasonably over-the-top bits of comedy ranking high on the film’s list of disagreeable attributes (eg Lemmon’s Harry suffers from a series of silly “fits” throughout the increasingly interminable running time). By the time the endless climax rolls around, Luv has undoubtedly cemented its place as a total misfire that’s grating on just about every level one could imagine.

*1/2 out of ****