The Truth About Love (2005)

I really enjoyed this movie. First I caught it on TV and kept watching while wondering what's going on with Jennifer's accent. But then I caught up with the story and finally got to enjoying it. I love Jimi Mistry too (from Sex Guru) so he's another reason I kept watching at first. Great cast and light love comedy. I find British romantic comedies more complex than American, it's more time wondering what will happen at the end. Maybe the end could have been more dramatic, but I found it satisfying. I actually think they could have written Jennifer's character as an American...she seems to have struggled with the accent. Anyway she was lovely as always.

I admit that I had a teeny weeny part in this film made in 2004 but I didn't get to see it until early August 2006 on DVD. Even though I am in it I must say that I think some of the bad reviews are mean spirited and downright unfair. Above all there are some very moving scenes from Jennifer Love Hewitt (who when I met her in Bristol came across as having an unbelievably lovely personality being a wonderful ambassador for Americans). The scene where she cuts up the hubby's suits shows some heartbreaking facial expressions which any female who has been cheated on will empathise with. The actress playing the artist/mistress gave a cracking performance too - great accent and venom portrayed. I am not surprised it was such a big hit in South Korea. I watched it having read bad reviews and feeling disappointed that it hadn't gone big screen - but when I saw it I was pleasantly surprised. I do so hope directors will use Jennifer Love Hewitt's talents in more films. It also reflects contemporary Bristol so well - great shots of the Suspension Bridge & interiors of our modern buildings. It reflects the nuances of "love" in the early 21st century and future generations will enjoy it for that reason rather in the way we smile when we look back at representations of Victorian "courtship" and love.

They have obviously painfully dubbed her accent, so what was the point of casting her in the obviously UK drama in the first place? The deep and sensual voices they tried to match with her face just do not work but with the funny plot and if you do not know Jennifer Love Hewitt like most Americans or fan do then you will be able to forgive this and let it pass. Nevetheless, she plays Alice Holbrook a plain Jane nurse married to sexy lawyer Sam Holbrook (played by Jimi Mistry) and they are both best friends of Archie Gray (played by Dougray Scott). Archie is secretly in love with Alice and has been since all three of them were friends back in Uni. One valentine's eve, Archie accidentally sends a valentine to Alice but luckily, it was anonymous and so when Alice receives it, she thinks it was sent by her husband Sam, so she brings it up to him and he tells her that it wasn't from him. Alice then takes the postcard to her sleazy sister (played by Kate Miles) who is an expert with love affairs. Felicity or Flick (Miles) as she affectionately referred to by her younger sister then tells Alice that her husband must be having an affair to which Alice swears he isn't. They then decide to send him an anonymous valentine's and Alice swears that the minute he receives it, he would tell her about it. But when Sam receives the valentine card, he quickly hides it away much to Alice's dismay. Alice then decides to dig deeper and in the course of this discovers that her husband is not only a cheat but has begun to have an affair with a sexy alter-ego of herself named Anonymous.

Watching TRUTH ABOUT LOVE (is this a double entendre about the star?) is like plugging in white noise or manufactured water sounds to help you sleep - you put it in the DVD slot because there is nothing else left on the store shelves and you are in need of distraction after a hectic day. And it works for that for that purpose: being a British romantic comedy it is a bit more.The story is a rather simple one about a wife Alice (Jennifer Love Hewitt) married to an increasingly distant husband Sam (Jimi Mistry) who has put their love life on hold due to the burdens of his busy law practice. His partner Archie (Dougray Scott) is fond of both Sam and Alice, but has a longtime attraction to Alice that goes beyond friendship. Alice pals with her sister Felicity (Kate Miles), a free love advocate, who encourages Alice to have affairs. On Valentine's Day, after a drinking binge with her sister, Alice mails a card to Sam signed 'Anonymous' as a test to see if Sam responds, testing his fidelity. At the same time Archie mails a radish seed packet to Alice on which he has inscribed a suggestive love not. Both have ex post facto regrets. Sam in fact is spending time with a lover Katya (Branka Katic) and is indeed cheating on Alice. Alice arranges assignations with Sam via email and phone calls and plans to meet Sam in disguise as 'Anonymous' to test his fidelity. The entire cast of characters gets caught up in the silly charade and the ending proves that real love must be based on truth - and how that results in the various pairings is the surprise (of sorts) of the fluffy script.British comedies work because of the quality of writing and the tight quality of acting. Perhaps had director John Hay elected to cast a British actress as Alice instead of pasting a phony accent on Jennifer Love Hewitt the result may have been improved. But in the end this story by Peter Bloore bounces between mildly humorous and pathetic in its messages. One terrible distraction is a musical score that is consistently so loud that it covers all the dialogue and is intrusive. There are some nice scenes of London and a few moments of passable humor, but in the end this little film is truly best utilized as background music/white noise. Grady Harp