Desperate for Love (1989)

Good lord, what a terribly boring made-for-TV movie this was! I assume that all of the good reviews (of what few reviews their are to begin with) are from those who's nostalgic overload clouded good judgment because this certainly isn't anything I'd recommend to anyone was looking for entertainment.Based on a true story, Christian Slater, Brian Bloom, and Tammy Lauren play three high school friends in rural Georgia. Bloom plays the pretty boy jock who's chances of moving out of the Georgia town are high since college prospects come naturally to a football talent. Slater is socially inept and isn't likely to go anywhere. Like his dad, he assumes that people expect his only mobility beyond their town will be the state pen. And Lauren plays a naive teen who is desperate for the attention of Bloom's character. We've seen this a billion times before (Promised Land was one of the more depressing versions, and mostly told as an outcome of this narrative).So, Bloom's parents don't like Lauren's crazy father and forbid him from seeing her, which I suppose is fine with him since she won't stop nagging him about getting married. Meanwhile, Slater doesn't think that Bloom's character treats the girl (who he is secretly infatuated with) right and yada...yada...yada...you can figure out what he's on trial for murder (this being told in flashback format).Unfortunately, the characters are a bunch of self-important whino's, especially Lauren and Slater's characters. And characters like that evoke little empathy in a story where they may be misunderstood kids or whatever, so then what's the point? There is nothing remotely interesting, and very little social commentary to at least accompany the events. Sure, I got lured into it because it was a late 80s Slater and Bloom team-up, but you'd be wise to avoid the eighty minutes or so of boredom and take my advice--skip it.

I don't suppose that I would be considered a "Hick". I was born in Oak Park, Illinois, I was brought up in Chicago. Even still, calling this film a CRAZY HICK MOVIE was offensive.Now. I'm 22 now, so I was 10 when this movie was made. I most likely saw it for the first in the early 1990's, and I still love it. I watch it every chance I get.This movie had everything. Suspense, Drama, Comedy.I thought that Brian Bloom played his Rich Boy role quite well. He simply has those Rich Boy looks, he still has those gorgeous eyes that just make you shake your head.Anyway. I am NO fan of Christian Slater's. But he acted good in this movie. The role he played, was annoying though. Kinda made me want to puke.I don't know the Lead Female's name, but her name was Lily in the movie. Lily is an outright FOOL. I hated her. She made me sick, sick, sick. And sicker.

Christian Slater is Number 10 on my list of favorite actors, so I bet you're anticipating a splendid review of this movie. Not!! First of all, it's a TV movie--which I didn't know before watching it--and I'm not part of the "Lifetime Movie of the Week" crowd. I hardly consider anything that goes direct to network television (this excludes movies that goes direct to premium cable stations) actual "movies." So this was a supreme cheese-fest for me. Why it grabbed a 5.2 rating, which is high for a movie of this sort, is beyond comprehension. This is one of those movies you have to go rooting for in the 99-cent bin, and please realize there's a logical reasons why those movies are priced 99 cents! And may I add, the girl who plays Slater's love interest--I think her name's Tammy Lauren--is NOT an attractive woman! He'd HAVE to be desperate if he wants to get with that girl.My advice to all those who appraise Christian Slater--DON'T GET SUCKED IN!!! Use that 99 cents you're about to spend on this movie to add to the ten or so bucks you're about to spend on "Very Bad Things" or "Untamed Heart." Not Christian's best work.My score: 1 (out of 10)

I am not a very big watcher of the Lifetime network, but the other night I caught this movie on and was instantly hooked. I was born in a town very similar to the one in which the characters are engulfed and I found the performances and direction to be frighteningly accurate. I had never heard of this movie and I was so impressed that Christian Slater could give such a believable performance. I moved to Los Angeles California after high school and now I live in Washington, D.C. I studied film and theatre so I lost my small southern town dialect, but movies that can truly capture the essence of the the lifestyle that these people must endure never fails to amaze me. I do not see it very often is a film, but "Desperate for Love" accomplished it magnificently.