Greetings,
This may just be in my imagination, but it seems that many of the final movies actors make right before they die are not always considered that great. Perhaps, even their worst. That's kind of sad, because no one wants to leave a legacy like that. Case in point, in some people's opinions, would be the last movie that River Phoenix shot, The Thing Called Love. I think there are a lot of folks that believe this movie wasn't so great, while others really enjoyed it. I happen to fall into the latter category, but I may be bias since I tend to gravitate toward films about writers, in general, and songwriters, specifically. And this movie has songwriting as one of its central themes. Of course, other stuff creeps in, as always, so let's get to the whole thing.
The Thing Called Love is a small film directed by Peter Bogdanovich and starring Samantha Mathis, River Phoenix, as I mentioned, Sandra Bullock, in one of her earliest roles and Dermot Mulroney. The story is all about a girl named Miranda Presley (Mathis) who tends to remind people that she is "no relation", as in no relation to Elvis, and she is arriving in Nashville from New York City in hopes of becoming a country singer/songwriter. She is derailed on the way to her first stop in the city when she meets James Wright (Phoenix) who also happens to be a singer/songwriter. Yeah, look, it's Nashville. EVERYONE is a singer/songwriter. Anyway, James offers to take Miranda to where she needs to go. Where she needs to go is the Bluebird Cafe, which is a real place in Nashville. It's actually quite famous, being where a lot of artists got discovered. In case you don't know. In this movie, the cafe is run by Lucy, played by country singer K.T. Oslin, who was perfectly cast in this role. I really don't know why she didn't pursue acting any further than this and a few other small TV roles, because she is very good at it. Anyway, Lucy is kind of like Simon Cowell, but with mothering qualities. She will certainly tell these aspiring artists if they're not good enough, but she will also tell them if she sees potential in them and what they can do to improve themselves. So, when Miranda shows up late with James, Lucy tells her that she'd be happy to hear her song...next week at the next audition.
So, Miranda is stuck in a sad hotel for a week, but she makes the most of it. She spends the time having lone, all night, coffee-fueled, writing sessions in a diner and also going to several music companies trying to get her music heard, and all of this is covered in a musical montage. Best to do it that way, in this case. But, alas, she finally makes it back to the Bluebird, on time, so she can audition for the showcase. While there, Miranda sees James again, who, as it turns out, is actually a very talented and somewhat successful, songwriter already. She meets Kyle Davidson (Mulroney), who performs a song that isn't exactly good, that is, until it gets into the right hands. Also, she meets Linda Lue Linden (Bullock), both a wannabe beauty queen and a wannabe country star, who also sings a little song she wrote which is hilariously bad. Actually, I think this is where we see how Sandra Bullock will become quite good at being funny and lovable at the same time. Anyway, Miranda also sings, and she sings a song called "Big Bar Hair". No, really. Needless to say, only James makes it to the showcase.
As time passes, Miranda continues to work on her songwriting, gets a job at the cafe as a waitress and develops relationships with Linda, Kyle and especially James. Yes, that last one was a bit obvious. I mean, she had to hook up with someone, right? Well, her relationship with James does move at a rapid pace and goes further than the audience may have anticipated, and it has plenty of ups and downs. No kidding. It is this relationship on which most of the film focuses, but the other characters develop quite nicely as well. Linda grows a bit and begins to learn to stop trying to be something she's not, and she also meets a guy named Billy, who is played by Anthony Clark, in a pretty funny role. And then there's Kyle, who manages to overcome his insecurities enough to get himself some success as well, but his quest for the love of a specific woman may be even harder to achieve. And that causes a few conflicts.
But, as I said, this movie is, at its core, about Miranda and her growth as both a woman and a songwriter. She learns from Lucy that she really needs to dig deep into what she feels and who she is in order to write a song that is, not only good, but meaningful. It takes this entire experience to get her to that point, and that is why a lot of writers learn to be grateful for all the things through which they have to go. This film manages to explore that in a very accurate way. Actually, what I like most about the story is that it is almost done in reverse of what a lot of other films do. Normally, you'd have a young woman leaving a small town and heading off to the big city, often New York, to become a star. Not to say that Nashville is a small town, but, compared to NYC, what place isn't thought of as that. Still, you wouldn't think that Miranda, coming from New York, would be intimidated by anything. She is, though, because her character is written so well and portrayed so brilliantly by Samantha Mathis. She conveys the way that Miranda does have some toughness to her, but she also has a lot of vulnerability. It makes for a great character and, in turn, a great film.
Now let me take a moment and speak on the music. The soundtrack here is pretty interesting. It has a lot of known country songs to serve as the soundtrack, but, of course, it has some songs that are there to be the ones the characters have written. Those songs were, in some cases, even written by the actors themselves. And they even mix this up a bit by having James perform the Patty Loveless song "Blame It On Your Heart" as one of the songs he penned himself. By the way, the performance of that song by River Phoenix and Samantha Mathis is really great. So, put all that together, and you end up with a good soundtrack that fits this movie and its premise quite well.
Needless to say, I am recommending The Thing Called Love, especially to songwriters or lovers of country music or both. As I said, some people aren't crazy about this one, but I think it's plenty good. And I did like that River Phoenix got to show off his real life talent as a singer/songwriter before he left us. Although, that does, in a way, make his death even sadder, since it makes us remember that he had more to give than we ever knew. I think this film is a fitting tribute to his work, as well as a wonderful addition to the resumes of everyone involved.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
