pinartarhan.com

Fun and comprehensive entertainment blog feat. movies, TV series, actors, movie-makers, music & books: 1980 - Present

  • Home
  • Hire Me
  • Books
  • Privacy Policy

No Looking Back starring Edward Burns, Lauren Holly & Jon Bon Jovi

Posted on January 14, 2011 Written by ripitup

Share

No Looking Back starring Edward Burns, Lauren Holly & Jon Bon Jovi
No Looking Back starring Edward Burns, Lauren Holly & Jon Bon Jovi. Feat. Jennifer Esposito, Blythe Danner & Connie Britton. Image via filmlerim.com

Claudia (Lauren Holly) is living in the small town she grew up. Working as a diner waitress, her time is divided between her depressed mother (Blythe Danner) and her sister (Connie Britton), her live-in boyfriend Michael (Jon Bon Jovi) and with her friends – who are also Michael’s friends and they pretty much end up doing the same things every night.

Claudia is fed up with her life, but she doesn’t feel like there is much she can do, until her ex/the-love-of-her-life Charlie (Edward Burns) comes back to town. Charlie has never been content with the domestic town life and he makes sure he reminds Claudia that neither has she.

Sure, Charlie seems like an exciting change but can Claudia ever trust her again? And what about Michael?

**

Don’t accuse me of being a hypocrite for watching this just yet. So, I said I wasn’t really dying to watch Natalie Portman’s Love and Other Impossible Pursuits because it had such an unoriginal storyline. Yet here I am reviewing a film that, on the surface, offers nothing but a love triangle and small town depression. But then again, No Looking Back has two good things to offer: Jon Bon Jovi and Edward Burns. And I never had anything against Gwyneth Paltrow’s real life mother Blythe Danner, Spin City’s Nikki Connie Britton or Jennifer Esposito, who deliver nicely on the sidelines. But this movie, for me, was about Jon and Edward.

Yeah, Lauren Holly is a good actress. But what makes No Looking Back worth a look for me is that it is mainly a one-man effort, just like many Edward Burns movies.  It was written and directed by Burns, he has the lead role and he has co-produced it. He doesn’t always come up with the best storylines, but he is good at creating ordinary yet life-like characters and he has always been one of my idols. Come on- how many movie buffs fantasized about shooting their own story, with their favorite actors? I am guessing and the difference is Burns has managed it. Remember his first The Brothers McMullen? Shot with $25,000 and making 10 million – all that with an unknown cast? Yep, that was Burns. As I said, No Looking Back is nothing special storywise, but it is a nice, modest little effort.

And Jon Bon Jovi. Yes, I am a Bon Jovi fan and yeah, that automatically makes me a fan of Jon’s singing, (most) song-writing and stage presence. But believe it or not, the guy can act. He first got the acting bug when he shot a scene for buddy Emilio Estevez’ Young Guns II, where Jon was doing the soundtrack. The movie did well and the soundtrack did even better, scoring Jon a Golden Globe for Best Song, as well as an Oscar nomination.

When Jon gave acting a serious shot in the mid-90s and while he wasn’t a box office star, he was critically liked and that was what he wanted. No Looking Back is a great film for Jon to shine because the heart of the movie lies in the triangle and he is smack in the middle of it.

Jon is a good example for getting what you want the old-fashioned way. He worked really hard to become a rock star and he did. He could have bought his way into a studio, but he did auditions and took acting lessons.

So yeah, the movie is more for Burns and Jon Bon Jovi fans as well as aspiring (indie) filmmakers.

It is also for getting nostalgic. 1998. Do you remember where you were? For me, it was the start of 9th grade. But worry not- the themes in the movie won’t get obsolete. Clichéd and over-used? Sure. Obsolete? No. After all, depression, identity crisis, settling down, settling vs. chasing your dreams…they have been the core themes for a long while.

Rated 5.8 on IMDB. Sounds fair enough. No Looking Back is not recommended if you are after escapism or original screenplay. It is recommended for those who are after the familiar themes, a lovely soundtrack (Sheryl Crow, Bruce Springsteen, Lynyrd Skynyrd,Pete Yorn, The Allman Brothers Band and more) and well, for those who are wondering whether Jon Bon Jovi can act.

Oh, I also like the ending.  This part has a spoiler: the movie picks a neither- nor approach rather than either or;)

Fun Stuff:

  • The singer most heard in the background is the rock legend Bruce Springsteen and he is the favorite musician of Jon Bon Jovi. They are both from New Jersey and they performed on stage together.
  • Jennifer Espesito was married to Bradley Cooper.

On Lauren Holly

Sabrina starring Harrison Ford, Julia Ormond & Greg Kinnear. Feat. Lauren Holly

Beautiful Girls starring Timothy Hutton, Matt Dillon, Uma Thurman, Lauren Holly

On Edward Burns

Why Jon Bon Jovi, Edward Burns and Timothy Ferris Ruined Us

On Jon Bon Jovi and Bon Jovi

Actor Musicians and Musician Actors: Keanu Reeves, Jon Bon Jovi, Kevin Bacon

Bon Jovi Album Trivia: 10 Facts About Bon Jovi’s Keep the Faith

Bon Jovi Songs with Contradicting Lyrics and Themes: Feat. It’s My Life, Hey God, Living on a Prayer and More

Bon Jovi Trivia: 52 More Facts About The Rock Band Bon Jovi

6 Fast Bon Jovi Songs That Feature The Word Love

6 Rock Songs on Cheating: 1 Bryan Adams, 4 Bon Jovi and 1 KISS

4 Psycho Rock Songs Feat. Def Leppard, Talking Heads, Bon Jovi and The Smiths

Bon Jovi Were Born to be Followed

Jon Bon Jovi Hosts Snl

17 Men to Marry for Their Voices: Feat. Jon Bon Jovi, David Coverdale, Jani Lane, Brett Michael, Villie Valo and More

10 Celebrities to Wear Flats for: Featuring Taylor Lautner, Johnny Depp, Kevin Bacon, Jon Bon Jovi and More

Share

Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: Blythe Danner, bruce springsteen, Connie Britton, drama, Edward Burns, edward burns movies, emilio estevez, Jennifer Esposito, Jon Bon Jovi, jon bon jovi acting, jon bon jovi movies, Lauren Holly, movies, no looking back, no looking back movie, no looking back soundtrack, romance, young guns II

Sabrina starring Harrison Ford, Julia Ormond & Greg Kinnear

Posted on December 22, 2010 Written by ripitup

Share

Sabrina starring Harrison Ford, Julia Ormond and Greg Kinnear
Sabrina starring Harrison Ford, Julia Ormond and Greg Kinnear. Image via Amazon.

Plot

Sabrina Fairchild (Julia Ormond) is the ugly duckling daughter of the Larrabee family chauffeur (John Wood). She has been in love with the young Larrabee brother – David (Greg Kinnear) all her life. Unfortunately, David is the ultimate player, going from one pretty girl to the next.

She gets her opportunity to change when she moves to Paris and works as a photographer. Upon her return, David is shocked that she has turned into a beautiful young woman and he’s dying to flirt with her.

The older Larrabee brother Linus (Harrison Ford) is the ultimate workaholic, successfully running the family business. He isn’t content with David’s fascination with Sabrina as David is about to marry Elizabeth Tyson (Lauren Holly), with whose family Linus is about to close a profitable merger deal. Knowing that Sabrina still wants David, Linus makes a plan with his mother (Nancy Marchand). He will seduce Sabrina and make her give up on David.

Of course Linus has forgotten about one thing: Sabrina is enchanting and while she is falling for him, he is also falling for her…Will this plan end up well for anyone?

**

Movie Trivia

Sabrina is the 1995 remake of the 1954 American classic of the same name. 1954’S Sabrina stars Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn and William Holden. Original Sabrina – directed by Billy Wilder- is rated 7.8 on IMDB while Sydney Pollack’s version is rated at 6.0

A couple of years ago, the movie was adapted to a popular TV series in Turkey and the English translation of the show reads “An Istanbul Fairy Tale”.

Verdict

Sabrina is a sweet, charming movie. Yes, once again I committed the sin of not having seen the original. I am positively biased towards the newer one, since I am a spoiled movie fan that prefers the 90s camera work and technology over the 50s.

It is by no means a perfect movie. While I think Julia Ormond makes a lovely Sabrina, a more good-looking actor could have played David. I love Greg Kinnear to bits, but he just isn’t hot enough for the part of David, though he does seem to make a good replacement for William Holden.

I think Harrison Ford is a perfect Linus, and I’ll go as far to say I prefer him over Bogart. As charismatic as Bogart is, Ford is much more likeable. And the movie does unfortunately becomes a victim to its wardrobe. It might be in character but seriously, didn’t businessmen wear ties in the 90s? What’s with Linus’ fascination with the bowties? Who wore bow ties to a corporation in the 90s? And well, he could have picked a little more flattering glasses. Let me put it this way- Harrison looks as old as he looks now in the film. Which is weird, given that the movie was shot so many years ago.

But apart from my objections to the wardrobe and Greg Kinnear, I liked watching Sabrina. It might be a poor girl falls for the older rich guy storyline, but it comes with Ford and Ormond.

6.5/10 from me. Recommended to every romantic.

**

Other Posts on Harrison Ford Movies

Extraordinary Measures starring Harrison Ford, Brendan Fraser & Keri Russell

Firewall starring Harrison Ford, Paul Bettany & Virginia Madsen

Air Force One starring Harrison Ford, Glenn Close & Gary Oldman

Six Days Seven Nights starring Harrison Ford, Anne Heche & David Schwimmer

The Fugitive starring Harrison Ford & Tommy Lee Jones

Other Posts on Greg Kinnear

Ghost Town starring Ricky Gervais, Greg Kinnear & Téa Leoni

Someone Like You starring Ashley Judd, Hugh Jackman & Greg Kinnear

Share

Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: audrey hepburn, billy wilder, comedy, drama, Greg Kinnear, Harrison Ford, harrison ford movies, Humphrey bogart, john wood, julia ormond, Lauren Holly, movies, Nancy Marchand, romance, Sabrina, sabrina 1954 movie, sabrina 1995 movie, sabrina movie, sydney pollack, william holden

Beautiful Girls starring Timothy Hutton, Matt Dillon, Uma Thurman, Natalie Portman and Mira Sorvino

Posted on September 19, 2010 Written by ripitup

Share

Beautiful Girls starring Timothy Hutton, Matt Dillon, Mira Sorvino, Uma Thurman, Natalie Portman, Michael Rapaport, Noah Emmerich, Lauren Holly and Rosie O'Donnell
Beautiful Girls starring Timothy Hutton, Matt Dillon, Mira Sorvino, Uma Thurman, Natalie Portman, Michael Rapaport, Noah Emmerich, Lauren Holly and Rosie O’Donnell.

Willie Conway (Timothy Hutton) is a piano player, living in the city. He is not exactly sure about his future career path and he is equally clueless about what he wants from his girlfriend Tracy (Annabeth Gish).He heads home to a small town called Knight’s Ridge, to stay for a couple of days and reunite for his old school friends. As it turns out, Willie is not the only one unsure about his relationship:

Tommy (Matt Dillon) is dating Sharon (Mira Sorvino) but he is still hung up on his high school girl friend Darian (Lauren Holly); who is married with a kid, but still hung up on Tommy and ready to bed him at any opportunity. Sharon loves Tommy, but she is not sure how much longer she can take the Darian issue.

Paul (Michael Rapaport) has been dumped by Jan, his girlfriend of 7 years (Martha Plimpton) – because he wouldn’t make a commitment. She is now seeing another guy and this is handled “very maturely” by Paul whose job is to clear up snow-blocked patios but keeps blocking her garage door with snow and by trying to force a brown wedding ring on her. He has a dog called Elle MacPherson and has his room walls covered with posters of models.

Michael (Noah Emmerich) is the happier one. He has turned into the perfect family man, raising his two young kids with his wife, and seeming to be OK with domestic bliss, which is really pissing of Paul –who thinks men do deserve supermodels.

Willie finds his old house and his residents pretty much the same- his father (Richard Bright) still loves TV and his younger brother Bobby (David Arquette) is pretty much in his own world. However change comes in the form of the 13-year-old next door neigbor girl named Marty (Natalie Portman). She is smart, friendly, upfront and likable. So likeable in fact that Willie starts wishing he wasn’t 29. He is also thinking that her older version could actually be his soulmate.

Things get even more complicated when their favorite bar owner Stinky (Pruitt Taylor Vince)’s gorgeous cousin Andera (Uma Thurman) comes for a visit. All the gang pretty much wants to be around her. Will the gang be able to grow up a little before their high school reunion comes up?

***

This is a wonderful “coming of age” story. It is not about teens turning into adults, but young adults who have problems of letting their teens/younger versions without responsibilities go.  Granted, it is strength is not in the originality of the characters or the story, but in the lovely story-telling and more than impressive cast. The dialogue is also very fun.

Beautiful Girls is a drama/comedy/romance, but I would call it a relationship genre, if there was one. Because it is about relationships- romantic/family/friendships and also about the characters’ relationships with life. It has pretty decent jokes and entertaining moments. The comedy is more dominant than the emotional tones and thankfully nothing is overdone. It is lovely to see all of these actors in one movie and all of them so young. See this.

Directed by Ted Demme, written by Scott Rosenberg 7.1 on IMDB, voted by over 15,000 people.

Selection of Favorite Lines

Rosie O’Donnell’s character is educating” Wilie (Timothy Hutton) and Tommy (Matt Dillon) about life:

Gina: I’m finished speaking to both of you okay? You’re both fucking insane. You want to know what your problem is? MTV, Playboy, and Madison fucking Avenue. Yes. Let me explain something to you, ok? Girls with big tits have big asses. Girls with little tits have little asses. That’s the way it goes. God doesn’t fuck around; he’s a fair guy. He gave the fatties big, beautiful tits and the skinnies little tiny niddlers. It’s not my rule. If you don’t like it, call him.

***

Stinky (on Andera, played by Uma Thurman) Do you see her face? Girls like that are born with a boyfriend.

***

Willie: I was jealous of a little kid on a bike, because he gets to be her age, and I’m this vile old man. Like that guy, what’s-his-name…
Michael ‘Mo’ Morris: Roman Polanski?

Willie (on Marty): You just want to say to her, in all sincerity, take me with you when you go

Michael: Willie, she was a zigot when you were in the 7th grade!

***

Tommy: No, Paul is not my friend. He lives in my house. I got cockroaches, I got termites… I got Paul.

Fun Facts

–          Timothy Hutton is 36 in the film. Natalie is 15.

–          This is the second time 12/13 year-old character of Natalie Portman fascinates an adult male. The other movie is Léon.

–          Lauren Holly co-stars in this movie with David Arquette, actress Courteney Cox’s husband. Courteney Cox met David Arquette on the set of scream. Lauren had turned the role Courteney played in Ace Ventura, opposite Jim Carrey. But Lauren later played in Dumb and Dumber opposite Jim Carrey. The two later got married

Other Posts on the Cast Members

Natalie Portman

Closer starring Natalie Portman, Jude Law, Clive Owen and Julia Roberts

Noah Emmerich

Pride and Glory starring Edward Norton, Colin Farrell, Noah Emmerich and Jon Voight

Beyond Borders starring Clive Owen, Angelina Jolie and Noah Emmerich

Matt Dilllon

In and Out starring Kevin Kline, Joan Cusack, Matt Dillon and Tom Selleck

Timothy Hutton

The Absolute Timothy Hutton Trivia: 18 Facts About Leverage Star Timothy Hutton

City of Industry starring Harvey Keitel, Stephen Dorff and Timothy Hutton

The Killing Room starring Timothy Hutton

Ordinary People starring Timothy Hutton, Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore and Judd Hirsch

Serious Moonlight starring Timothy Hutton and Meg Ryan

Taps starring Timothy Hutton, Tom Cruise and Sean Penn

Leverage TV Series starring Timothy Hutton

The Ghost Writer starring Ewan McGregor and Pierce Brosnan. Feat. Timothy Hutton

The Good Shepherd starring Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie. Feat. Timothy Hutton

Uma Thurman

10 Celebrity Couple Break-Ups You May Not Have Seen Coming

10 Most Entertaining Sci-fi Movies: Favorite Sci-fi Movies of a Non-fan

Looking Up: Tall Girls Dating

The Accidental Husband starring Uma Thurman, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Colin Firth

Pulp Fiction

The Life Before Her Eyes

Looking Up: Tall Girls Dating

Share

Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: Annabeth Gish, beautfiul girls movie, beautiful girls, comedy, David Arquette, Lauren Holly, Martha Plimpton, Matt Dillon, Max Perlich, Michael Rapaport, Mira Sorvino, movies, Natalie Portman, Noah Emmerich, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Rosie O’Donnell, Scott Rosenberg, ted demme, Timothy Hutton, timothy hutton movies, Uma Thurman

In the mood for a fun romcom novel?

Copyright © 2025 · Focus Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Reject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT