The following contains spoilers for Love Hurts, now playing in theatersLove Hurts could have been a better movie if it had made one big change. At its best, Love Hurts is an entertaining piece of spectacle that highlights Ke Huy Quan’s talents as an action star and a comedy actor. The fight scenes throughout the film are a lot of fun, and the self-aware dark comedy of the premise works in solid bursts here and there. However, there’s more to a good action-comedy than just good fight scenes, and Love Hurts‘ cast of characters largely fails to elevate the movie beyond those elements.
It’s a shame too, because there are actually a lot of good ideas in Love Hurts‘ script. Matthew Murray, Josh Stoddard, and Luke Pᴀssmore’s script touchs upon good ideas, like an unexpected love story for one of Marvin’s enemies or a surprisingly personal fury from the central villain that work as solid concepts to hang a film around. However, one major problem ends up impacting and hindering the film’s best attributes. By making an overarching decision and cutting some specific aspects of the movie, Love Hurts might not have been the critical dud it ended up being regarded as.
Love Hurts Is Overstuffed With Too Many Characters
Love Hurts Didn’t Need So Many Underdeveloped Minor Characters
Love Hurts suffers from having too many characters with too little development in the story, making it difficult for the audience to really connect with the plot. At the core of Love Hurts are some clever ideas. Stuff like Marvin trying to share his newfound optimism with his pessimistic ᴀssistant Ashley or the Raven finding new layers to his personality through his unexpected romance with her are played for laughs but come with a degree of genuine heart. However, despite only running for 83 minutes, Love Hurts suffers from an overstuffed cast of characters who receive little characterization or arcs.
This disjointed approach with too many characters means there’s not enough room to really give Love Hurts‘ characters enough depth.
The entire criminal conspiracy involving Rose, Renny, and Kippy is needlessly complicated, especially when the latter two characters contribute little to the plot and Rose feels too vague of a character to be really compelling. King and Otis are entertaining as henchmen, but King gets no real storyline while Otis’ plays out with no emotional stakes. Even characters like Knuckles feel too broad despite the central antagonist, with his feelings about his brother seemingly shifting from scene to scene. This disjointed approach with too many characters means there’s not enough room to really give Love Hurts‘ characters enough depth.
Love Hurts’ Characters Had The Potential To Be Great
Love Hurts Gives Raven, Alison, Cliff, And Knuckles Some Clever Beats
Almost no one in Love Hurts has the right level of depth to stand out as a fully fleshed-out character, which is a real shame given the talents and chemistry of the cast. Marvin is the only character who feels fully developed, with his efforts to escape his past given a surprisingly grey perspective by Love Hurts‘ ending. The film’s narrative even sets up some interesting exploration of love, ranging from Marvin’s unrequited love for Rose and Raven’s unexpected meet-cute with Ashley to Knuckles fury over being “replaced” as Marvin’s brother by Sean Astin’s Cliff.
Love Hurts was the directorial debut of Jonathan Eusebio, whose experience as a Stunt Performer, Stunt Coordinator, and Second Unit Director made him an understandable pick for the film.
The Raven’s attempt to balance his ruthless career as a killer with his emotions makes him an ideal foil to Marvin, but the movie never makes that connection clear. Otis wants to be reunited with his wife while King offers emotional advice, but the character connection never goes beyond surface-level jokes. Renny and Kippy are implied to have histories with Rose, but she remains a contradictory character throughout the film while the former two are more plot devices than genuine characters. There are too many moving pieces in Love Hurts for such a short movie, which means it feels underbaked.
Love Hurts Should Have Cut Out Some Characters & Storylines To Improve The Movie
Cutting A Few Characters Could Have Made Room For A Better Version Of Love Hurts
There are actually a few trims and tweaks that could have improved Love Hurts and given the characters more direct reflections of one another. While Cliff and Marvin get one scene together, more time spent on their bond and Knuckles’ fury over it could have made the villain a more tragic character. Renny and Kippy could have been combined into a single character, an opportunistic criminal who could be more defined by synthesizing their personalities into a more well-rounded character. Otis is largely a gag character who adds little to the film that isn’t already explored by King or Raven.
Cutting Otis and teaming King up with Raven instead would have amplified the comedic effect of King’s blunt commentary and given their later conflict genuine drama. Rose could have benefited from this extra room in the script, diving more into her own emotional arc, personal history, and relationship with Marvin. This extra room could have also highlighted Raven as a direct contrast to Marvin and Rose, underscoring the themes of the film. Love Hurts has a lot of fun elements, but some fundamental changes to the script and story could have seriously elevated the movie.
