What Is True Love?

Megan's dad was a pretty good character...
a non-demanding failure... easy to identify with

Dir: ?
Starring: Liz, Megan, Zach, John


What Is True Love? What Is It? This movie should give you some idea, although the answer is actually subtly presented.

Because the main part of the movie is dedicated to the all-American story of some young, pretty New Yorkers who make good/bad decisions and suffer/enjoy the consequences. All the time, Liz (the main character) wears her hairband without flinching.

While NB can't relate to the Americanisms in this film (i.e. the rather flat conversations and the heavy use of cliches, etc.), the principles seem to be quite universal: Problems/qualities that appear before a marriage will still be there afterwards. If you've got dandruff pre-wedding, you're going to have it post-wedding. And Zach has "dandruff" in the sense that he is a vacillating, unsure young man, who is constantly divided until his passive aggressive nature causes him to explode.

In contrast, John, who is almost too perfect (handsome young man, pro photographer, spiritual giant, etc.) takes things slowly and it pays off for him and Liz. That's nice.

One of the things that stands out for NB is this: Zach has the ability to sound genuine, but his lifestyle and priorities didn't back up his words. John, on the other hand, had clear goals and lived by good standards, although he didn't have the volatile charm of Zach, at least not on the surface.

But the real message, as NB pointed out earlier, is snook (sneaked?) in about half way thru when the old man says: "It's never too late... if they're willing to act unselfishly." Liz and John's example shows that, but it's not clearly stated except for in that one line.

What does NB know, tho? He's only been married 12 times. Not a great track record.

PS. NB finally figured out the strange ethnicity problem of Megan and her parents (they're different colors!). When Megan goes to the court to get a divorce, her old man says that they haven't been there since she was 7. Megan was either (1) adopted or (2) the child of her dad's first marriage.

PPS. Check out the alternate ending, where John doesn't invite Liz to the cinema, and Liz continues to be single for the rest of her life, wondering "what if" she'd gone with Zach.

Rating: N/A