Starts off well

by Martin Hafer

A new film debuted on Netflix this week and I was excited to see it.  After all, I enjoy a nice romantic comedy–and Lovesick looked like it would fit the bill.  Now here’s the weird part; ten minutes into the film, my wife and I were captivated and loved it, but by 20 minutes our feelings had reversed.

This movie stars Matt LeBlanc as Charlie, a principal of an elementary school who seems to have horrible luck with women.  Again and again, his girlfriends betray him and tear his heart out, and as a result you really feel for the guy. Despite a great beginning, the film fell apart very quickly.  Why?  Well, the comedy part comes when you realize that Charlie is mentally imbalanced.  He is super-paranoid and cannot allow himself to trust any woman,  … even the practically perfect Molly (Ali Larter).

Lovesick
Directed by
Luke Matheny
Cast
Matt LeBlanc, Ali Larter, Adam Rodriguez
Release Date
6 February 2015
Martin’s Grade: D


So, despite them being cute together and hitting it off, soon he becomes incredibly controlling, paranoid and creepy.  Plus you find out that his old girlfriends never hurt him, it was all in his twisted mind.  This is because when he falls in love, he becomes incredibly jealous — almost psychotically so. To me, it seemed like I was watching a relationship that would end with a murder-suicide,  … and there’s nothing romantic nor comedic about that.  Because of the questionable plot twist, I found the film barely watchable.  I doubt your date would want to watch this mess, as it’s probably a romance-killer.

All this is a real shame, as LeBlanc and Larter are cute together at first and LeBlanc in particular is amazingly likable until he becomes a pathologically paranoid and sicko boyfriend.  In fact, I really felt like he deserved so much better than this, as he was terrific when he was allowed to be.   A horrible, over the top misfire that I found painful to watch.  It makes me wonder how others can find this film funny.