Rating: 
Summary: Phenomenal performance and script.
Review: This movie was phenomenal and was gone from the theatres way too quickly -- but luckily for all of us, it's now available on DVD. Phillip Seymour Hoffman's tragic, grief-stricken performance was one of the highlights of this film -- it's about time he was cast in a role that was tailor-made for him as this one was ("Love Liza" was written by his brother Gordy Hoffman).This film is an excellent portrayal of a man who is coping with the suicide of his wife and who adopts a hobby to cover up a huffing habit as if he were a rebellious teenager. The film ends as abstractly as it begins, without falling into the Hollywood trap of tying everything up into a neat little package, and for that we can all be grateful. It will be interesting to see where director Todd Louiso and the two Hoffmans go next.
Rating: 
Summary: Little Indie..Big on Talent and Storytelling
Review: This review refers to the DVD edition of "Love Liza" Columbia TriStar/Sony PIctures)...
More and more I find myself turning to the Independent films to find a story with substance. Although shot on a low budget, "Love Liza", is one of those Indies, that manages, with the help of an intellegent screenplay, and some innovative filming(and a little help from Philip Seymour Hoffman and Kathy Bates), to tell a story that will touch it's audience on many levels.
As the film opens, we watch the first scene in silence, and see a man distraught over the recent suicide of his wife. Wilson Joel(Hoffman) is a man who cannot even bring himself to sleep in his own bed. A man who cannot even sleep at all. But this is quite a different take on loss then we have seen in such films as "Sleepless In Seattle". Wilson seems to be sinking more and more into his own world, using gasoline fumes to take him away from reality, and not even noticing the rest of the world going by around him.
Friends and co-workers walk on egg shells around him, knowing the pain he is feeling...all except his mother-in-law Marianne(Bates), who never lets up on trying to bring him back to the living. Wilson has found a note left by his wife, and although he carries it with him everywhere, can not bring himself to read it. The audience may sense that the guilt he feels, and what he may find in the letter, may be too much for him to bear.
It's a drama about grief, but with comedic touches just in the right places, as well as some nice ironic twists to think about. Hoffman is superb. He portrays Wilson in a way that will be tugging at your heart one moment and laughing the next. Kathy Bates excellent as always, as the woman grieving over the death of her daughter, but strong enough to see and do something about the world Wilson has gone to. I hope we will see more from Director Todd Louiso(You remember him..Chad the Nanny from "Jerry Maguire"). His wonderful behind the camera talent is obvious from this film. Gordy Hoffman's extraordinary screenplay couldn't have been in better hands.
The DVD presents a very nice clear picture in Widescreen. Colors are used well in this film and are vibrant on the transfer. The sound is very good in Dolby Surround. Features include commentary by Louiso, and Hoffman, Filmographies and trailers.
This film in an hour and a half, had me really caring about the main character, something I don't often see in recent films that are twice as long.
Recommended for those who are looking for something a little different from the rest. Something with substance, something to think about afterwards.....Laurie
Rating: 
Summary: Huff it like Hoffman
Review: This was yet another role that served to permanently typecast Philip Seymour Hoffman. The movie is terribly mediocre, and while it seems like a vehicle for Hoffman to portray an emotionally complex character, the script just sucks too much for this to be achieved. Hoffman is great, but it gets boring seeing him queen it up and making every situation horribly awkward. Gordy should have spent more time developing the script instead of exploring ways to make the viewer uncomfortable. The parts with Hoffman huffing gas were the only realistic parts in the film. It seems perfectly logical for any intelligent computer programmer to completely lack common sense and start huffing gas with the reckless hedonism of Truman Capote at Lens Crafters.
I am so alone.
Rating:
Summary: Quintessential Phillip Seymour Hoffman
Review: To have such an amazingly deep sense of drama but yet have such a shallow
and flat story that does little more than put you threw hell for 90 minutes
is a shame...but Love Liza is not a bad movie. There is little in way of
symbolism or lessons learned in this film, it merely tells of a man who
tragically loses his wife to suicide and attempts to comment no further. If
watching a movie that attempts to challenge your patience for the
melancholyness is something you enjoy then Love Liza would be recommended
but the film simply lacks the meat that exists in so many films that are
meant to entertain and/or to make you think. On the upswing we get to see Phillip Seymour Hoffman in a feature role where
he is free to do what he does better than anyone...whine, gripe and look
utterly disoriented. He is a fantastic actor and this role sharpens and
showcases his talents brilliantly. Kathy Bates is also very enjoyable as
his mother in law and the mother of his late wife. One thing is for sure, you'll be sad and wanting more from this film but
part of that is intentional. It's a small movie in more ways than one but
if you've enjoyed Phillip Seymour Hoffman in Boogie Nights or Happiness,
this is his reprisal of those roles and he seemingly takes it to another
level here...that counts for something.
Rating: 
Summary: Bloated, Gassy and Boring
Review: Wearisome, like its character
Sorry folks, this film is a big miss. Mr. Hoffman and Ms. Bates are two great talents vastly wasted in this film. With careful pruning this would have made a fascinating short, both hilarious and heart breaking. As it is the extended scenes of Hoffman's exhibitions of grief, gas sniffing, waking up in various locales, staring into space or at the unopened envelope containing his wife's suicide note become quickly wearisome.
Then there are touches of brilliance such as the two recurring gas sniffing teens lending a wonderful, bizarre, John Waters quality.
Talented as Mr. Hoffman is, he has of late played a string of characters too similar in their compositional make-up and offering far to minimal variance. This necessitates doing that actor thing: substituting "acting" for emotion, drawing attention to the "acting" rather than the story, inspiring a certain type of audience to say - usually during the movie: What A Great Actor! He probably does a job than probably anyone else could have with this material, and therein lies the problem: the screenplay. Great monologues, dialogue, etc. are not always necessary to make great cinematic art, but a too heavy reliance on blank stares, forced smiles, odd characters, nervous laughter and long shots does not automatically equate great art either. In fact, not not only do they become flaw revealing, they put everything under the microscope or magnifying glass as in Love Liza.
There is a leaner, tauter wonderful little film waiting to break out of this bloated, gassy mess - I only wish someone would have made it.
Rating:
Summary: not a plot summary
Review: when this film came out, i saw it by chance. i had gone to the movie theater to get out of the house and out of the rut a breakup with my girlfriend caused. the timing couldnt have been scripted better. i dont know whether it was the situation i was in myself, the incredible character realization by hoffman, his brother and todd louiso or a coalescence of everything about life itself but this movie touched me very deeply at a time i needed the most. i applaud the cast and crew for developing a character study that could hit so close to home. if youve lost something youve cherished, this movie will make sense to you. if you havent, you may miss the importance of the silence between the dialog. this could become one of your favorite movies if you give it a chance.
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