Love Story (1970)

Plot: Everyone knows the plot to Love Story! It's Love Story! I mean, it's like having no idea about Gone With the Wind. Oh, alright: Oliver Barrett IV (Ryan O'Neal), a Harvard pre-law student and hockey jock, falls for Jenny Cavalleri (Ali McGraw), an uptight Radcliffe bitch. The fall in love, get married, then Jenny dies. I know you're like, April! You just spoiled the whole movie for me!, but I didn't. That's pretty much what O'Neal narrators in the first two minutes of the film, so you can take it up with him.

So, yeah, Love Story was on TV last night, and I thought, "I should check it out." See, if I had known then what I know now, I would have replied to myself, "Nah." Love Story is the original and quintessential cross-tracks-love-at-all-costs-change-the-world-then-she-dies-of-some-wasting-disease-that-keeps-her-looking-fresh-on-her-death-bed movie. I thought it was also the kind where the free spirited young woman teaches the uptight rich preppie to let loose. It's not, though. It's the reverse.

In fact, O'Neal is amazing in this role. To use a charming expression of the youth of my day, he just gives 'er. Honestly, his Ollie is so fraught with emotional energy, so elated and depressed; I just love it. What sucks is that McGraw, who can't hold a candle to his performance, won more awards than he did for this movie. And why, may I ask you? Because she died? O'Neal's the clear star here, and he deserves better.

Here's some hilarious trivia: Erich Segal, the screenwriter, is rumoured to have based his lead characters on Al and Tipper Gore, whom he attend college with. Tommy Lee Jones was Al Gore's roommate in college. Tommy Lee Jones plays O'Neal's college roommate in the movie. I'm sorry, but that just killed me. It was too funny.

Oh, and how could I neglect the award-winning theme from Love Story? It's a beautiful piano piece, making me both reminisce about when I played piano and wish I still did. I had a music teacher who told our class that an important part of playing well was to listen other great (insert your instrument here) players. He was so right. The theme from Love Story was one piece I used to listen to all the time.

Apparently there's a sequel, Oliver's Story, which I think I will watch because I enjoyed O'Neal/Oliver so much. Weird, isn't it? A movie that makes you want to see it's sequel but not because you enjoyed the first movie? Weird indeed.