Review of Love and a .45 (1994) by Wild Willie N — 13 Dec 2009

With a few familiar faces (Rory Cochrane, etc.) and the same landscape as Dazed and Confused, this University of Texas Film School independent isn't a bad way to kill a few hours - though it is in no way great.

In fact, it would be worth investigating as to which film came out first, this one or Natural Born Killers (released the same year). They are very comparable in that Bonnie and Clyde meet drugs and the trailer park sort of way.

Gil Bellows and Renée Zellweger make for a pretty convincing couple - headstrong and full of piss and vinegar as they make the best of the hand that life has dealt them while narrowly avoiding the everpresent strong arm of the law.

I think Cochrane's career peaked with Dazed and Confused, because his performance in this picture left something to be desired (annoying even). Zellwegger was believable enough, but it was Gil Bellows that really shined from start to finish as the modern renegade Texas outlaw.

I truly held a soft spot for him through the entire film. Sure he held up small town convenient stores for a living, but he truly appeared to have a heart of gold (if that's possible). I wish I knew what happened to him.

If Zellweger deserved a major Hollywood career after this, then Bellows certainly should have inherited the same honor. Peter Fonda's cameo was both spot on and hilarious. When in a drug movie is it not nice to get a glimpse of Fonda? The Reverend Horton Heat makes a most welcomed appearance as well, and the entire soundtrack is perfect (maybe the best aspect of the film).

Love & a .45 is a good watch for a nineties fim historian of sorts, but I certainly wouldn't break my back trying to find a copy.