Love, Ludlow (2006)

Ludlow

Very cute movie. Saw it on Sundance and decided to buy it on DVD. Nice to see two lonely people find each other over difficulties. Very funny dialog. January 7, 2008

A Unique Gem in a Otherwise Bland and Overdone Genre

With "Love, Ludlow" David Lord Patterson (son of the woman who wrote "Bridge to Terabithia") crafts a short and sweet film that bubbles with quirky, snappy dialogue. But this movie isn't just a cute little romantic comedy. A strong dramatic undercurrent about loneliness, family, and growing up is the true core of this movie, sustained by the sheer normalness of the leading actors Alicia Goranson (Myra) and David Eigenberg (Reggie) and the total eccentricity played wonderfully by Brendan Sexton III (Ludlow). Equipped with Patterson's masterful writing, they bring us three funny and sympathetic characters that, I guarantee, you will end up caring about by the end of this ninety minute film.

There aren't many movies I can compare this to, as it's simply such a unique gem in an otherwise bland and overdone genre. To give you a sense of what this movie is like, I'm going to have to pick and choose from different mediums and genres. If you like the dialogue in Joss Whedon's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", you'll find the witty exchanges in here priceless. If you like the outrageous and endearing characters in Christopher Moore's books, you'll make a place in your heart for Ludlow. If you like sweet, weird, and real romances of the late "Veronica Mars" television series, you'll be rooting for Myra and Reggie. If you're in the mood for a nicely done independent film that will surely make you laugh and just might make you cry, give this not-very-well-known film a chance.

9/10 October 4, 2007

A brilliant movie

Love, Ludlow is a great movie that is, at first glance, little more than a quirky, funny romantic comedy. There's nothing mindshakingly original about the premise of boy meets girl, but Reggie's awkward courtship of Myra is so over-the-top that it's quite fresh. Cinematic romance usually has a fairly predictable arc, but I never felt like I knew what was coming next with this movie.

Myra's character, I think, really anchored the film, and it was because of the strong performance by Alicia Goranson. Myra is an almost impossibly caustic office temp, and I think that a lesser actress might have me wondering how someone with such a firey disposition could work in a field that requires a modicum of working well with others. But Goranson plays Myra with such authority that it just seems natural,

Similarly, the shy, awkward Reggie (David Eigenberg) might have been played as a shallow caricature of a socially-inept dweeb, but Eigenberg creditably shows him to be an earnest, caring, somewhat confused guy trying his best to win what might be the girl of his dreams.

The movie starts with Reggie being smitten with Myra, and Myra's gradual opening to the possibility of dating him. Myra's brother Ludlow is the big complication. He seems to spend most of his time in he and Myra's tiny apartment writing elaborate fairwell notes and fingerpainting.

According to the movie's description, Ludlow is bipolar. I'm no diagonstician, but he seemed a bit more autistic to me-his moods seemed fairly even, but he had definite problems interfacing with the rest of the world and accepting a break in his routine. I thought that the uncertainty about Ludlow's precise problem strengthened the movie-it makes sense that, given the family's situation, they aren't going to be taking him for a battery of psychiatric exams, and they probably wouldn't have a real diagnosis. Myra would just know, as she knows in the movie, that there is something wrong with her brother, and that it is her job to take care of him.

And this is the heart of the movie. We see that Myra, with her abraisive exterior, is hiding a terrible secret-that she really is a loving, caring, and dedicated person. She hasn't dated much not because she can't stand other people, but because she knows that no one will accept both her and Ludlow.

I've done a lot of thinking about this movie since I've seen it, and I think it really is very profound. To me, Ludlow represents the baggage that people bring to any relationship. It could be, as it is in this movie, a sibling or parent that one has to care for. It could be a sheltered past, an abusive childhood, a bad set of friends, or just the legacy of unfortunate choices made years ago. It could be memories-it could be anxieties about the future. Whatever it is, it prevents us from letting other people into our lives. It's probably true that everyone has their Ludlow, and there's a moment in every relationship when we introduce the other person to our Ludlow and hope for the best.

So Love, Ludlow is really more than just a romantic comedy about an unlikely couple. On a deeper level, it's really about something that anyone can identify with-revealing part of yourself, and your life, to someone you want to care deeply about. Like the best art, it takes something small and local-in this case, a budding relationship between a New York temp and account executive-and makes it resonate in a way that is truly universal.

I recommend it highly for anyone-I can see that it would be a fun date movie (and a real ice-breaker for a first or second date) but also something that longtime couples can get something out of. December 12, 2006

Charming

If ever there was an overlooked film, Love, Ludlow would be that film. Roger Ebert's Overlooked Film Festival is a fantastic way to shed some light on some fantastic overlooked films, but I was semi-disappointed that this film did not attract his attention. Not that the films that he screened weren't fantastic, but I think this one could have attracted a larger audience with the right marketing. After appearing at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival and becoming an Official Selaction, Love, Ludlow disappeared, away from the public and critic alike. Sitting lonely on the shelf of the video store I work at, the only copy of Love, Ludlow seemed overshadowed by the big market (and often nauseating) blockbusters that litter the shelves. The film's director is Adrienne Weiss, who takes her second, and supremely successful, shot at directing. As the director is virtually unknown, she uses actors that aren't really prime time. Many may recognize David Eigenberg from HBO's Sex and the City, and many others may recognize Alicia Goranson from the hit 90's series Roseanne. Goranson is Myra, a twentysomething temp, working for a small corporation in New York, and washing some of local tenants' laundry so she can support herself and her brother Ludlow (Brendan Sexton III), who is mentally challenged and was left to her keeping after the death of their mother. Eigenberg is Reggie, a co-worker of Myra's, who becomes attracted to her angry, Bronx-girl personality. They begin to date, and we begin to see Ludlow feeling like a third wheel in the relationship. Although we feel bad for Ludlow, we certainly cannot expect Myra staying single just to spend every waking moment with Ludlow. Ludlow begins to act out, taking Reggie's keys and making him pay forty dollars, and spend the night to get them back. Reggie tries his best to form a positive relationship with Ludlow, but as Reggie gets closer, Ludlow pushes him away. Eigenberg does his best work in this film, and we see early in the film his frustration with Ludlow, only to lead to a scene where he blows up and yells at Ludlow for "running away". Sexton does a nice job of playing Ludlow without venturing into the more severely disabled roles of Hoffman's Rain Man or Sean Penn's I Am Sam, and I enjoyed watching his performances and seeing where he would take the character next. Goranson, on the other hand, was more difficult to disect. At first I thought her performance was a bit stiff and unchallenging, but as I look further at it, she does a decent job at conveying a character who hides her emotions behind a wall, that is her Bronx-girl attitude. We do see her break down once or twice in the film, but it is always restrained as she tries to put out a strong personality. She is, in fact, semi-new to the idea of dating, and she has never really expressed other emotions, besides anger. She needs to be tough. She is living in a world where a large amount of responsibility has been dumped on her, and no one, even the tenants in her building, shows much sympathy. The film is a quick, 86-minute view, and I highly reccomend seeing this film. It has good leading and supporting performances, although, I could have done without some of the eccentricities that come with some of these characters. The character of Carol, a co-worker of Myra's who lives with her mother, is a bit unneccesary in the beginning, and I wasn't really compelled by her. She does provide a moment of relief during a very funny scene involving yet another co-worker named Storkelson, a sexist pig who insists on sharing his sexual stories. Overall, Love, Ludlow is not the best film of 2005, but it is funny, charming, and highly entertaining. July 17, 2006

LOVED IT!

I really liked this small romantic comedy. The dialogue & acting are superb. It feels real - not like some slick, forced Hollywood production. I rented this movie because Alicia Goranson stars in it and I think she is a good actress (excuse me, actOR) and I just like her. I didn't realize that Steve from Sex and the City (real name David Eigenberg) also stars in the movie and he was great, too. May 30, 2006

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