I Love Trouble (1994)
Julia Roberts, Nick Nolte. Written by Charles Shyer and Nancy Meyers. Directed by Charles Shyer.
What a stinker of a movie. I Love Trouble is proof you can’t just throw together two charismatic actors and expect them to work well on screen. This is not to say Julia Roberts and Nick Nolte as investigative reporters for rival Chicago newspapers have no chemistry at all, and they are both skilled enough to create a certain believability, but every time they kiss in this film, all I could think was, “Gross.” Except that one time I said, “Ew” instead.
Roberts and Nolte famously did not get along while making this film (Julia said Nolte is the worst actor she’s ever worked with), but I seriously don’t think their dislike for one another is the reason the movie is so bad. It’s the writing, which is preposterous. Nolte’s character is a cartoon, both actors deliver lines they must have hated, and the movie doesn’t give us any reason to believe their characters have genuine feelings for one another.
It still has its moments as the reporters realize the only way they’re going to get to the bottom of a suspicious train crash is by working together. There are a few genuinely funny moments, and a few lines that had me laughing aloud, a few clever turns of phrase. And of course Julia is beautiful to look at, her doe eyes and toothy smile lighting up the screen as they always do.
Its few good moments make it not a complete waste of time, but keep your expectations low. It’s one of the worst Julia Roberts films I’ve seen.
3/10
36/100