Hard to believe that this essentially came out simultaneously with Pulp Fiction and Natural Born Killers, since it shares so much with them it's eerie. This movie is very much Natural Born Killers made with heart, soul and intelligence and with elements of Pulp Fiction mixed in. I personally intensely disliked Natural Born Killers. Supposedly it was making some big statements about society, but it was really just an excuse for a lot of completely pointless and excessive violence committed by totally unlikeable characters. Unexpectedly, I actually liked this film more than Pulp fiction. It was obviously made with a much lower budget, which in this case gave the movie character and charm. There is quite a bit of jarring violence in this film, and you can't really claim that the lead characters would qualify as exactly desirable human beings in real life, but I still really liked this film a lot. Again, the best way I can put it is that it's what Natural Born Killers should have been.

Some lazy and uninformed Critics and Reviewers can't help themselves and immediately lash out at this Movie's similarity to others Directed by Tarantino, Rodriguez, Stone, and Lynch. Truth of the Matter is that when Films are so near in release dates it is unfair and somewhat inaccurate to claim thievery.It is more likely and a bit Metaphysical that these Creative Folks were all tapping into that Akashic Record thing or what may be called the Hundred Monkey Theory. Whatever. This is a very good, Fun-Frolic Road Movie with White Trash Anti-Heroes and a Kick-Ass Soundtrack. More quirky characters than have a right to exist in any one Movie and some Witty Banter that makes it all quite a Rolicking Ride.It is over the top, around the bend, down the rabbit hole and off into outer space. Nutzoid and Naughty, Dirty and Delightful, with a Cast that cries out Cult Movie. It is proudly self-conscious, Violent, and Funny enough for it to become part of the Zeitgeist that was working in its Day and can not be ignored. This one will do nothing but gain Reputation and Admiration acquiring more Fans every Year. It was an easy thing to miss and dismiss this in the Mid-Nineties but if nothing else, the Success of Renee Zellweger will have the curious seeking this one out as a Career Starter and while she is a standout here, this Movie has more to offer and does so with layers of interest far beyond anything as shallow as Star Power. It gets its energy from a Chemical Compound and a Cultural Milieu that is forever Fascinating.

The video case for 'Love and a .45' managed to name-drop 'True Romance', AND 'Pulp Fiction' AND 'Natural Born Killers', always a bad sign in my book (what I call "the Tarantino blurb rule"), but this movie surprisingly a) doesn't completely suck, and b)isn't really all that Tarantino-like. I'm not saying it's actually all that good mind you, but it's passable, especially if you're a fan of Jeffrey Combs or Peter Fonda. Personally I think the movie was more inspired by David Lynch's 'Wild At Heart' than Tarantino (and let's face it, of those three movies mentioned only 'True Romance' actually preceded it, and the "lovers on the run" genre is an established one, with important milestones like 'Badlands' and 'The Getaway' in the 70s, 'Bonnie And Clyde' before that in the 60s, and even the underrated 'Gun Shy' back in the 40s). Gil Bellows, best known now for Ally McBeal, and Renee Zellweger, now a big time Hollywood star, are the white trash lovers, and Rory Cochrane ('Dazed And Confused') Bellows ex-partner who is out to kill them. All three are okay I suppose, but nothing special. Zellweger does look cute I must admit, but the Southern accents eventually become profoundly irritating. Writer/Director C.M. Talkington drops in little in-jokes referring to 'Pink Flamingos' and 'Easy Rider', which made me think he was pretty hip, but sadly the movie really fails to add anything new or interesting to this Gen X road movie genre, unlike Gregg Araki's subsequent 'The Doom Generation' or Matthew Bright's 'Freeway' and 'Freeway 2', which are kinda similar movies but much better. The only real reason to watch for the cool soundtrack and some of the character actors in supporting roles. Television's Tom Verlaine composed the score, The Reverend Horton Heat performs, and the movie features songs by Mazzy Star, The Flaming Lips, Johnny Cash, The Jesus And Mary Chain and others, as well as a rare duet between Kim Deal (The Breeders/The Pixies) and Bob Pollard (Guided By Voices). The supporting cast includes a great turn by horror legend Jeffrey Combs as speed freak Dinosaur Bob, cult figure Peter Fonda as Zellweger's burned out hippie father, and bit parts from David Lynch regular Jack Nance ('Eraserhead'), Ann Wedgeworth ('Scarecrow'), Michael Bowen ('Jackie Brown'), Wiley Wiggins ('Waking Life') and Charlotte Ross ('NYPD Blue'). 'Love and a .45' is a difficult movie to get enthused about. It's not an absolute stinker, but it's just not all that good and there are many more enjoyable and interesting movies out there in a similar vein.

For the genre I thought it was pretty good.It's not so much a Tarentino ripoff, as has been suggested, as another in a long line of White Trash on the Road movies which started back with Bonnie & Clyde & Easy Rider and continues with movies like Freeway, Natural Born Killers etc.The characters were great. They're supposed to be overdrawn and the balance between the main characters bad deeds and that piece of goodness they have that no one else in the film possess was struck just right.Rightly so Renee Zellweger has built a career since this but I'm surprised that the Director, CM Talkington went nowhere from here and the lead Gil Bellows (who is charming here) has had little success either.And who would have thought that Creepy would go on to direct a ton of TV shows!