Each film is about a different story. This film is about one situation between a NYC rough guy, but, not physical and a girl who attends the University in NYC. The acting by Adrien Brody is Excellent. The female lead is very good as well. Great chemistry. The direction is very good and the film is creative going from the first time they begin seeing each other to the time when Brody realizes he's in love and has a break down in a restaurant bar. It's a lower budget film, but, should show you don't need a big budget to make an excellent film. If everyone would just look at each movie as different and make no comparisons they should realize "Love the Hard Way" is excellent and well worth watching. It is rated R and has some nudity (not much). Delicate acting by Brody is well noted. Should have been viewed by more people who love all types of films. You may think that could not happen in real life, but, it does and probably more than most think. End

Adrien Brody plays a hard-boiled con-man called Jack who lures Japanese businessmen into assignations with call-girls - and then poses as a vice cop in order to extract bribes. Pam Grier is equally hard-boiled as a NYC detective determined to end his shake-down enterprise. Jack's life gets complicated when he hooks up with Claire, a beautiful graduate student who dismantles Jack's tough exterior to reveal a sensitive soul who dreams of becoming a writer. After Jack resists Claire's efforts to reform him and rejects her, she decides on a dangerous strategy to win him back.In different hands - and with a less talented cast - 'Love The Hard Way' would likely be a horrible mess. In this instance writer/director Peter Sehr invests the story with some genuine originality - while Brody and Charlotte Ayanna give the star-crossed lovers some depth as they struggle to resolve their issues. Like the movie itself, they walk a tightrope between sentimentality and dispassionate realism, and it turns out to be an intriguing journey.

Just seen this movie in TV and I think it was gorgeous. Very good acting and characters, nice plot and quite near to reality. I think I have never felt more sorry for a girl like Claire in a movie. And I could just feel what Jack felt. This movie is much about feelings, love, sex, crime and downfalls. I know guys like Jack and girls like Claire and they are very good portrayed here. I loved to watch it. In a comment I read that Brody isn't the best choice for this role not because of his acting but of his look. Brody ain't the beauty sunny-boy, but he has a special kind of look. Someone you see and you will remember him. His face is one in a million plus the character he played makes a very remarkable person. A person that a girl could fall in love with, no matter how she looks like. And remember Claire's former boyfriend, maybe not a bad one, but that was not was she was looking for. And besides: I have seen so many hot girls together with ugly guys...hey, it's not always the look, it's the way to be! ;)

This movie is not a high dollar production. It doesn't need to be. This movie is emotional, intellectual, heart-wrenching and sadly beautiful. I experienced a similar overall feeling from watching "Gia" - a movie about supermodels and the pitfalls of modeling (That happens to be Angelina Jolie's best film - unlike her others, and worth watching.) What Love the Hard Way has, that other films don't, are characters who you really connect with. Not because you share things in common with them, but because they are multi-faceted beings with enough background story to deeply invest the viewer in their fate.This review/comment isn't going like I had planned. I think the IMDb rating of this film is far too low, and I think those people who gave it a low score were either not paying attention, or not allowing themselves to do so.Which isn't surprising, because this film is hard to watch at times. Not because it's dull or poorly constructed, but because you don't want to feel the pain.Watch it. The Ying and Yang are in full blossom here.