If the critics are to be believed, Peter Bogdanovich is one of those unfortunate directors who ran out of steam all too soon after a positively brilliant start. True the early "The Last Picture Show" is a glorious recreation of young people coming of age in an American hick town nowhere in the '50's that he has never quite equalled since, although "Paper Moon" runs it pretty close. Perhaps his big mistake was to try to catch up with "The Last Picture Show" folk in the best forgotten "Texasville". Great films are better left on their own without sequels. But, this apart, it would be wrong to brand everything Bogdanovich has made in more recent years as inconsequential and therefore of little value. Take "The Thing Called Love" for instance, a film that like "The Last Picture Show" concerns itself with a group of young people that are certainly more aspirational than those in the earlier film. A desire to express their feelings through their music has brought them to Nashville, Tennessee, the home of Country and Western. They meet up in the Bluebell Cafe auditioning for a Saturday evening music spot organised by K.T.Oslin, famous for having first spotted several of the great names from the past. The two most interesting characters are Miranda (Samantha Mathis),who has come all the way from New York on a Greyhound bus and James played by the talented River Phoenix in what was sadly to be his last film role. I am fairly certain why I enjoyed this rather slight film to the extent that I watched it on two consecutive evenings, even though I had "La Regle du Jeu" and others queueing up to be seen. It just felt nice to be in the company of a group of comparatively uncomplicated youngsters getting by, doing something really meaningful for them. There is very little in the way of action apart from Miranda and James's drive to Graceland and their killing time before it opens by getting married. I guess Bogdanovich made the film because he loved its characters, otherwise he could not have conveyed them with such affection. He hasn't made a great film this time, but it is certainly nice to get out of the art-house on occasions to savour such a sweet little number.

Man, not even the lure of good looking babes and music could save this flea-ridden dog. Its my 4th sitting and I still can't get thru it. If I paid to see it in a theater I'd want my money back. The blonde in this movie is making me contemplate a new gay lifestyle. Gad, I wouldn't marry her if Donald Trumps life depended on it. Please bypass this cinematic fertilizer and go read the Daily News or The NY Post. I can't find anything redeeming about this flick. I want my money back from Blockbuster. Why do I need 10 lines to post this? Sandra Bullock has this bad fake southern accent that never quite makes it. I'm still wondering what this movie is about.

I feel as though this movie was very good. I can watch this movie over and over again. I would recommend this to anyone. I love how the movie deals with country music stars such as K.T Oslin. I always try to watch this movie when it is on the TV. It seems to me that would have been a fun movie to be in. I am a huge country music lover. So this movie was perfect for me. I definitely give this 10 stars because I thought it was very good. I believe it is more of a chick flick but some guys may still like it. It is cute, funny and romantic all at the same time. I tell all my neighbors about this movie and now they want to see it too. I thought River Phoenix did a excellent job along with the rest of the cast.

I just caught this movie 13 years after it's release but, what a great story. I thought the real country stars who had cameos or had roles made it more legitimate. It was funny to see the musical side of Samantha Mathis, Dermot Mulroney and Sandra Bullock after all these years. Samantha Mathis is underrated. She was in a recent episode of House. I have always been a fan of Dermot Mulroney but, now I have a greater appreciation of his versatility.I haven't seen too much of River Pheonix's work so, this was a treat.The insight into Nashville and the struggle for writers and musicians was fascinating.