Love Stinks

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Love Stinks ★½ 1999 (R)

Apparently designed as an antidote to the date movie, this joyless “unromantic” comedy gives off a few rank fumes of its own. Writer Seth Winnick (Stewart) meets Chelsea (Wilson) at the wedding of his pals Larry (Bellamy) and Holly (Banks). After he's lured into Chelsea's clutches, she begins to take over his life while dropping hints that he should pop the big question. After he promises to marry her in a year but doesn't follow through, Chelsea decides to sue him for palimony. The noncouple then inexplicably live together until the trial so that further “funny comedy jokes” can be inflicted on the audience. Stewart attempts to rise above the material with his excellent comedic timing, but he's unable to escape this misogynistic mess. 94m/C VHS, DVD . French Stewart, Bridgette Wilson-Sampras, Tyra Banks, Bill Bellamy, Steve Hytner, Jason Bateman, Tiffani(Amber) Thiessen; D: Jeff Franklin; W: Jeff Franklin; C: Uta Briesewitz; M: Bennett Salvay.