What Love Is

Play trailer

What Love Is

R

Released Mar 23, 2007

1h 28m

Romance

Comedy

LGBTQ+

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

15%

Tomatometer

13 Reviews

55%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

On Valentine's Day, Tom (Cuba Gooding Jr.) stops at a local bar to down a glass of courage on his way home to ask his live-in lover to marry him. Seeing some of his best friends there, he invites them to drop by later for a celebratory party. However, when Tom arrives home, his lover is gone and a Dear John letter awaits him. As Tom's friends (Matthew Lillard, Mars Callahan, Sean Astin) drop in, the group begins an alcohol-fueled discussion about love and relationships.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Richard Roeper

Ebert & Roeper

Shrill, abrasive, cartoonishly over-the-top and badly titled.

Apr 2, 2007

Full Review

Josh Rosenblatt

Austin Chronicle

In its own peculiar way, What Love Is is a testament to the redemptive power of words. Thankfully, Callahan knows to keep it short and sweet, lest his audience go mad from the noise.

Rated: 3/5

Mar 23, 2007

Full Review

Ted Fry

Seattle Times

It could be that What Love Is is what lovers of either gender can like, thanks to equal parts misogynistic machismo and locker-room girl talk, all of it tied together with just a little bit of cozy romantic reality.

Rated: 2.5/4

Mar 23, 2007

Full Review

S. Jhoanna Robledo

Common Sense Media

Graphic-yet-boring rom-com.

Rated: 1/5

Oct 22, 2007

Full Review

Sean Axmaker

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

A shrill cacophony of puerile clichs about men and women and sex, delivered in adrenaline-driven harangues and arrogant lectures. When the stage clears, all that's left is the unpleasant odor of all that hot air.

Rated: F

Mar 22, 2007

Full Review

James C. Taylor

L.A. Weekly

The level of insight in this romantic comedy's dialogue makes the oeuvre of Ed Burns look like Racine.

Mar 22, 2007

Full Review

Read all reviews

Audience Member

If you like movies where they talk non-stop and really fast and its hard to keep up and nothing much else happens - then this one is for you.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/15/23

Full Review

Audience Member

still don't know what to think..

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/19/23

Full Review

Audience Member

has the feel of a stage play or TV sitcom but that aside still a good look see

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Plot: Tom plans to surprise his girlfriend Sara with an engagement ring, and he's asked his four best friends to witness the popping of the question at his place on Valentine's night. Trouble is Sara's left him a "Dear John" letter and will be by soon to pick up her suitcases; plus, thinking it's a party, Tom's friend Sal has invited five women to come too. Cuba Gooding Jr. is great as the dumped on character who doesn't know how he's going to get his girlfriend back while Mathew Lillard was amazing as Sal, (especially in the scene about monogamy) and it`s nice to see Gina Gershon back on screen (looking hot as usual). Because it explodes stereotypical attitudes on love, sex and the games people play, the film takes the form of conversation where the characters take turns telling their story, their gripes on love and the opposite sex! First the men, then, the women! It's smart and funny and best enjoyed by those who've made a relationship mistake or two and can afford to laugh at themselves. It's a fiendishly accurate depiction of the extreme positions we take over love and sex. Watch this uninhibited movie and absorb the raw truth and wisdom, complete with the F-bombs and sexual descriptions.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This movie works as a statement of the frustrations people have with connecting. The dialogue is a fandango of friends expressing their frustration with the games they have to play to find and connect with the objects of their affections. The is a good enough mix of the male and female points of view for the constraints of a whimsical look at the world and the dance to find love. If the move had a flaw for me, it was that the pacing gave the hint that the clock was running and resolutions where rushed.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/18/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Awsome dialogue. Love Mars Callahan!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Mars Callahan

Director

Cuba Gooding Jr.

Tom

Matthew Lillard

Sal

Mars Callahan

Ken

Sean Astin

George

Anne Heche

Laura

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

Kiss the Bride

38%

45%

Kiss the Bride

Watchlist

The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green

30%

58%

The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green

Watchlist

Cut Sleeve Boys

42%

49%

Cut Sleeve Boys

Watchlist

Imagine Me & You

34%

75%

Imagine Me & You

Watchlist

Kissing Jessica Stein

83%

65%

Kissing Jessica Stein

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

On Valentine's Day, Tom (Cuba Gooding Jr.) stops at a local bar to down a glass of courage on his way home to ask his live-in lover to marry him. Seeing some of his best friends there, he invites them to drop by later for a celebratory party. However, when Tom arrives home, his lover is gone and a Dear John letter awaits him. As Tom's friends (Matthew Lillard, Mars Callahan, Sean Astin) drop in, the group begins an alcohol-fueled discussion about love and relationships.

Director: Mars Callahan
Producer: George Bours, John J. Hermansen
Screenwriter: Mars Callahan
Distributor: Big Sky Motion Pictures
Production Co: Big Sky Pictures, Blessed Film Company
Rating: R (Graphic Sexual Dialogue|Some Erotic Dancing|Pervasive Language)
Genre: Romance, Comedy, LGBTQ+
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 23, 2007, Original
Release Date (Streaming): May 16, 2008
Runtime: 1h 28m

Most Popular at Home Now