Review: Love Don't Cost a Thing (***)
 

LOVE DON'T COST A THING
A film review by Steve Rhodes

Copyright 2003 Steve Rhodes

RATING (0 TO ****): ***


With jaw-dropping beauty, Christina Milian electrifies the screen in LOVE
DON'T COST A THING, a remake of 1987's Can't Buy Me Love. Nick Cannon
(DRUMLINE) plays a geeky loser who becomes her new boyfriend -- but only for
two weeks. Cannon is hilarious as a skinny and awkward guy with no social
graces and the world's worst Afro. Their movie together is a good-spirited
charmer that will tickle your funny bone and thoroughly entertain you.



As the story starts, Alvin Johnson (Cannon), who works as a "pool boy," and
his nerdy, automotive engineering buddies are invisible at their high
school. The cool kids ignore them, and poor Alvin, a senior in his last
semester, has never even had the courage to ask a girl out on a date.
Circumstances conspire to present him with the opportunity of his young
lifetime. Spending the money he had been saving for the car that he and his
buddies are building, he instead uses the cash to fix the family SUV that
Paris Morgan (Milian) wrecked. In return, he negotiates a two week
relationship with her on the understanding that no sex will be involved. He
sees her, a short, sexy cheerleader, only as his ticket to popularity, and
she sees him, a walking disaster, only as a way to hide the accident from
her mom. As you can probably guess, he becomes the coolest guy in school,
and she grows rather fond of him. His friends, however, don't appreciate
being isolated from their old buddy. Yes, the film is pure formula, but
it's done so cutely.



Although the superb performance of two leads alone is more than enough to be
able to recommend the picture, the supporting cast is quite good as well.
The scene stealer of the film's second string is Steve Harvey, who plays
Alvin's 8-track dad, Clarence. Basically a variation on Jim's Dad (Eugene
Levy) from the AMERICAN PIE series, Clarence, with his toothy, enthusiastic
smiles, has non-stop advice for his son in his son's first outing with the
ladies. "Ain't no woman born who can resist the motion of the ocean," he
tells his son who falls clumsily on his parents' waterbed during the first
big advice scene. Clarence's lecture on the pros and cons of various brands
and types of condoms completely embarrasses his son, who looks ready to bolt
for the door as soon as his dad takes a breath.



When this funny and sweet story follows the predictable arc to its
conclusion, the result is surprisingly touching. Let's just hope that
singer Milian gets offered more scripts to develop her considerable acting
talents. She's a charmer with a great and natural rapport with the camera
and the audience. LOVE DON'T COST A THING may not be the highest profile
movie of the month, but it sure makes for a fun time at the movies.



LOVE DON'T COST A THING runs 1:35. It is rated PG-13 for "sexual
content/humor" and would be acceptable for kids around 12 and up.



The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, December 12, 2003.
In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC and the Century
theaters.



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