Time has not exactly been kind to one of the biggest hits of 1970, LOVE STORY. Made for $2M and grossing over $106M at the box office, it was a huge blockbuster. A very young Ryan O'Neal is a rich, preppy college student who falls in love with Ali MacGraw, a harsh, foul mouthed librarian from a working class family. Ryan O'Neal is really good in the film and that's especially amazing considering the complete block of wood that he had to play off of in Ali. WOW, she is really bad here. I have met TSA agents with more emotional range than she displays over 95 minutes. In the first two minutes of the movie, Ryan tells you Ali is going to die and it's all downhill from there. Look for a very young Tommy Lee Jones as one of Ryan's roommates.
A classic music score from Frances Lai and some good support from Ray Milland as O'Neal's estranged father, but this is pretty predictable stuff, weighed down by the anchor of MacGraw's performance. Love may mean never having to say your sorry, but I think she owes SOMEBODY an apology for that performance! C-
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