No Looking Back Movie Review 1998

Small-town 30ish waitress Claudia (Holly) is about to settle for a boring life with decent-but-dull Michael (Bon Jovi) when her ne'er-do-well former boyfriend Charlie (Burns) comes home looking to relive the glory days. Burns stays with the working-class, northeastern setting, but goes for drama this time. With themes that cover economic hopelessness and a yearning to escape, Burns seems to be trying for a cinematic distillation of Bruce Springsteen's (very cinematic) music. In fact, many Springsteen songs are used to set scenes. Like Bruce, Burns knows the working class vernacular, and uses it well. But this time, all traces of sublety are gone, and the story plays out pretty much as expected. Holly doesn't help much, barely registering in the crucial role. She also looks too damn good to be a washed-up waitress with no options.

Distribution

USA Home Entertainment, 1 W. Forest, Englewood, NJ 07631-4004, Phone: (201)871-1000, URL: http://www.polygram-us.com

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 96 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Rock Stars on Film, Romantic Drama, Otherwise Engaged, Waiters & Waitresses, Bad Dads

Screenplay

Edward Burns

Cast

Lauren Holly, Edward Burns, Jon Bon Jovi, Blythe Danner, Connie Britton

Cinematography

Frank Prinzi

Director

Edward Burns

Music

Joe Delia

Producer

Edward Burns, Ted Hope, Michael Nozik, Robert Redford, Polygram Filmed Entertainment, Marlboro Road Gang Productions, Good Machine, Gramercy Pictures