I am a romantic and was in a sad mood anyway, so thought why not go for the pathos of this movie based on the Erich Segal novel.
Oliver Barrett IV (Ryan O'Neal), the son of Oliver Barrett III (Ray Milland), is a Harvard student descended from a (very) upper-class family. He meets and falls in love with Jenny Cavilleri (Ali MacGraw), daughter of an Italian baker (John Marley), studying music at Radcliffe. Their differences naturally evolve into romance. When Jenny reports her plans to study in Paris for a year, Oliver proposes and she accepts, ending those plans. He introduces her to his parents for the first time, and they are dismissive of her lower-class background. Indeed Oliver III says he'll not support Oliver IV in law school if he marries Jenny.
They do marry, get through law school, and move to New York City to an entry-level job at a big law firm. Jenny taught at a private school to get Oliver through school, but now they're focused on getting pregnant. In this process, Jenny is discovered to have an intense case of leukemia with a short time left to live. Oliver finally asks his father for money but won't tell him why, letting the father believe it was to deal with a girl that he "got in trouble." Jenny dies at the end at age 25, leaving Oliver to reflect on the meaning of it all.
The repartee between Jenny and Oliver throughout the film is engaging; she is generally funny and insightful and knows what Oliver is thinking before he does. However, she does have a stupid saying that has long been associated with this film--"Love means never having to say you're sorry." It seems to be meant seriously but is one of the dumbest movie lines ever.
Another problem is that the doctors initially want to keep the diagnosis secret from Jenny for some unknown reason since she needs to begin treatment within weeks. This has Oliver trying to act "normal" while thinking Jenny doesn't really know what is happening to her body. It turns out she does, but the concept is outlandish to me and leads to some cringe-worthy scenes.
However, "Love Story" does provide a good emotional bath if that's what you're looking for.
Oliver Barrett IV (Ryan O'Neal), the son of Oliver Barrett III (Ray Milland), is a Harvard student descended from a (very) upper-class family. He meets and falls in love with Jenny Cavilleri (Ali MacGraw), daughter of an Italian baker (John Marley), studying music at Radcliffe. Their differences naturally evolve into romance. When Jenny reports her plans to study in Paris for a year, Oliver proposes and she accepts, ending those plans. He introduces her to his parents for the first time, and they are dismissive of her lower-class background. Indeed Oliver III says he'll not support Oliver IV in law school if he marries Jenny.
They do marry, get through law school, and move to New York City to an entry-level job at a big law firm. Jenny taught at a private school to get Oliver through school, but now they're focused on getting pregnant. In this process, Jenny is discovered to have an intense case of leukemia with a short time left to live. Oliver finally asks his father for money but won't tell him why, letting the father believe it was to deal with a girl that he "got in trouble." Jenny dies at the end at age 25, leaving Oliver to reflect on the meaning of it all.
The repartee between Jenny and Oliver throughout the film is engaging; she is generally funny and insightful and knows what Oliver is thinking before he does. However, she does have a stupid saying that has long been associated with this film--"Love means never having to say you're sorry." It seems to be meant seriously but is one of the dumbest movie lines ever.
Another problem is that the doctors initially want to keep the diagnosis secret from Jenny for some unknown reason since she needs to begin treatment within weeks. This has Oliver trying to act "normal" while thinking Jenny doesn't really know what is happening to her body. It turns out she does, but the concept is outlandish to me and leads to some cringe-worthy scenes.
However, "Love Story" does provide a good emotional bath if that's what you're looking for.