Love At Large

Tom Berenger has never really been labeled with the term "comedic actor, " but the man definitely has some comedy chops. Sure he has been in some successful comedy movies like Major League and The Big Chill, but most seem to associate him with heavy dramas like Platoon or action fare like Sniper. A while back, I wrote about the hilarious western spoof Rustler's Rhapsody that showed off Berenger's comedic flare.Today, I'm taking a look back at another funny performance from Mr. Berenger, 1990's Love At Large.

Berenger plays Harry Dobbs, a private eye who specializes in cheating spouse cases, which is ironic since his girlfriend Doris, Ann Magnuson, suspects him of being unfaithful. He gets hired by Miss Dolan, Anne Archer, to tail her boyfriend who she thinks might be planning to kill her. Once on his, Ted Levine, trail, Harry discovers that his suspect is a polygamist. He also begins to suspect that he himself is being followed by a mysterious woman named Stella, Elizabeth Perkins.

Berenger is hysterical as the gruff, and somewhat clueless, Harry. He adds a lot of the humor to this slick, noirish comedy. After the film opened to less than stellar reviews, Berenger thought about giving up acting. Luckily he didn't, but sadly I think he has given up on comedic roles. The rest of the cast, that also includes Kate Capshaw, Annette O'Toole, and Neil Young, are terrific as well.

This was directed by the great Alan Rudolph. Rudolph has a Robert Altman style approach to the proceedings, which makes sense since Altman took him under his wing early in his career. I like that Rudolph creates these almost alternate universes in his work, which a big chunk of it sadly gets overlooked. There's also a nice twist near the end.

Love At Large is a nice throwback to both noir films and slapstick comedies. And it's terrific vehicle for Berenger.

It's available on dvd and blu ray.