Love Stinks

Whenever I am in the mood to watch a funny movie or perhaps utilize the remedy for a lousy day, I turn to one of my "go to" comedies that I have stored in my DVD stash. "Love Stinks" has been on the top of my "go to" list for quite some time now. No matter how many times I watch it, it is always funny and in some cases, perhaps funnier because I notice things I didn't see before. I personally love comedies that are somewhat cheesy and have extreme situations and "Love Stinks" is a comedy that takes the trauma of breaking up to the extreme.
"Love Stinks" stars French Stewart, and actor from the comedy sitcom "Third Rock From the Sun" and Bridgette Wilson, an accomplished singer, songwriter, and actress. Bill Bellamy and Tyra Banks both have supporting roles in this film and special guest appearances are made by Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, who starred as "Kelly Kapowski" in the Saturday morning show "Saved By the Bell" and as "Valerie Malone" in the hit series "Beverly Hills 90210", and Jason Bateman who starred as "Michael Bluth" in the popular hit series "Arrested Development".
The movie starts out at the end and takes place on an airplane headed to Las Vegas. Larry Garnett (Bill Bellamy) drags his friend Seth Winnick (French Stewart) to the airplane lavatories to try one last time to convince him to not go through with marrying Chelsea Turner (Bridgette Wilson). In order to remind him of all the reasons why not to marry Chelsea Turner, Larry Garnett takes Seth through a crash course of what happened, reminding him in detail of all the events that have occurred since the inception of his relationship with Chelsea. At that point, the viewer gets to see how the tumultuous relationship unfolds.
Chelsea and Seth meet at the wedding of their close friends Larry Garnett (Bill Belamy) and Holly Garnett (Tyra Banks) and both have important roles in the wedding; Chelsea is the maid of honor and Seth is the best man. Both Seth and Chelsea came to the wedding with dates but realize that they have an instant connection or rather they have an instant "lust" for each other. Despite the instant connection, Chelsea tries to play it cool and insists that she can't consummate anything until she goes on three dates with the person. Seth is determined to get Chelsea and following the wedding they decide to go out for breakfast (at a mini-mart), lunch, and then dinner at a golf course. The three-date requirement is met. Chelsea tells Seth that if they hook up, all the rules change and they are exclusive meaning he stops dating and she stops dating and they become a couple. Seth seems to question it but agrees.
Before long, Chelsea molds the situation to her liking and starts to move in on Seth's life. She quits her job, moves out of her place, and moves into Seth's home. Despite the fact that Seth is allergic to cats, she insists that her cat "Gracie" has to live there. Once again, Seth relents and in order to live a more tolerable and allergic reaction free life, he begins taking self-injected allergy shots. Life is good for the most part. Chelsea continuously drops hints about getting married and uses her best game to get Seth to marry her. She thinks it is a sure thing and as Valentine's Day approaches, Chelsea is convinced Seth is going to propose. She is expecting to get an engagement ring but instead, Seth buys her a ring with her birthstone. Seth thinks it is pure brilliance but Chelsea isn't the least bit happy with the gift and spends the rest of the evening pouting and downing shots. Once again, Seth relents and tries to patch things up. He agrees that if things are going well in the certain allotted time, which is a year, they will get engaged. As the time is running out and the year is coming closer to an end with the deadline approaching steadfastly, things continue to be pretty rocky. Chelsea is jealous, controlling, and they fight constantly about ridiculous things. Although they eventually make up, the cycle is repetitive and gradually each fight becomes more severe than the one before. The constant turmoil has an effect on Seth's career. He is a writer for a popular comedy show and as things get rockier, the storyline for the characters on the show also gets rockier. Finally, the deadline arrives. Chelsea is ready to exchange gifts and once again is convinced that she's got it in the bag. Seth is going to propose. The moment arrives and Chelsea opens her gift and is horrified to find out that she didn't get the engagement ring she was dreaming about; instead, it's a pair of diamond earrings. Chelsea breaks up with Seth on the spot and swears to him that he is losing the best thing that ever happened to him.
So, now that they have broken up everyone moves on with their life, right? Wrong. Chelsea decides that she is not going to move out of Seth's house and even gets the shadiest lawyer around to represent her in a palimony case claiming that she gave up her career to stay at home and be a ''wife-like" figure for Seth. From that point on, things get pretty ugly and the comedy goes into full force. Seth and Chelsea go back and forth doing
vicious yet hilarious things to each other. In one situation, Seth takes Chelsea's cat Gracie to the pier and leaves a note for Chelsea that says, "Gracie sleeps with the fish under the pier". Chelsea throws on a sweatshirt and rushes to the pier to rescue Gracie. As Seth throws Gracie over the pier, Chelsea jumps off the pier to save her, only to find Gracie dangling from a bungee cord over the water. Chelsea vows Seth will pay. If you have ever wondered what French Stewart looks like as Mr. Clean or as a wannabe Vin Diesel, here is your chance to find out. Prior to Seth's morning shower, Chelsea decides to switch out Seth's shampoo with her hair remover. As Seth takes a shower, he is mortified as his hair starts falling out in clumps leaving him with a baldhead and forced with no other choice but to get a toupee. This is truly a classic scene and guarantees a good belly laugh. These are only a few of the things that Seth and Chelsea do to each other to mess up the other ones life. The movie is literally prank after prank that will leave the viewer laughing like crazy.
Finally, Seth decides he wants to iron things out with Chelsea and goes out of his way to get her to drop the palimony suit so they can be married. After tons of begging and pleading, Chelsea decides to forgive Seth and accepts his proposal. Seth buys Chelsea a fabulous looking princess-cut diamond solitaire engagement ring and Chelsea is on cloud nine. Seth convinces her that they should get another house and he puts the house of "bad memories" up for sale. The two of them hop on a plane to Vegas to elope and bring along their close friends Larry and Holly. On the flight over there, Larry tries to convince Seth to not marry Chelsea. The story continues to get even crazier and the viewer is in store for many more laughs.
"Love Stinks" is truly an over the top comedy with hilarious situations and memorable quotes that will stick in your mind and make you chuckle long after you see the movie. This movie takes breaking up to the extreme and makes anyone feel like his or her breakups have been nothing compared to poor Seth. If you are looking for a good laugh and enjoy cheesy and somewhat over the top movies, then "Love Stinks" is the movie to see.