A Pyromaniac's Love Story

Last updated
A Pyromaniac's Love Story
A Pyromaniac's Love Story.jpg
DVD Artwork
Directed by Joshua Brand
Written by Morgan Ward
Produced by Mark Gordon
Barbara Kelly
Allison Lyon Segan
Starring
Cinematography John Schwartzman
Edited by David Rosenbloom
Music by Rachel Portman
Production
company
Distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
Release date
  • April 28, 1995 (1995-04-28)
Running time
94 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$468,240

A Pyromaniac's Love Story is a 1995 American romantic comedy film directed by Joshua Brand and starring William Baldwin, John Leguizamo, Sadie Frost, and Erika Eleniak. The original screenplay is by Morgan Ward. It was filmed in Toronto.

Contents

Plot summary

Sergio is a Toronto pastry shop assistant who is smitten with Hattie, a mousy girl who works in her father Perry's diner and refuses to consider a relationship with him until he begins to earn a decent living. An opportunity presents itself when Linzer, Sergio's employer, offers him $20,000 to torch the store so he can collect the insurance money and use it to give his wife the lifestyle he feels she deserves. Sergio declines the offer, but one night the bakery is burnt to the ground anyway.

Sergio is offered $25,000 to take the blame by the millionaire father of the real culprit, the mentally unstable Garet, who set the bakery on fire as a public declaration of his love for his society girlfriend Stephanie, whose attraction to Sergio, unbeknownst to her vengeance-seeking beau, is unrequited. Despite his innocence, Sergio claims responsibility for the fire so he can use the money to claim Hattie as his own. Linzer, however, has second thoughts about allowing Sergio to pay for the crime, so he confesses he did it, while his wife insists she set the blaze to prevent her husband from being imprisoned. Sgt. Zikowski is left to determine who of the four claiming guilt is the real perpetrator.

Cast

Principal production credits

Reception

In his review in The New York Times , Stephen Holden called the film "as cuddlesome as a tombstone in January" and added, "[It] wants to be a zany urban romance on the order of Moonstruck , with a bit of A Midsummer Night's Dream thrown in. But its nearly jokeless screenplay by Morgan Ward is so convoluted with plot twists that the characters barely have time to breathe before the story forces them to adopt a new set of caricatured attitudes." [1]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times said the film "starts out like a lighthearted charmer, and then it goes on and on and on—circling the same plot idea so doggedly that I began to wonder idly what it might have been like as a short subject. It doesn't have a mean bone in its body or, for that matter, a brain in its head . . . The characters behave like simpletons, breaking up and getting back together again at the convenience of the plot. Director Joshua Brand . . . has the nerve to go for the sort of cheerful whimsy of Moonstruck, Sleepless in Seattle and While You Were Sleeping . But whimsy without wit is like an empty smile." [2]

In the San Francisco Chronicle , Mick LaSalle said it "has a fine cast and a director, Joshua Brand, who has a feeling for the tone of the piece. The film's cinematography is crisp and slightly fantastic, and its sound track is sardonic but warm. But the script—ooh, that script. After a charming first few minutes, A Pyromaniac's Love Story becomes relentlessly fey, unbearably picaresque and sadistically lyric. Morgan Ward's screenplay is like an inept attempt at a Giraudoux play or a John Patrick Shanley script. But without the passion behind it—or the flair for heightened language—the thing is a 100-minute nose-dive." [3]

Joe Leydon of Variety called the film "a quirky little gem" and "a modern-day fairy tale with a bemused appreciation of romantic love, blazing passions and other human follies." [4]

In The San Francisco Examiner , Gary Kamiya observed, "It would take more than a can of lighter fluid to ignite this soggy film. A Pyromaniac's Love Story aspires to being an offbeat comedy, somewhere between a fairy tale and a whimsical love story. What it is an irritatingly smarmy, implausible mess. A kind of slow-motion farce that ill-advisedly attempts to mingle wildly disparate realities and acting styles, [it] might have worked had its various plot strands been ingeniously interwoven. But no P.G. Wodehouse or Georges Feydeau is anywhere in sight . . . This film slips between arch cutesiness and semi-seriousness with no discernible pattern or purpose." [5]

Related Research Articles

<i>Moonstruck</i> 1987 film by Norman Jewison

Moonstruck is a 1987 American romantic comedy-drama film directed and co-produced by Norman Jewison, written by John Patrick Shanley, and starring Cher, Nicolas Cage, Danny Aiello, Olympia Dukakis, and Vincent Gardenia. The film follows Loretta Castorini, a widowed Italian-American woman who falls in love with her fiancé's hot-tempered, estranged younger brother.

<i>Sweet and Lowdown</i> 1999 American film

Sweet and Lowdown is a 1999 American comedy-drama mockumentary written and directed by Woody Allen. Loosely based on Federico Fellini's film La Strada, the film tells the story of confident jazz guitarist Emmet Ray who falls in love with mute laundress Hattie. Like several of Allen's other films, the film is occasionally interrupted by interviews with critics and biographers like Allen, Nat Hentoff, Daniel Okrent, and Douglas McGrath, who comment on the film's plot as if the characters were real-life people.

<i>Super Mario Bros.</i> (film) 1993 live-action film

Super Mario Bros. is a 1993 fantasy adventure film based on Nintendo's Super Mario video game series. The first feature-length live-action film based on a video game, it was directed by the husband-and-wife team of Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel, written by Parker Bennett, Terry Runté, and Ed Solomon, and distributed by Buena Vista Pictures through Hollywood Pictures. It follows brothers Mario and Luigi Mario in their quest to rescue Princess Daisy from a dystopic parallel universe ruled by the ruthless King Koopa.

<i>Holy Smoke!</i> 1999 film by Jane Campion

Holy Smoke! is a 1999 independent romantic comedy-drama film directed by Jane Campion, and starring Kate Winslet and Harvey Keitel. Its plot follows an American exit counselor (Keitel) who attempts to deprogram a young Australian woman (Winslet) who has been indoctrinated into a new age cult in India. Julie Hamilton, Tim Robertson, Daniel Wyllie, and Pam Grier appear in supporting roles.

<i>Bordello of Blood</i> 1996 American horror comedy film

Tales from the Crypt Presents: Bordello of Blood is a 1996 American horror comedy film directed by Gilbert Adler, from a screenplay by Adler and A.L. Katz, and a story by Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis. Dennis Miller stars as Rafe Guttman, a private investigator hired by Katherine Verdoux to investigate the disappearance of her brother Caleb which leads him to a bordello run by Lilith.

<i>To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar</i> 1995 film directed by Beeban Kidron

To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar is a 1995 American road comedy film directed by Beeban Kidron and starring Wesley Snipes, Patrick Swayze, and John Leguizamo as three New York City drag queens who embark on a road trip. Its title refers to an iconic autographed photo of Julie Newmar that they carry with them on their journey. Newmar additionally appears in the film as herself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Patrick Shanley</span> American writer

John Patrick Shanley is an American playwright, screenwriter, and director. He won the 1988 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the film Moonstruck. His play, Doubt: A Parable, won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 2005 Tony Award for Best Play; he wrote and directed the film adaptation and earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

<i>Spawn</i> (1997 film) Superhero film by Mark A.Z. Dippé

Spawn is a 1997 American superhero film based on the Image Comics character of the same name. Directed by Mark A.Z. Dippé, the film stars Michael Jai White in the title role, alongside John Leguizamo, Martin Sheen, Theresa Randle, D. B. Sweeney, and Nicol Williamson in his final film role. The film depicts the origin story of the title character, a murdered US Marine who is resurrected as the reluctant leader of Hell's army. Spawn is one of the first films to feature an African American actor portraying a major comic book superhero.

<i>Where the Sidewalk Ends</i> (film) 1950 film by Otto Preminger

Where the Sidewalk Ends is a 1950 American film noir directed and produced by Otto Preminger. The screenplay for the film was written by Ben Hecht, and adapted by Robert E. Kent, Frank P. Rosenberg, and Victor Trivas. The screenplay and adaptations were based on the novel Night Cry by William L. Stuart. The film stars Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney.

To Have and Have Not is a 1944 American romance-war-adventure film directed by Howard Hawks, loosely based on Ernest Hemingway's 1937 novel of the same name. It stars Humphrey Bogart, Walter Brennan and Lauren Bacall; it also features Dolores Moran, Hoagy Carmichael, Sheldon Leonard, Dan Seymour, and Marcel Dalio. The plot, centered on the romance between a freelancing fisherman in Martinique and a beautiful American drifter, is complicated by the growing French resistance in Vichy France.

<i>The Pest</i> (1997 film) 1997 American film

The Pest is a 1997 American black comedy film inspired by the classic 1924 Richard Connell short story "The Most Dangerous Game". Comedian John Leguizamo plays a Puerto Rican con artist in Miami, Florida named Pestario Rivera Garcia Picante Salsa Vargas who agrees to be the human target for a German manhunter for a US$50,000 reward.

<i>The Warrior and the Sorceress</i> 1984 film by John Broderick

The Warrior and the Sorceress is a 1984 Argentine-American fantasy action film directed by John C. Broderick and starring David Carradine, María Socas and Luke Askew. It was written by Broderick and William Stout (story).

<i>Chennai Kadhal</i> 2006 Indian film

Chennai Kadhal is a 2006 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Vikraman. The film stars Bharath and Genelia. The film's score and soundtrack are composed by Joshua Sridhar. The film was released on 8 December 2006. It received negative reviews and became a flop.

<i>Unstrung Heroes</i> 1995 American film

Unstrung Heroes is a 1995 American comedy-drama film directed by Diane Keaton and starring Andie MacDowell, John Turturro, Michael Richards, and Maury Chaykin. The screenplay by Richard LaGravenese is based on the memoir of the same name by journalist Franz Lidz.

<i>Last Chance Harvey</i> 2008 film by Joel Hopkins

Last Chance Harvey is a 2008 American romantic drama film written and directed by Joel Hopkins. The screenplay focuses on two lonely people who tentatively forge a relationship during two days. Dustin Hoffman plays the title character, Harvey Shine, an American television commercial jingles composer who travels to England for his estranged daughter's wedding and promptly loses his job. Emma Thompson plays an airport hospitality worker with a jaundiced view of relationships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Leguizamo</span> American actor, comedian, producer, and writer (born 1960)

John Alberto Leguizamo Peláez is an American actor, comedian, and film producer. He has appeared in over 100 films, produced over 20 films and documentaries, made over 30 television appearances, and has produced various television projects. He's also written and performed for the Broadway stage receiving three Tony Award nominations for Freak in 1998, Sexaholix in 2002, and Latin History for Morons in 2018. He received a Special Tony Award in 2018.

<i>The Roaring Road</i> (1919 film) 1919 film by James Cruze, Frank John Urson

The Roaring Road is a 1919 American silent action romance film produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It is taken from the short stories by Byron Morgan; Junkpile Sweepstakes, Undertaker's Handicap, and Roaring Road.

<i>1906</i> (novel) 2004 historical novel by James Dalessandro

1906 is a 2004 American historical novel written by James Dalessandro. With a 38-page outline and six finished chapters, he pitched it around Hollywood in 1998 for a film by the same name, based upon events surrounding the great San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906.

<i>Chef</i> (2014 film) Comedy film by Jon Favreau

Chef is a 2014 American road comedy-drama film directed, written, co-produced by, and starring Jon Favreau as a chef who, after a public altercation with a food critic, loses his job at a popular Los Angeles restaurant and begins to operate a food truck with his young son. It co-stars Sofía Vergara, John Leguizamo, Scarlett Johansson, Oliver Platt, Bobby Cannavale, and Dustin Hoffman, along with Robert Downey Jr. in a cameo role.

The Outcast is a British two-part television adaptation of Sadie Jones' 2008 debut novel of the same name. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 12 July and 19 July 2015.

References