Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
After making the fresh surprise of "The Brothers McMullen" and the insufferable sophomore effort, "She's the One," writer-director Ed Burns turns back to less gloss and more grit. Or so it seems.
The opening of "No Looking Back" has grayish skies and grayish boardwalks in Rockaway Beach, NY. A blonde woman arrives at her house holding her bag of groceries (a shot that is repeated a few times) and we sense some form of despair. That woman is Claudia (Lauren Holly), a diner waitress who is living with her fiance, Mike (Jon Bon Jovi) who works double-shifts at his job. She is not ready for a full commitment, that is marriage and kids, and she wishes to go to a restaurant out in Manhattan instead of the same-old same-old local bar. Claudia's mother (Blythe Danner) is optimistic her husband will return, who basically walked out on the whole family. Claudia understands why and, yet, she fears that Mike is someone who will grow complacent. Or she might walk out on him.
Everything looks grim until the slacker Charlie (Edward Burns) arrives back in town after three years - he once had a romantic relationship with Claudia but she got an abortion and he skipped town. All he can do is be a mechanic but he is hoping to woo Claudia back into his life.
I know what some of you are thinking and/or feeling - YAWN! But I gotta say that "No Looking Back" is a far better film than "She's the One" but not nearly as winsome as "The Brothers McMullen." Let us also say that "McMullen," as fresh and invigorating as it was, was a little bit thin but it worked in the way it spun its New York Irish characters with an upbeat feeling. "She's the One" felt like it was written by a computer. "No Looking Back" benefits from excellent performances, especially Blythe Danner as the eternal optimist, Lauren Holly as the girl who is tickled pink by Charlie but is also searching for her own individuality, Connie Briton as Claudia's sister who has one big emotional scene that left me devastated (she is damn good and you might remember her as the forgiving wife in "McMullen"), and Jon Bon Jovi who proves he is a better actor than a singer. I can't leave out Edward Burns who plays a character type, a slacker from a working class background, but he does it so convincingly that the Bruce Springsteen songs in the soundtrack help visualize Burns in the role he plays.
"No Looking Back" did poorly at the box-office and got negative notices. That is a shame because Burns is a fine director - he works beautifully with actors and allows them time on screen in sustained long takes. Though he should still work on embellishing his characters and make them shine, Burns has got the stuff to be a great director some day and he is not afraid to be honest and true.
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