Love Story

audience Reviews

, 75% Audience Score
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    It certainly has its moments of cheesiness and melodrama (as iconic as it is, "love means never having to say you're sorry" is a bit eyeroll-inducing; it does slightly work better in its original context here but the more you think about it, the more of a "I'm 14 and this is deep" vibe it has to it) but the strong performances, memorable theme tune, witty dialogue exchanges during the happier days of these two young lovebirds' romance and good direction make some of Love Story's more trite aspects easier to swallow resulting in a good, albeit outdated, romantic drama.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    Such a tear jerker. I loved it then and I love it now. Absolutely beautiful especially when you lose a loved one at 24. It's somehow comforting through all the pain. Anyone who doesn't love this was never a real preppy
  • Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
    In some ways a romantic story worthy of the title. But the overall quirkiness of Ali's character is overdone. The overall alacrity of the way in which Oliver dispatches his father who clearly loves him is so tragic leaving him utterly destitute emotionally is just unbelievable. Tragedy on many levels, and yet a beautiful love story. In the end Oliver's inability to redeem himself is the worst of all. Honestly I think it's just a bad script with a lot of potential in the back stories.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    I enjoyed the movie! My only complaint was I thought it was quite abbreviated at the start and end. I would have liked to see more of them meeting each other initially, and also more of the difficult scenes at the end.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    I just saw it after all these years and wish I had not. The acting is abysmal. Storyline is weak. I know it's a great tearjerker, but it's a terrible movie. It is a good tearjerker and just saying that is a buzz kill, but that's the only good thing to say about this movie.
  • Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
    There's a school of thought that some movies can only be appreciated at the time they are released - they live in their own plastic bubble. I tend to think that a truly great movie is timeless and holds up whether it's seen on opening night or 50 years later. Upon its release, this film was lavished with awards, including 7 Oscar nominations, and audiences flocked to it in droves. The phrase "love means never having to say you're sorry" became one of the most recognized lines in recent cinema history. Watching it 51 years later, in my opinion, it almost feels like a parody of itself. Multiple scenes feel like feminine hygiene commercials. The lines feel overly scripted, particuarly in the first half of the movie. Practically every word out of MacGraw's mouth is a smart alleck retort, and though a lovely screen presence, her acting is pretty lacksadaisical, to be kind. She and O'Neal do share a nice chemistry, I'll give it that much. But so much of this movie is overly sentimental drivel, and the scenes involving O'Neal and his father are awkward to the extreme. The deathbed scenes feel almost like an after thought, and I felt not a moment of sincere emotion. I hate to be blunt, but MacGraw's demise felt more like a relief than anything else. I appreciated the scenes involving John Marley as MacGraw's dad - he gives easily the best performance in the movie. And I know the score has become legendary, but I found it irritating and monotonous. Not feeling a lot of love for this love story.
  • Rating: 1.5 out of 5 stars
    I know the famous line from Love Story is "love means never having to say you're sorry," but I think everyone who made this the highest-grossing movie of 1970 owes the rest of us an apology. This is a melodramatic mess. Jenny (Ali MacGraw) is so aggressively antagonistic that I have no idea what Oliver (Ryan O'Neal) sees in her, and Oliver is awful to Jenny in return. They're an unlikeable couple. And aside from the film being completely drenched in sap, it also features choppy editing, cheesy overacting, and stilted soap opera dialogue. It's no wonder this movie has been mostly forgotten to time.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    Gripping story at times with memorable theme song.
  • Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
    based on the book by Erich Segal, directed by Arthur Hiller, and nominated for 7 Oscars starring Ali MacGraw and Ryan O' Neal this is a love story that transcends itself among many since it came out 50 years ago Oliver and Jenny are Ivy league students at Harvard University dating; Oliver plays hockey and is fabulously wealthy but his father is far too expectant dictating his life, Jenny is a music major, her father owns a bakery, and she's a former Catholic not only does the movie handle young romance but also class conflict, long distance, future wishes, clashing ideals, social status, and limited time Jenny's heading to Europe for a scholarship after graduation but Oliver wants to marry her so as not to lose her Oliver's worried about his father's approval of him going through with marrying Jenny since she's not upper class but both young lovers are willing to risk it and despite not having the finances to support themselves; against all odds it turns into a love story for the ages both leads are pitch perfect with MacGraw as smart-mouthed know it all Jenny and Neal as Oliver as a rebellious athlete, they share a common stubbornness I like how fast this movie moves, the sweet romantic angle it takes, how it portrays young people dating, marrying, and learning to put up with the struggles together, the score is beautiful, too It did bring a few tears to my eyes towards the end Love means never having to say you're sorry, we can make terrible mistakes with people we love, try not to do it again — and try to clean up the hurt, a father and son's relationship is a rare thing although sometimes it can be cold, nobody says love is easy, time is limited even being in love nothing else should matter 'Love Story' still remains forever a bonafide romance movie that's earnest in itself making the viewers swoon while also wiping away tears from their eyes flawlessly directed by Hiller earning its emotional and sweet beats, sure countless others would follow but it's hard to match the loving appeal of its stars with a sweet love story at its center this holds up immensely well and will continue to do so
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4 stars for music and story i love this kind of stories .. oliver's emotions were so clear how much he loved jennifer jennifer and oliver were made for each other accept ali maccgraw i have got nothing against her but if you are chosen to portray such a delicate character why cant u give 100 percent to it Ali maccgraw's acting was mediocre ....