Bobby/Leon: Arliss Howard	Marilyn: Debra Winger
Monroe: Paul Le Mat	Bobby's mother: Angie Dickinson
Velma : Rosanna Arquette	Director: Arliss Howard

30 Second Bottom Line: An aspiring novelist, who is also an alcoholic, tries to balance the demands of his ex-wife, his young children, and his best friend, with what would be called at best a mixed success.

Story Line: The skewed point of view from which this story is told can be summed up when Bobby expresses his frustration by saying "I'd like to stomp a mud hole in your a--hole and walk it dry." Bobby (Arliss Howard), also known as Leon for reasons that are not clear to me, is a determined aspiring writer whose mailbox seems forever jammed with rejection letters. The one manuscript that does get a positive response is for a book called "White Girls with Black A--es." Although the publisher is not ready to put ink on the page, they do see some potential with editing and a possible title change.

Marilyn (Debra Winger) has split up with her husband Bobby, and like the dufus father he is, he has forgotten that he is to take care of their children for the weekend, as its his turn for visitation rights. It's clear that Marilyn is only going along with the plan so that she can get away for the weekend with her lover. Her eyes say she wants more than just peace and quiet in the house.

Bobby's mother (Angie Dickinson) may be even more fed up with him than his ex but Mom provides as much moral support as she can. His best buddy Monroe (Paul Le Mat) helps him find a job painting, which brings in some much needed money. Rosanna Arquette as Velma adds texture to Bobby's life that just might bring him out of his funk.

Tell Me More About It: Leon reminds me a lot of Sunny Holiday in Jackpot (the Polish brothers' film last summer). He has some talent, but maybe not enough to ever be anything other than in the farm club system of his profession. He is an irresponsible father and husband who seems to have it together at times, but clearly will never be able to be a supporting parent and spouse while pursuing his passion for writing, or as with Sunny in Jackpot, acting and singing.

While Jackpot dealt with straight-ahead relationships, Big Bad Love has numerous fantasy sequences (a bathtub love scene and a sign reading "Jesus is not coming") intermixed with real life events as Leon tries to be creative.

The story sort of meanders all over the place, which those of you with truly artistic brains, will probably follow and enjoy. If you are looking for anything close to logical events and closure, you'll be looking for the second half of movie…which is not there, as the credits are rolling.

Arliss Howard: A Map of the World	Debra Winger: In the Wild: Pandas TV)
Paul Le Mat: Boogeymen	Angie Dickinson: Ocean's Eleven
Rosanna Arquette: The Whole Nine Yards