Starring Meg Ryan and Matthew Broderick Directed by Griffin Dunne Rated R Running time 102 minutes Jack gives this film a rating of 4 out of 10

(May 22, 1997) -- Addicted to Love is a predictable comedy about two lovelorn oddballs who join forces to wreak revenge on the lovers who jilted them. Obviously, along the way, they're going to fall in love with each other.

Since they're played by Meg Ryan and Matthew Broderick, the characters offer an undeniable appeal. But their experienced charm and some clever visuals aren't enough to overcome the film's tired concept and lackluster writing.

Though first-time actor-turned-director Griffin Dunne shows a promising visual flair, he and writer Robert Gordon fail to sustain interest -- as the leading characters fail to recognize the sparks that have developed between them. Addicted to Love is at least 15 to 20 minutes too long. If it was a three-act play, I'd say it ended after Act II.

Broderick plays Sam, an astronomer contented with his quiet life in a small Midwestern town. But Linda (Kelly Preston), his school-teacher girlfriend, hungers for big-city life. She leaves him to move to New York.

When Sam gets a Dear John letter, he packs his backpack and heads for Manhattan. There, he begins to spy on Linda as she sets up housekeeping with her new love, a French restaurateur named Anton (Tcheky Karyo).

As he eavesdrops, Sam runs into Maggie (Ryan), who is also spying on the couple. SHE is upset because Anton dumped her for Linda.

So, Sam and Maggie join forces. Sam employs his speciality -- astronomy -- to aim a telescope at the couple, and to deliver the image to his walls via a homemade camera obscura. (This gives the film its one bit of true originality. Giant images of the objects of desire -- Linda and Anton -- are projected on the wall while Sam and Maggie comment and conspire. Momentary magic occurs when Maggie brushes white paint on the wall, brightening the reflected images.)

But once the setup is established, the film dips into the conventional (cruel revenge) and the predictable -- everyone in the theater knows Sam and Maggie are meant for each other.

Addicted to Love never quite recovers from the prolonged nose dive.