The Game of Love

Although I haven't found it listed as such, The Game of Love sure has the look and feel of a made-for-TV movie. It's filled with TV actors, has some pretty telltale edits (which look like shifts to commercials), and, for a film about people's lives intersecting at a singles bar called "Henry's" is virtually cussword-free. Bobby Roth, who directed the excellent study of modern males in crisis Heartbreakers, has considerably less to work with here (although mystery favorite Sue Grafton ["A" is for Alibi, etc.] co-wrote the script.) Ed Marinaro (Hill Street Blues), Max Gail (Barney Miller), and Robert Rusler (Nightmare on Elm Street, Part 2) comprise the main trio of walking wounded who float through Henry's looking for love and understanding. Most of the film takes place inside the bar, where Billy & the Beaters are playing onstage, and a deejay spins great tunes from the 60s during the breaks ("Heat Wave," "When a Man Loves a Woman," "My Girl"--we're talking primo soundtrack here). For a slice-of-life portrait of modern romance, The Game of Love is a fairly routine examination--nothing new here, but nothing bogus either (other films on the same subject with ten times the budget have rolled out a red carpet of lies to please the paying audience). An optional purchase. (R. Pitman)