Living Out Loud

As a 20-year-old art major, I’m probably not the target audience for Richard LaGravenese’s 1998 romantic comedy, Living Out Loud. In this film we catch a glimpse of the lives of Judith, played by Holly Hunter, and Pat, played by Danny DeVito, both looking for a new identity and going through their own set of problems until they find each other at the perfect time.

Recently divorced, Judith Moore is set out to find what see really wants to do in life. Pat Francato is looking for the same, but is going through different problems. After 20 years of marriage his wife kicks him out of his home due to gambling issues, not only that, but his daughter becomes very ill and passes away. After Judith’s unusual night at the local jazz club, Jasper’s, the two meet in elevator at her Fifth Avenue apartment, also the place of work of Pat’s character. From there we see a relationship form between the two, both going through issues and both wanting the same things in life, but it becomes very much one-sided as Pat starts developing feelings toward Judith. After another night at Jasper’s, we begin to see another friendship form, Judith and the local jazz singer, Liz Bailey, played by Queen Latifah. A little hostile at first, but soon after they become good friends. Later in the movie Judith hires a male masseur, but what’s really important was what happened after. We get to see how a jealous Pat really feels for Judith as he tells her that he wants to be with her. Quickly shot down, they remain friends, but you can sense that he doesn’t want to give up. A dance scene and an elevator fight with an ex later, Judith and Pat share a final dinner in which they both ultimately decide to go their separate ways and pursue their goals.

There are quite a few memorable scenes, but one that stuck out the most for me was the dance scene at the lesbian club, The Confessional, where Liz took Judith for a night of fun. Though a little ridiculous, it showed a mix of reality and the fantasy that’s going on in Judith’s mind. This scene also left me questioning Judith’s sexual orientation due to how much fun she was having and perhaps contributing to her final decision not to be with Pat over dinner a couple days later.

Although the overall acting was great, this movie left me feeling confused. To me, this movie seems to be only a glimpse of the lives of the two characters and I would’ve liked to seen more. It’s not a yearning to see more, but the feeling of what really happened for a better understanding of what was the purpose of this film. Though the main character was Judith, I felt more of a connection to Pat. He seemed to have been going through a lot more than Judith’s character and it would’ve been nice to know more about him. The main problem I had with this movie, besides the plot, was Judith’s fantasy scenes. I felt that in the first half of the movie they were very rampant, but later on they disappear until one was had at the very end. Overall this film’s strengths are the believable characters and jazzy, cool and calm soundtrack. While this may not be the best romantic comedy/drama, it is certainly not the worse.