The Pompatus of Love (1996)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

Richard Schenkman

Writers:

Jon Cryer (writer)
Adam Oliensis (writer)

Release Date:

26 July 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Plot:

Four guys sit around drinking beer and talking, trying to figure out the meaning of "the pompatus of...

Plot Keywords:

Title Based On Song | Independent Film

Cast

Jon Cryer	...	Mark
Adrian Pasdar	...	Josh
Tim Guinee	...	Runyon
Adam Oliensis	...	Phil
Mia Sara	...	Cynthia
Kristin Scott Thomas	...	Caroline
Arabella Field	...	Lori, Phil's Wife
Paige Turco	...	Gina
Dana Wheeler-Nicholson	...	Kathryn
Kristen Wilson	...	Tasha
Charles Q. Murphy	...	Saxaphone Man (as Charlie Murphy)
Lianna Pai	...	Ting (as Liana Pai)
Jennifer Tilly	...	Tarzaan
Roscoe Lee Browne	...	Leonard Folder
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Krista Marie Bonura	...	Phil's Daughter
Lisa Casillo	...	Flight Attendant
Angela Featherstone	...	Times Square Kisser
Helen Haft	...	Real Estate Broker
John Hoyt	...	Big Toe (as John Glenn Hoyt)
Mai Lin	...	Choking Stripper (as May Lin)
John Mazzello	...	Phil's Son
Jennifer McCarthy	...	Alien Babe
Michael McKean	...	Sitcom Star
Eda Reiss Merin	...	Older Woman on Plane
Jack O'Connell	...	Bartender
Renee Props	...	Flynn (as Reneé Props)
George Riddle	...	Strip Club Patron
Fisher Stevens	...	Sitcom Star
John Norman Thomas	...	Cabbie
Jim Turner	...	Dick Spellman
Dawnya Welsh	...	Leonard's Stripper

Also Known As:

The Pompatus of Love (France) (TV title)

MPAA:

Rated R for sexuality and language.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

France | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

USA:R

Company:

BMG Independents

Trivia:

The title phrase was taken from two songs by Steve Miller; the mysterious word "pompatus" was originally spelled "pompitous" in the printed lyrics. But it originally comes from the Medallions' 1954 song "The Letter", written by Vernon Green when he was 14. Green explained in the 1990s that the word actually began with "puppet" and was a term he'd made up for "a secret paper-doll fantasy figure, who would be my everything and bear my children".

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Killing Floor (2007)

mildly entertaining "relationships" film

The movie has no great insights, and the style is somewhat derivative, but the performances are pretty good, and it is watchable. My primary complaint is that the best character in the movie is a woman that appears in the last half and gets relatively little screen time even after that. The movie Swingers has a similar subject, and is much better.