No Looking Back

Small-town 30ish waitress Claudia (Holly) is about to settle for a boring life with decent-but-dull Michael (Bon Jovi) when her ne'er-do-well former boyfriend Charlie (Burns) comes home looking to relive the glory days. Burns stays with the working-class, northeastern setting, but goes for drama this time. With themes that cover economic hopelessness and a yearning to escape, Burns seems to be trying for a cinematic distillation of Bruce Springsteen's (very cinematic) music. In fact, many Springsteen songs are used to set scenes. Like Bruce, Burns knows the working class vernacular, and uses it well. But this time, all traces of sublety are gone, and the story plays out pretty much as expected. Holly doesn't help much, barely registering in the crucial role. She also looks too damn good to be a washed-up waitress with no options.