The genuine chemistry between River Phoenix and Samantha Mathis makes up for the bland, meandering plot that drags even before the mid-point. To be honest, I only wanted to watch this movie for Phoenix, but his talent and range are shamefully put to no use in this film because of the script writers' poor character development of the supporting characters. If I want to see Phoenix in a role that displays his hard-hitting, subtle emotional, and vulnerable side, I'll just go watch Dogfight, also a '90s film, which is a far superior film compared to The Thing Called Love.