Synopsis
Caroline, a young waitress who seems to have bad taste in men, is on her way home one night when thugs attempt to rape her. Adam, the mysterious busboy who works at the same diner, helps fight off the assailants, and she begins a relationship with him -- but not all their fellow Minnesotans are happy for them. Meanwhile, the couple face their own difficulties when Caroline finds about Adam's past, including his unique health condition.
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Cast
- Christian SlaterAdam
- Marisa TomeiCaroline
- Rosie PerezCindy
- Kyle SecorHoward
- Willie GarsonPatsy
- Gary GroomesBill #2
- James CadaBill #1
- Claudia WilkensMother Camilla
- Pat ClemonsSister Helen
- Lotis KeyNun
Recommendations
- 75
Chicago Sun-Times
The movie is kind of sweet and kind of goofy, and works because its heart is in the right place. - 70
Los Angeles Times
By all rights, a movie about a girl who finds true love with an orphaned busboy (Christian Slater) who needs a heart transplant should be a hoot. It’s a unique premise--that doesn’t mean it’s a good premise. And swatches of the film are indeed as goopy as one might fear. But what keeps the film together is Tomei’s performance. - 70
Time Out
Slater's greasy-haired 'Beast' is not for the hard-boiled, but see the film for Tomei's sensitive, doe-eyed 'Beauty', and for Bill's sure feel for an authentic downtown milieu. - 70
Variety
Appealing lead performances elevate this modestly scaled romantic tearjerker, from a first script by Tom Sierchio. - 67
Entertainment Weekly
If Untamed Heart is often too precious for words, there’s one thing in it that feels miraculously fresh: the performance of Marisa Tomei, who follows up her rollicking caricature of a streetwise Italian dish in My Cousin Vinny by proving that she’s a major actress. - 63
Washington Post
The romantic fable Untamed Heart is hopelessly syrupy, preposterous and more than a little bit lame, but, still, somehow it got to me. - 63
Rolling Stone
The Rain Man-Dying Young elements in Tom Sierchio’s script are pitfalls that Slater dodges with a wonderfully appealing performance. His love scenes with the dazzling Tomei have an uncommon delicacy. But it’s Tomei and Perez who give Untamed Heart its bouyant wit. Their friendship could have sustained an entire movie. It’s certainly the best part of this one. - 38
ReelViews
Unless you're a fan of Slater or Tomei, or hopelessly addicted to sappy, ineptly-handled love stories, there's no reason whatsoever to subject yourself to this movie.
