Love Hurts

Love Hurts

Year: 1990

Runtime: 106 mins

Language: English

Director: Bud Yorkin

DramaComedy

A painfully romantic comedy. The story of Paul Weaver and his strained relationships with women and his family.

Warning: spoilers below!

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Timeline & Setting – Love Hurts (1990)

Explore the full timeline and setting of Love Hurts (1990). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

Location

Pennsylvania, New York City

The action centers on Karen's wedding in Pennsylvania, with the Weaver family home serving as a central locale during repairs. Paul travels from New York City for the ceremony, giving the story a mix of urban and small-town atmospheres. The wedding venue and the family’s Pennsylvania home anchor the plot and highlight the contrast between past comforts and present tensions.

🏡 Family home 🗺️ Pennsylvania setting 🕰️ Weekend wedding

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 12:32

Main Characters – Love Hurts (1990)

Meet the key characters of Love Hurts (1990), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Paul Weaver (Jeff Daniels)

A charming but flawed father whose history of infidelity strains every relationship around him. He oscillates between old impulses and a growing sense of responsibility to his children, yet his actions keep undermining trust. His journey probes whether genuine change is possible or if past patterns will prevail.

🎭 Flawed 🧭 Romantic 🕊️ Self-deluding

Nancy Weaver (Cynthia Sikes)

Paul’s ex-wife and the mother of his children, scarred by years of betrayal. She longs for stability and sincerity, while wrestling with residual feelings and the impact of broken promises on the family. Her perspective grounds the emotional stakes of the divorce and the weekend’s drama.

💬 Protective 🌱 Resilient 🕊️ Guarded

Karen Weaver (Amy Wright)

Paul’s sister, the bride-to-be whose wedding is the event around which the family converges. She embodies a mix of hope and anxiety as she steadies herself against mounting conflict. Her wedding acts as a crossroad for loyalties and unfinished business within the family.

💒 Hopeful 👰 Bride-to-be 🧠 Stressed

Boomer Weaver (John Mahoney)

Paul’s father, a charismatic yet flawed figure who embodies old-school pride and stubbornness. His presence brings both humor and tension, revealing how pride and denial complicate responsibility. He ultimately embodies a conduit for tough love and unexpected wisdom.

👨‍👦 Father figure 🍺 Easygoing 🗺️ Old-school

Susan Volcheck (Judith Ivey)

A former love interest who resurfaces in Paul’s life, causing friction and reminding him of past temptations. Her presence adds complexity to the emotional landscape, highlighting themes of attraction, betrayal, and the consequences of past decisions.

💬 Charismatic 🤔 Temptation 🧩 Complicated

Danny Volcheck (Jack Willis)

Susan’s husband, characterized by quick temper and impulsive responses that escalate the weekend’s tension. His volatile demeanor underscores how fragile relationships become under stress and how easily anger can derail reconciliation.

😠 Aggressive 🧩 Complicating factor 🕊️ Tension

Sarah Weaver (Mary Griffin)

Paul and Nancy’s teenage daughter, aloof and perceptive, who uses mischief to dramatize her loneliness. Her actions push parents to confront unresolved issues and the fragility of family bonds during a time of upheaval.

🧒 Teen 🤑 Money-driven 😢 Lonely

David Weaver (Tom Allen)

Paul and Nancy’s son, outspoken and perceptive, often serving as a bridge between two generations. He calls out hypocrisy and helps steer the family toward a more honest, if uneasy, path forward.

👦 Son 🗣️ Blunt 🧭 Bridges gaps

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 12:32

Major Themes – Love Hurts (1990)

Explore the central themes of Love Hurts (1990), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

💔 Infidelity

Paul’s lifelong pattern of cheating drives much of the conflict, creating mistrust and emotional distance within the family. The revelation tests the boundaries of forgiveness and whether trust can be rebuilt after repeated betrayals. The plot uses intimate moments to explore responsibility, guilt, and the complexities of reconciling love with broken promises.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family Drama

The narrative delves into tangled family dynamics—divorced parents, a demanding father figure, and children navigating loyalty and hurt. The wedding weekend acts as a pressure cooker where past choices resurface and relationships are renegotiated. It becomes a test of who remains linked by love and obligation when tensions peak.

🎉 Wedding Chaos

What should be a festive milestone unfolds with rain, nerves, and social expectations that intensify personal conflicts. The ceremony and related events reveal honest desires, miscommunications, and the messy path to accountability. The wedding becomes a catalyst for truth-telling and potential reconciliation.

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 12:32

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Family Reckoning Dramas like Love Hurts

Stories where a family gathering forces long-buried issues to the surface.Discover movies like Love Hurts that explore dysfunctional families reuniting under one roof. This collection features heartfelt dramedies where events like weddings force characters to confront old wounds and seek reconciliation, perfect for viewers who enjoy bittersweet, character-driven stories.

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Narrative Summary

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These films are grouped by their shared focus on familial dysfunction erupting during a forced proximity scenario. They share a bittersweet tone, moderate emotional weight from exploring past hurts, and a steady, observational pacing that lets character dynamics unfold naturally.

Flawed Protagonist Redemption stories like Love Hurts

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Narrative Summary

The narrative pattern follows a protagonist whose personal flaws—often involving infidelity, arrogance, or emotional distance—have damaged their key relationships. The story arc is one of gradual, often reluctant, self-awareness, propelled by a crisis that forces them to attempt amends, resulting in a hopeful but earned ending that acknowledges the complexity of change.

Why These Movies?

This thread groups movies based on a shared character arc of a fallible individual striving for redemption. They consistently feature a medium emotional weight, a bittersweet tone balancing regret with hope, and a focus on sincere, if messy, emotional reckoning over tidy solutions.

Unlock the Full Story of Love Hurts

Don't stop at just watching — explore Love Hurts in full detail. From the complete plot summary and scene-by-scene timeline to character breakdowns, thematic analysis, and a deep dive into the ending — every page helps you truly understand what Love Hurts is all about. Plus, discover what's next after the movie.

Love Hurts Summary

Read a complete plot summary of Love Hurts, including all key story points, character arcs, and turning points. This in-depth recap is ideal for understanding the narrative structure or reviewing what happened in the movie.

Love Hurts Summary

Love Hurts Timeline

Track the full timeline of Love Hurts with every major event arranged chronologically. Perfect for decoding non-linear storytelling, flashbacks, or parallel narratives with a clear scene-by-scene breakdown.

Love Hurts Timeline

Love Hurts Spoiler-Free Summary

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Love Hurts Spoiler-Free Summary

More About Love Hurts

Visit What's After the Movie to explore more about Love Hurts: box office results, cast and crew info, production details, post-credit scenes, and external links — all in one place for movie fans and researchers.

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