united states , 1998 u . s . release date : 4/10/98 ( limited ) running length : 1 : 36 mpaa classification : r ( frequent profanity , sexual situations ) theatrical aspect ratio : 1 . 85 : 1 cast : edward burns , lauren holly , jon bon jovi , blythe danner , connie britton , jennifer esposito , nick sandow director : edward burns producers : ted hope , michael nozik , edward burns screenplay : edward burns cinematography : frank prinzi music : john delia u . s . distributor : gramercy pictures the working title for no looking back was long time , nothing new , and rarely has there been a more apt name for a motion picture . even though this movie clocks in at a relatively skinny 96 minutes , it seems to run long enough to engulf two titanics . writer/director edward burns has trotted out a hackneyed storyline , the trajectory of which will be instantly recognizable to anyone who hasn't spent their life in seclusion . instead of tweaking the formula a little to invigorate the proceedings , burns is content to allow the film to ramble aimlessly towards its irritatingly predictable conclusion , offering precious few momentary pleasures along the way . no looking back is dominated by three very dislikable characters whose constant presence on the screen is painful . the most appropriate ending would have been a triple suicide , and the sooner , the better . alas , that's not the case , and those who stick with this film for its entire length will be forced to endure the prolonged company of this wretched trio . and , to further depress audiences , burns has shot the entire film on cold , rainy days in a gray new york state beach town . peeks of sunshine are few and far between . no wonder the characters are all so miserable . first of all , we have charlie ( burns ) , a generation x slacker who abandoned his girlfriend three years ago after she had an abortion , then spent some time bumming around in california before deciding to come home . that girlfriend is claudia ( lauren holly ) , and , after picking up the pieces of her life following charlie's departure , she has moved on , shacking up with one of charlie's old school buddies , mike ( jon bon jovi ) . the two have a comfortable relationship , but it's apparent to even a blind person that they're not right for each other . claudia years for some spice in her life ; mike wants to settle down and have children . then charlie re-enters the mix . so who , if anyone , will claudia end up with ? who cares ? ? no looking back goes to extraordinary lengths to make sure that we're not especially interested in the outcome of the romantic triangle . so what if no one finds happiness -- these characters don't deserve it anyway , especially after wasting 90 minutes of our time . they aren't real people -- they're a writer's construct stumbling through a too-obvious storyline . they should know the ending as well as we do . and burns should have given his audience more credit and presented them with a plot that at least offered a surprise or two . another frustrating thing about no looking back is that burns has populated the film with a group of potentially-interesting supporting characters . blythe danner is solid as claudia's housebound mother , connie britton is suitably high-strung as claudia's neurotic sister , and jennifer esposito is eye-catching as a bartender in search of a little romance . sadly , all we get is quick glimpses into their lives , although a movie about any of them would have been far more intriguing than the story burns has chosen to tell . none of the lead performers are going to wow critics with their thespian attributes . edward burns is pushing the edge of his limited range here . jon bon jovi shows more acting ability than one might reasonably expect from a singer branching into a different career , but he could still use a little polish . the worst case is lauren holly , who presents a completely bland claudia . as portrayed here , she's hardly the kind of woman who would inspire even a moment's interest , not to mention undying love . burns' ex , the monumentally untalented maxine bahns , would have been hard-pressed to do a less inspired job . when he released the brothers mcmullen , edward burns was revered as the wunderkind of the 1995 sundance film festival ( robert redford has apparently stuck with him -- the aging actor/director executive produced this mess ) . two films and three short years later , the luster has faded . some movie makers have only one good film in them . with back- to-back duds like she's the one and no looking back to follow the delightful brothers , burns is beginning to look like a member of that undistinguished club . 
