SINGIN' THE 'BIG BAD' BLUES.

Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Critic

THE SOUTH of Arliss Howard's ``Big Bad Love'' is the kind of place where magic realism and the Mississippi blues collide, forming a dreamy, dirty world that only exists in a writer's imagination. Here, that's the point, since the movie is based on the rawboned stories of Mississippi storyteller Larry Brown, of whom writer-director-star Howard is clearly enamored. But Howard's passion for the material sadly doesn't translate well to film - the quirks and eccentric touches of the writing wind up being selndulgent and just plain annoying on the screen, leading to a seat-squirming experience of mythic proportions.

Howard (probably best-known for his acting in Stanley Kubrick's ``Full Metal Jacket'') has good intentions written all over his often-poetic direction, but then we all know where the road paved with good intentions leads. And hell is indeed ground zero for the life of the movie's central character, a frustrated writer named Barlow (Howard), who can't shake the demons of drink and despair. To the objective observer, he's a narcissistic jackass who spends most of his time feeling sorry for himself, but the movie wouldn't have it any other way, turning Barlow into an anti-hero that we're supposed to relish.

The truth is, we can barely stand the guy. But at least, Barlow's a fully realized character - everyone else in ``Big Bad Love'' is underdeveloped, which cripples the movie's dramatic payoff in the third act. In his admirable effort to keep the proceedings restrained (there are those good intentions again), Howard has gone too far in the other direction, giving us a movie that's too stunted to care about.

Barlow spends most of his time at his Royal manual typewriter (probably a source of frustration - this guy needs to get a computer), banging out stories with titles like ``White Girls With Black Asses.'' He sends them out and then opens the pile of rejection letters at once, guzzling a 12- pack to ease the pain. Occasionally, he'll go out with his best buddy Monroe (Paul Le Mat), who's wooing a local floozy (Rosanna Arquette).

When Barlow isn't stewing about his writing prospects, he's beating himself up over the failure of his marriage. His ex-wife, Marilyn (Debra Winger, Howard's real-life wife), lives nearby with their two children, the youngest of which has some sort of incurable disease. Barlow wants to see more of the kids, but on his designated daddy days, he sometimes forgets his responsibilities, much to the dismay of his very blond mother (Angie Dickinson).

And so it goes. And goes. And goes. Most of ``Big Bad Love'' bewilders, smothering the audience in overly stylized flashbacks and cutaways. When tragedy strikes - and it must, or the blues wouldn't be playing constantly in the background - the movie jerks to life, but it's too late to muster up much interest.

That said, ``Big Bad Love'' has three things going for it: Howard's acting, seething with barely contained rage; Winger's work, which crackles with intensity and intelligence; and the soundtrack, featuring two great new songs by Tom Waits. That album might make a good musical companion to Brown's stories - both of which have more merits than this ramshackle failure of a movie.

BIG BAD LOVE - Two stars

(Rated R: language, sexual situations)

Starring: Arliss Howard, Debra Winger, Paul Le Mat, Rosanna Arquette, Angie Dickinson.

Director: Arliss Howard.

Running time : 1 hr. 51 min.

Playing: Landmark's Nuart Theater in West Los Angeles.

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Photo:

Arliss Howard, right, with Olivia Kersey, plays a failing writer in ``Big Bad Love.''