Jan Miller Corran’s 'Love Loaded' Is a Noir Whodunit That Never Fires on All Cylinders

Bill (Rich Ceraulo Ko) & Didi (Monica Young) are stuck in the mystery.  (Courtesy Photo)

Jan Miller Corran’s 'Love Loaded' Is a Noir Whodunit That Never Fires on All Cylinders

Torch singer Didi Scanlon (Monica Young) owns Club Figaro, where she performs nightly. She has been married to Dr. Jack Scanlon (Adam Huss) for several years, but lately she has noticed a troubling change in him. Jack now lives in fear that someone is trying to hurt him—and he has plenty of reason to worry. Over the years, he has wounded many people, each of whom remains in his orbit in small but meaningful ways.

After the daughter of mob boss—and celebrated pasta maker—Marco Ponzetti (Tom Katsis) dies during a secretive surgery, Jack spirals into depression and anxiety. When anonymous threatening letters begin arriving at his office, he immediately assumes Ponzetti is after him. But he may be wrong. There are many people with reasons to resent Jack—and to wish him harm.

As “Love Loaded” unfolds, an eclectic web of characters and motives comes into focus. Jack’s best friend, Bill Smith (Rich Ceraulo Ko), is the bartender at Club Figaro. His life partner, Alex Storm (Adam Bucci), serves as Marco Ponzetti’s personal assistant and will do anything Ponzetti asks. Jack also continues to rely on Molly Goodrich (Emily Goss), a woman we are led to believe may be his former lover, as his surgical nurse. Molly’s husband, Gary Goodrich (Chase Bennett), is convinced that she remains in love with Jack. Although Molly insists they are only friends and professional colleagues, Gary cannot let the suspicion go.

Then there is Dr. Richard Lawrence (Tim Heurlin), Jack’s colleague, who has long wanted to steal Didi away from him. A womanizer who pursues virtually any woman within reach, Richard sees opportunity wherever he can find it. The tension deepens when April Davis (Erin Chambers) returns to Club Figaro. April has been in love with Didi for years. The two were once singing partners, and their history includes a one-night stand—one Jack discovered and has never forgotten.

April’s return leaves Jack feeling threatened. Will Didi remain with Jack, or will she ultimately choose the person she truly loves: April?

One night, Jack leaves Club Figaro. Within minutes, shots ring out. Didi opens the door to find him lying in a pool of blood outside the club. With Bill’s help, she drags him inside. Jack has been shot, but the wound is not fatal. He needs everyone to believe he is dead.

Every player in this mystery owns a gun. The question is: Whose gun fired the nearly fatal shot?

A reviewer at UK Film Review applauded the movie’s “sheer love and devotion to getting every look and feel just right,” finding its affection for the genre to be one of its strongest elements. Other reviews have praised the costumes, hairstyles, dialogue, and Club Figaro setting for evoking another era.

Take 2 Indie Review highlighted the plot’s tangle of deception, seduction, and deadly agendas, while One Film Fan called the film a “worthwhile and well-executed ode to its influences.”

Adam Huss, who plays the troubled surgeon at the center of the mystery, has been singled out as the story’s emotional engine. Monica Young has also earned praise for her performance as Didi, as well as for composing the film’s theme song.

But we must have watched very different versions of “Love Loaded.”

Yes, the film is technically competent—competent being the operative word. Corran and her team clearly aim to recreate the look and trappings of 1950s noir, but Club Figaro rises only a slender hair above a high school theater set. It never achieves the smoky, lived-in atmosphere my fellow critics describe.

Nor does the story offer much that feels fresh. It cycles through familiar noir staples—romantic betrayal, hidden agendas, suspicious characters, and a shooting—without generating enough suspense, surprise, or emotional stakes to make the outcome matter.

For all its period touches and genre affection, “Love Loaded” remains as plain and ordinary as Wonder Bread and mayonnaise. I respect my colleagues’ enthusiasm for what they see as the care invested in the film, but I can only wonder: What movie were they watching?

April (Erin Chambers) and Didi (Monica Young) reconnect. (Courtesy Photo)

CAST

Monica Young — Didi Scanlon, Club Figaro’s torch singer and Jack’s wife

Adam Huss — Dr. Jack Scanlon, Didi’s husband, surgeon, and Club Figaro co-owner

Erin Chambers — April Davis, Didi’s former singing partner and former lover

Emily Goss — Molly Goodrich, Jack’s surgical nurse

Chase Bennett — Gary Goodrich, Molly’s husband

Tim Heurlin — Dr. Richard Lawrence, Jack’s colleague and Didi’s persistent admirer

Rich Ceraulo Ko — Bill Smith, Club Figaro’s bartender and Jack’s best friend

Adam Bucci — Alex Storm, Marco Ponzetti’s assistant

Tom Katsis — Marco Ponzetti, the crime boss

Max Adler — Detective Lance Green

Thomas Hobson — Detective Paul McBride

Constance Brenneman — Kelly, the club waitress

Carly Zelner — Celia Noonan, Marco’s granddaughter

Scott Thomas Reynolds — Skip Stein, Club Figaro’s piano player

Bruce Clifford — Sean, Celia’s father and a grieving husband

Bryan A. Mackenzie — Mystery Man

Director:  Jan Miller Corran

Producer:  Jan Miller Corran, Monica Young

Cinematographer:  Cameron Schmucker