There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

"Little Laura and Big John" is an obviously low, low budgeted, and regional production that may not be based on the "Bonnie & Clyde" story, but certainly owes something of a debt to it. It actually tells the true story of the John Ashley gang, which terrorized the Florida countryside in the 1920s. Ashley (former singing idol Fabian Forte) is the charismatic ringleader, and beloved character actress Karen Black is "Little Laura", his sweetheart. They ultimately run afoul of a Sheriff (noted character actor Paul Gleason) who realizes that he will have to shut them down, but GOOD.Taken on its own terms, "Little Laura and Big John" is an okay movie, no more. Fabian and Black won't make you forget Beatty and Dunaway anytime soon, but they do alright. (However, one might wish that Black were given a little more to do.) Directed by a man named Luke Moberly, and scripted by Moberly and Bob Woodburn, it doesn't overflow with filmmaking talent, but does get by thanks to its flavourful rural atmosphere. Moberly and company do whatever they can to recreate the period, with whatever limited means they had. The film actually begins with a narrated overview of criminal activity during this era, citing key players like Capone and Schultz, and the activities of people like Pretty Boy Floyd in the more rural areas. Then it segues into the story proper. The oddest element is that the character of Laura's mother (Ivy Thayer) does some of the narration, straight to the camera. An offbeat score and some silly but catchy songs are - how shall I put it? - interesting to hear. Some viewers may be pleased to note that the film is violent without being particularly gory. However, the storytelling can get awfully incoherent at times.Not very many people in this cast have substantial acting experience, other than Black and Gleason. Even Fabian comes off as more professional than a lot of the locally selected thespians hired for the production. Still, this viewer will give some of them credit for at least being fairly spirited, in particular Ken Miller as goofy, upbeat Hanford.While this viewer doesn't feel that the picture is nearly as worthless as some people make it out to be, there's really nothing all that great about it either.Five out of 10.

This is a good example of the kind of movies which were influenced massively by Bonnie and Clyde (1967). That film was one of the key American films that kick-started a golden age of 70's cinema that would later become known as New Hollywood. Little Laura and Big John is hardly one of those films in fairness but it nevertheless is clearly indebted to its famous precursor. It shares its rural southern USA location and its period setting, in this case the 20's. It also is a crime drama biopic about real criminals who were a romanticised male/female couple. More specifically, it's based around the exploits of the Ashley Gang who operated in Florida. Their leader John Ashley was jailed for accidentally killing a man, only to escape and become a bank robber and bootlegger.Despite its real-life basis, its characters aren't very well developed sadly. The main star is Karen Black, who is good enough but her role is a very limited one; the main character is played by Fabian Forte who tries his best but lacks the necessary screen charisma to make his character as interesting as he needs to be. It is odd that this low budget film was made after Karen Black had already rose to considerable prominence off the back off Easy Rider (1969) and Five Easy Pieces (1971), because it has the definite feel of a minor movie and her role is quite under-written; you would have expected her to be involved in a product that better utilised her at this stage in her career. Some have already noted the contemporary 70's musical score which is used in this period set drama sounds a little odd in this context. However, I personally didn't mind this very much even if it was somewhat unusual. The film on the whole is not very good, yet hardly as bad as it's made out to be either. Its story could certainly have been told in a much more engaging fashion but it was still a half-decent period crime flick in my eyes.

My entertainment of this movie was laughing at it. I think the point when it really goes over the edge was when Fabian's eye patch actually switched from his one eye to his other eye and back again. I thought this was such an obvious mistake that I rewound and watched the one scene again. He is running on a dock when this happens. Sure enough his eye patch switched eyes with no explanation.I watched this movie because it was on late night and it was free. And I was interested in seeing Karen Black and Fabian Forte in a movie together. So it was an okay movie for that type of watching. But if you really want to see a movie about lovers being outlaws. I would stick to Bonnie and Clyde with Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway.

It's hard to believe that Karen Black appeared in this terrible, extremely low=budget travesty, when she was already established as a star. Perhaps it was filmed years earlier and released after she became popular. Filmed in Florida, it's pretty torturous to sit through, and is recommended only for Karen fans, since she does look especially attractive, in black eyeliner. Aside from this, there's little else to remark on.