NOW AND THEN

1995 -- PG-13 -- 100 minsmore vidcaps down page

Directed by Lesli Linka Glatter. Written by I. Marlene King.

Christina Ricci: Young Roberta Martin
Rosie O'Donnell: Dr. Roberta Martin
Thora Birch: Young Tina 'Teeny' Tercell
Melanie Griffith: Tina 'Teeny' Tercell
Gaby Hoffman: Young Samantha Albertson
Demi Moore: Samantha Albertson 
Ashleigh Aston Moore: Young Chrissy DeWitt
Rita Wilson: Chrissy DeWitt Williams
Devon Sawa: Scott Wormer
Walter Sparrow: Crazy Pete
Cloris Leachman: Grandman Albertson
Lolita Davidovich: Mrs. Albertson
Janeane: Wiladene 
Hank Azaria: Bud Kent
Bonnie Hunt: Mrs. DeWitt
Brendan Fraser: Young Vietnam vet

"I'm a little blue today, boys"

PLOT SYNOPSIS:

Four female friends have a reunion of sorts, and recall the summer of 1970 they spent together, and how it shaped their lives. Aside the typical youthful experiences (going through puberty, saving money for a tree house, discovering boys), the girls also become fascinated with the death of a young boy, who was murdered in their town in 1940. They investigate the facts surrounding his death, going so far as to hold a seance in a graveyard. However, each of the girls have their own personal problems to deal with, most notably Samantha, who still has yet to fully deal with the death of a parent. 

JANEANES CHARACTER:

Janeane appears for all of three minutes as a bizarre waitress, Wiladene, who claims to be a psychic. The character appears in two scenes. The first is an early scene in which she serves the girls (who she refers to as boys) in a diner, which establishes she's rather odd. Her second scene occurs when the girls go to her home for a psychic assistance in contacting their deceased obsession. She looks suitably weird, but it's not an especially good cameo role. She simply doesn't have anything to do...aside from some cliché head rollings while screwing with her cards, there's nothing to work with. She isn't even given a punch line to the scene. 

MY REVIEW:

**

This film is ultimately nothing more than a rehash of the much superior Rob Reiner/Stephen King feature Stand By Me. Although this is set a decade or so after that film, the idea is essentially the same. Its a reflection on a coming of age period for four friends, book ended by the characters (or character, in Stand By Me) as adults. The idea of the youngsters becoming fascinated with a dead person just reminds you of Stand By Me even more. The big problem is that here the youthful experiences seem pat and unconvincing. It's just too cutesy to make any kind of real emotional impact. But to be fair, this is a PG, whereas Stand By Me was R, with much tougher elements and harder dramatics. Another problem is that the script seems to have too many subplots and threads dangling that are hardly touched upon.

On the upside, the performances of Ricci, Birch, Hoffman and Ashton Moore are very, managing to come across as innocent, likeable children but also can be more dramatic when required. Hoffman particularly gets the juicer material to run with. However, the actresses playing the adult versions of the characters are all too toothless and "sweet". The supporting cast is very impressive, and it's a shame they don't actually get much to do. The best scene in the movie comes from the always brilliant Hunt, who has some hilarious dialogue as she's trying to deal with her daughter's sexual awakenings. Leachman and Azaria have amusing moments too. The uncredited cameo from Fraser is another of the film's highpoints. He plays a freshly returned Nam vet, who meets up with the girls, and subtly manages to display his...and America's...frustration of being in a war that simply could not be explained or resolved. 

Unfortunately, overall this is a rather simplistic, paper-thin feel good movie.

VIDCAPS (scanned by me)

               

               

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