Nicht von schlechten Eltern

1979) Rich Kids DRAMA

Don't let the title fool you for it's really about realization among two 12 year old Manhattan kids, and are best friends of Franny Phillips (Trini Alvarado) and Jamie Harris (Jeremy Levy) living in the same beaten down complex apartment building, experiencing parent separation or break-up. Quite effective and realization piece about two underage kids who're incapable to understand, and doesn't take no sides in the issue for it balances it out. The downside is the mediocre acting and the old 1970s feel but after I got past the first 40 minutes, was when it becomes very resonating. Executive produced by Robert Altman.

Franny Philips (Trini Alvarado) is a 12 year old from a well-off Upper East Side home. She's struggling to grow up with suspicions of her parents splitting up. She keeps track of her father Paul (John Lithgow) sneaking into the house in early mornings to pretend to sleep at home. Her parents are constantly fighting. New kid Jamie Harris (Jeremy Levy) is her best friend. His parents are divorced and he teaches her the ways of the broken home. His mother is new-agey while his father has a fast car and a trophy girlfriend.

The normalization of divorce is still new at this point. Trini is amazing. It doesn't need so much of her parents when she's not in the scene. It's her story after all. The boy is good although he could be sweeter. The puppy love is cute. It's a good small movie of a certain time.

12-year-old Manhattan classmates, an intelligent boy and a girl from affluent backgrounds, must deal with their clucking, suspicious, embattled parents. The boy, new in school, is shuffled back and fourth between his bitterly-divorced mother and father, while the girl's parents are trying to conceal from her the fact they are all but officially separated. Faintly amusing comedy-drama wavers uncomfortably at times between satire and hard-shelled sentiment, with the portraits of the immature adults far too obvious. After 22 minutes of character introductions, I was still waiting for the movie to get started. The picture was lent some critical cache at the time because of Robert Altman's involvement as executive producer, though it was released four months after "A Little Romance" and may have confused moviegoers. These kids (Trini Alvarado and Jeremy Levy) are sexually curious, precocious and combative--no angels--and they provide the only interest in an otherwise parched scenario. ** from ****

Probably woulda been better had producer Robert Altman not outsourced the screenplay and direction to the firm of Ross and Young. As it is we have warmed over Woody Allen; that is if Woody had decided to do teen pics. Solid C.

Franny is 12 years old. She, unknowingly, is the glue that keeps her parents together. When she starts keeping tabs on her Dad, however, she begins to unravel the thread that we all dread, Mom and Dad aren't too happy with one another and they are not being honest with their little girl about it. So she starts learning about divorce from a new boy in school who has recently been through it. She realizes that kids have a maturity level that parents never will achieve. Thus said, the parents embark on an all out search for their daughter amidst the crazy world of a rich kid who has everything. His Dad lives in the most idyllic bachelor pad and doesn't dote on him, his mother is happily married to a psychiatrist cause she doesn't have to pay for the sessions. Ahhh the pleasures of divorce. Franny comes full circle with the acknowledgement of her fighting parents and that it's not her fault and they will love her no matter what. If you are a Robert Altman fan then this film is for you. If you like a good family film with a great score then this is for you. I saw it in the theaters in 1979 and have since loved it on every viewing. I wish this movie was on DVD, but for the time being look for it on Showtime or Encore in WS.