Alex in Wonder

In the 70's, Alex Markov (Angela Gots) is raised by her mother Clarice Markov (Ellen Greene) to be a successful ballerina, and in their home there are no mysteries or taboo related to sex, since her father, Dr. Dan Markov (Robert Hays), openly discusses this subject with his family. When Alex reaches sixteen years old, her parents split while her boyfriend presses her to have sex blurring her dreams and making her confused. With the support of her family and friends, Alex supersedes her problems.

"Alex in Wonder" is an enjoyable coming-to-age movie, and the main reason is the débutant Angela Gots. This gorgeous young actress has a magnificent and charismatic performance, giving credibility to her character and making the film work. I believe that most of the viewers will find some level of personal identification with this common story and will certainly appreciate this little gem that deserves to be discovered. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Sexo e a Garota" ("Sex and the Girl")

Angela Gots does a real nice job as do Robert Hays and the other actors, but other than that it's obvious that The director Drew Rosenberg either was: A( not alive or B) was completely out of it: or C:) Just was hoping to get laid sometime in the early 70's. One of the biggest issues I have with so called period pieces like this is that: If you cannot license the music than don't attempt to have some lame wannabe imitate it and no one and I mean NO ONE said "far out after 1971. I really wanted to like this movie but whoever was the person on charge of continuity pretty much stole money. Later episodes of Happy Days or M*A*S*H were truer to their respective eras.

This film is an homage to Judi Blume, who wrote books specifically for teen-age girls, battling with the issues of losing their virginity, what it was supposed to mean to them, finding their own passions in life and dealing with family issues. Judi's books were extremely comforting and refreshing to me, in comparison to all the myths I had been raised on in terms of first time sex, love and passion. Judi taught me that nothing is clean and simple and there are always choices to make. In the end the message is to "follow your heart", let others make their own mistakes, and see where this will lead you. Life will throw you a lot of curve balls and disappointments, but if you follow your passions you can stay the course.

Have seen this film at least twice and enjoyed it every time, for lots of little (and a few big) reasons...

Many great actors assembled for it, and in intriguing roles: Alison Lohman pre-fame, Soleil Moon Frye in a rare appearance, character actor David Dukes's last film, Danny Masterson playing against his usual slacker/stoner typecasting (as a jock), Oscar nominee Genevieve Bujold, Robert Hays, Ron Jeremy, on & on... Many of the lesser-knowns give outstanding performances here too including the child roles and star Angela Gots, multi-talented & beautiful. The biggest surprise for me since isn't Lohman's ascent but Gots' lack of one yet tho i'm sure it's imminent.

Great production quality for an indie and a well-told story. I read another review that complimented the absence here of high school clichés found in most Hollywood depictions and must agree. There's a refreshing reality to the film that's hard to find in today's commodified, corporatized movies.

Highly recommend this film to fans of well-told stories and fine acting in films the mainstream doesn't make room for anymore. It's what quality cinema is all about.

I only saw the second half of the movie, and that should be a statement for itself. I never, really never watch a movie if it's not from the VERY beginning, except if special reasons are involved. This one was special. And her name is Angela Gots. She has just made my day. At first I was amused by her beauty, but in a matter of minutes discovered that there's definitely more to her. Her subtle facial expressions were truly impressive and the fact that she had no fear is even more. All in all this movie was a mass of above-standard acting and it made it highly entertaining. A small jewel perhaps, but then the lead actress is definitely a diamond in the ruff.