Firstborn

FIRSTBORN (1984) *** Teri Garr, Peter Weller, Christopher Collet, Corey Haim, Sarah Jessica Parker, Robert Downey, Jr. Absorbing story of a teenager facing his mother's sudden downward spiral thanks to a shifty loser (Weller in a nice turn). Good acting and an original sleeper.

This has always been one of my favorite films. It is very well acted, with great performances from Peter Weller, Terri Garr, and especially Christopher Collet (I would have expected to see more acting credits for him). I really like its unflinching look at the consequences of divorce, from the sadness of the kids to the vulnerability of the mother. Look for a young Sarah Jessica Parker, Robert Downey Jr., and Corey Haim in supporting roles.

First Born is good psychological exploration in the various signs of breakdown of kids dealing with tough family situations. Here, Christopher Collet (Prayer of the Rollerboys) is Jake Livingston, a fifteen year old kid who lives with his mom (Terri Garr) and younger brother, Brian (Corey Haim). And, things are fine for a while for Jake, despite his dad going to Montreal to marry his girlfriend, leaving Jake a tad sympathetic of his still single mother. But things quickly fall apart when his mom's new boyfriend, Sam (Peter Weller), enters the picture, and eventually moves in. While his mom has dated in the past, there is something about Sam that neither Jake nor Brian can tolerate. They can't figure out what their mother sees in this guy.

Sam is kind of a flake. He never gives too much information about his past. The longer that Sam stays, the worse things become. He starts getting violent towards the boy, he starts bringing drugs into the house, and Jake's mother eventually starts falling into the same dangerous patterns as Sam while neglecting her own boys who plead with her to realize what Sam is really all about. For the first born, Jake, this is not something he can ignore, and has the responsibility of finding a way to protect himself, his brother, and most of all, his mother.

This movie presents the kind of psychological breakdown kids may go through when faced with serious family issues. Before Sam arrived, Jake was a funny, easy going kid. He was a good student and spent a lot of time with his friends (one of whom was played by Robert Downey, Jr.) and girlfriend (Sarah Jessica Parker). Afterwards, both his and Brian's attitudes change for the worse. Jake becomes considerably thinner, irritable, and starts slacking academically. Likewise, Brian starts getting into a lot of fights in the schoolyard, beating up the kids he know he can win fights against. Plus, he hates coming home, and when he does, he spend much of the time locked in his room. It is a good film, too, to teach of the warning signs to parents, teachers, counselors, and so forth (Jake's dad couldn't be suspicious of anything was going on because he wasn't there to witness the changes in his sons).

I wish Christopher Collet had been in more movies. He appears again with Haim about six years later or so in the sci-fi movie, Prayer of the Rollerboys.

Wendy(Garr) is a single mom raising two boys, Jake(Collett) and Brian(Haim). After seeing that her ex-husband has moved on in his life she gets in a relationship with Sam(Weller).

At first Sam seems to be a nice guy, but that soon changes. He keeps coming up with different ways to make money but never follows through. He moves in with the family way too soon and even starts helping himself to the boys belongings. He invites shady looking friends to the house late at night to have Coke parties and starts to become verbally abusive to all and physically abusive to Wendy. She keeps telling the boys that Sam is trying and to be patient but the stress of this affects the boys as well.

Jake is a great student, athletic and fun-loving. As the stress keeps welling up in him it causes problems in his relationship with his girlfriend Lisa(Jessica-Parker). He becomes verbally abusive to his friends and more aggressive on the Lacrosse field. Up to this point he has been tolerant of his self absorbed, egomaniac teacher but even starts to become defiant with him as well.

Brian avoids home as much as he can and keeps getting into bad fights in school.

When Jake discovers that Sam is trafficking drugs through the house he has finally had enough and takes it upon himself to make a stand.

This movie is a great example of how a bad relationship can cause stress on more than two lives. Stress becomes a trickle down effect and can be very damaging especially to young lives.

If you're an 80's film buff, you couldn't ask for anything better than Firstborn. Peter Weller being creepier than creepy, Cory Haim being earnest, Sarah Jessica Parker being mousy, and Teri Garr addicted to coke. Does it get any better? I found the film looking for more Christopher Collet flicks (he's the dreamy 13-year-old Paul of Sleepaway Camp), and he knocks this role out of the park as an engaging and increasingly troubled teen trying to keep his family together. Though the subject matter is a little heavy, Apted keeps you riveted, and Firstborn proves itself to be a heartfelt and endearing look at a family ripped apart. Not only is this Corey Haim's first film, but the entire cast is outstanding. Do yourself a favor and see it.