In the Mood

I must have watched this film close to ten times by now and I've enjoyed it every time. The script is charming, the acting great, the direction masterful and the sense of time and place very convincing. To top it off, it's even a true story. I love this film and I wish they'd bring it out on DVD.

Patrick Dempsey, in his very early film vehicle before LOVERBOY and HAPPY TOGETHER, played a lovestruck teenager known as the "Woo Woo Kid", circa 1944. He's the all-American boy who is always IN THE MOOD for women much older than him. To revive the 40s is an understatement; it could have been much more livelier and funnier the same way. When you first get a glance of this overlooked movie, it will almost be very puny and be best forgettable. This is probably Dempsey's best one, showing that he's been capable of being a kid out of the ordinary, and always ends up taking the wrong paths toward trouble. The "true" story of Sonny Wisecarver (which this is based on) seemed mightily uncommon and not often remembered to this day, but this piece of interest may catch your eye for a split second or two. Worth a valuable 49-cent rental.

In these days of headlines about women abusing boys for their own emotional and sexual needs, this movie definitely is a creepy idea. Even though it is generally thought that boys and men will get "it" wherever they can, the truth is, inappropriate relationships cause psychological damage to all concerned. A 15-year old boy has an unformed character, the same as a 15-year old girl, has an unformed personality, not yet strong enough to withstand the impact of a sexual relationship and emerge unscathed. And a woman who would enter into such a relationship obviously is already damaged goods.

Patrick Dempsey himself did apparently have an appreciation for older women and went on to marry a woman who played a character on a train in the movie. He was 21 at the time and she was 48.

Here's a different story: funny and appealing for awhile. I say "awhile" because on the third viewing of this, I must have gotten "righteous" because I did not appreciate adultery, pre-marital sex and sex with minors as something to be glamorized. It was in this film, sad to say.

Apparently based on a true-life story of a kid called Ellsworth ""Sonny" Wisecarver, Patrick Dempsey plays the 15-year-old kid who married two adult women in the 1940s, causing scandals. In this movie, Wisecarveer is made out to be a lovable, naive, romantic and sympathetic figure despite the fact he is an immoral idiot!

The first woman he's involved with, "Judy Cusimano," is played by a pretty actress with whom I am not familiar: Talia Balsam. She reminded me of Lea Thompson. According to her filmography, she's done mostly TV work since this movie. Anyway, "Judy" and "Sonny" certainly make a strange pair. There are some funny lines between them, but she's as morally bankrupt as him.

After those two are quickly discovered and the marriage dissolved, Sonny is now the attraction of older women everywhere. It doesn't take long for Beverly D'Angelo enters the picture as "Francine Glatt" being second important adult woman in Sonny''s odd life.

Although the movie glorifies all this sleazy nonsense, it is a fun movie to watch if you've never seen it before. The bright colors in here, the 1940s mood and atmosphere, a great '40s soundtrack and some genuinely funny moment and scenes all are pluses.

Patrick Dempsey stars as "Sonny Wisecarver" aka the "The Woo-Woo Kid" in this small film which is based on a true story about a teenager in 1944 who has two affairs with older women. Beverly D'Angelo and Talia Balsam are appropriately sexy as the two love interests for Dempsey. All in all the film is a nice way to pass the time. It is one of those hit-and-miss comedies that came a dime a dozen in the 1980s. 2.5 out of 5 stars.