Love That Boy

You wouldn't think that a movie in which an adult woman and a teenage boy flirt with romance could be described as sweet but sweet is exactly what this movie is.

Phoebe (Nadia Litz, whose baby face helps to undercut the creepiness of the tale), is about to graduate university (which would make her roughly 21). She's a total type A, obsessing over making valedictorian, piling on extra curriculars and emotionally suffocating her roommate and best friend (only friend) Robin. Eventually Robin cracks under the pressure of being Phoebe's best friend and plus one to everything. She tells Phoebe off, mentioning in a list of complaints that, among other things, Phoebe has never had a boyfriend. Phoebe is embarrassed but also decides to approach this as an unsocialized type-A would and adds getting a boyfriend to her list of things to do. After a date goes wrong she ends up hanging out with Frazer (Adrien Dixon) her 14 year old neighbour who she pays to mow her lawn. Frazer is actually impressed by Phoebe's knowledge and the two end up growing closer and closer.

The film definitely toes the line about coming across as icky, but Dorfman and her co-writer Jennifer Deyell handle the material well and keep it just innocent enough and just awkward enough so that it never crosses over into full on creepiness.

It's also a super low-budget film but this somehow adds to the cartoonishness and sweetness of the movie.

I'm still wondering where this little movie came from. A fabulous little picture about a woman obsessed and how she falls in love (something which turns her life upside down). The problem, the boy is 14, she's 21. As messed up as this sounds, this romance didn't look all that strange on screen. Nadia Litz plays the great role of Phoebe, a college student who has great plans for herself and a list of things to do before graduation. Adrien Dixon is great as the 14 year old love interest Frazer, but I think that the rally big steal of this picture is P.J. Crosby playing Bugs, Frazer's little sister. Great characters, filming and acting make this a thoroughly enjoyable picture well worth watching. 9/10

+ The story itself gives an interesting view of a too ambitious girl who is not on this planet but lives in her artificial challenge-controlled life - created by herself in form of a list, containing all the 'important' things what in life a person should reach. The age-problem is also interesting, comes from real life (the boy is much too young for her...what should be done, it is reckoned as a shame, will she undertake...?)

• The above mentioned list was very exaggerated. The implementation of the main role character was also very exaggerated, anti-antipathetic. In total the antipathetic feeling and the fast-changing exaggerated scenes overwhelmed the story.

If Kate Hudson or Britanny Murphy played 'Phoebe' and starred in a Blockbuster version of "Love That Boy", then it would totally not compliment my taste in Hollywood sugarcoated flicks. The underrated actors, simplicity and low-budget style aids to the films cuteness and authenticity of what a Canadian director can do to make a low-scale production work, therefore it should stay preserved inside the boundaries of great Canadian film-making and should never be touched again.

Phoebe (Nadia Litz) determines the success of her college life on striving to win the year's "Most Outstanding Student Award". She grounds her priorities on a "to do" list in which she has to accomplish before she graduates. This list isolates Phoebe from her peers and prevents her from experiencing the typical partying life of a college student. Her single and more outgoing roommate, 'Robin' (Nikki Barnett) abandons Pheobe for the road to enlightenment with her new Buddhist friend, 'Kwan' (John Shurko). One of the tasks that Phoebe must do is find a boyfriend. Unexpectadley, Phoebe finds a fourteen year old friend to talk to, 'Frazer' (Adrien Dixon) and forms a deep friendship that is something more than just "hanging out".

Character development was well thought out. The annoyance of Nadia Litz who plays Phoebe was really irritating throughout the beginning of the film. At some certain points in the beginning, I wanted to kick my television set and throw it out the window. However, once she met Frazer she started to grow on me as the scenes progressed---a film never really did that to me before, and I was quite surprised! Usually when a film opens with an annoying character, the character still stays annoying towards the end of it. But Phoebe totally flipped 180. Adrien Dixon who played Frazer wasn't too bad either---it's good that he didn't come across as one of those typical horny teenagers looking for sex. Ahem, American Pie and Girl Next Door anyone?

Above all, one of the main reasons why I enjoyed this film was because I didn't expect much from it before I decided to watch it, however, I was impressed with the overall outcome after wards. Although it didn't have the greatest well-known actors, the best cinematography or screenplay, I saw a lot effort being put into the film. The soundtrack was great too.

Overall, 7/10

Set in suburban Halifax, a college student meets the neighbour across the street. LOVE THAT BOY is a heart-warming look at a coming-of-age story for two young people. Frazer is the typical earnest, adorable 14 year old boy that we all fall in love with. There's the other girl on the street who constantly picks on Frazer because she "likes" him. Phoebe is the over-achieving college student who falls for the lawnboy. Phoebe is a "late bloomer" in relationships and the Frazer is attracted to the Phoebe who is mature, fun and sincere. The story is about two people who "get each other" however the age difference comes between them. See this well-written and acted film. 8/10