Old Enough

This movie has a very very special quality to it. Yes, I understand it's dated. You don't have to tell me the dialogue is totally basic nearly throughout. This is a classic 1980's movie. This movie touches on something. The ending scene very nearly spells it out, but it keeps its message veiled, and leaves it for you to figure it out, like all good movies should.

This movie had all the elements it would take to become one of the defining movies of a generation. It had the right characters, the right setting, and the right themes. Classism, racism, religion, coming of age (on multiple fronts), deep family dynamics, urban violence, and adultery were all touched on and even a minor plot turn could have explored any number of them. However . . .

it seems that the film makers deliberately missed out on this opportunity. The viewer can almost feel the hand wringing and pearl clutching amongst the powers that were as even the mildest of controversial themes was approached. The "bad girl" wasn't all that bad, and the "good girl" was naive almost to the point of imbecility. This is no fault of the performers - the acting was very good (with the possible exception of the brother (played by Neill Barry), who was a little wooden - hey, ya can't win 'em all). Even for the '80s it was just too mild.

I can see how the milquetoast WASP crowd might find this movie enjoyable, but for anyone with pulse it's a pretty dull exploration of a potentially deep movie. I think it could be remade today with a little more depth and a little more internal exploration of a great bunch of characters and people would rave.

This is an excellent 'coming of age' adolescent film. Everytime I've caught it on cable over the years I've never been able to stop watching it. Yesterday on IFC it happened again for maybe the 8th time, I've lost count. It's great that a channel like IFC or BRAVO has recognized the worth of this film because in my video guide they gave it the worst score possible (a turkey), which is an abomination. This is one of the most truthful films about kids and in a wider sense Brooklyn or New York City attitudes in the '80s. The director has to be either very good or extremely lucky to get this much truth on film. 'Old Enough' is almost like an updated, early '80s adolescent version of Engel and Orkin's 'Little Fugitive,' or 'Lovers and Lollipops,' two pioneering cinema verite films of the '50s. It is cut directly from the fabric of life and needless to say, shot entirely on location. In fact, it is almost like walking into the lives of these quintessentially 'New York' people, you can almost smell the neighborhood. The two girls playing the leads are just fabulous; it's as if they're just living their real lives and you're eavesdropping on them; you hardly suspect you're watching a movie. In the end, friendship is shown to be stronger than class conflicts but not until the magical and forever vanished world of the 11 to 13 year old that once existed in every soul has been resurrected for re-evaluation and non-sentimental nostalgia.

I was also surprised to see the low rating of this great little film. I saw it as a teen in the mid 80's on cable and, like so many others, was unable to stop watching this story through to its end. Even though it now looks so dated, I mean, no dot coms, facebook or cell phones here, the meat of the story holds true now, as it did in '84. The acting is fine and the issues are realistic. Speaking for myself, as a young teen-aged girl growing up in New Orleans, I could totally relate to the emotions expressed by the two lead characters, both New Yorkers, because the feelings were universal. If you're a female, you'll probably get it (and let me just say, I don't usually enjoy 'chick-flicks'). Like someone else has already posted, I, too, look forward to my own daughter viewing this film. It's still one of my all-time faves & whenever I catch it on TV, I still have to watch it, all these years later. I'd say it has stood the test of time.

I just watched a 13-year-old taped-from-Bravo copy of this film, and let me tell you: it's a delight. Not only does it knowingly tap into the teenage experience of expanding cultural sensibilities, but it does so in a completely unpretentious and earnest way-- no John Hughes slapstick or over sentimentality here, just an honest portrayal of a pivotal friendship.

The two female leads are excellent young actresses, and the soundtrack is really quite unique (think a more primitive version of the "Virgin Suicides" soundtrack by Air).

Plus, you can see what Alyssa Milano was doing before she rocketed to "Who's the Boss?" fame.

Check it out if you can.