"The First Time" is not just about having sex for the first time, but falling in love for the first time, and also just being yourself in front of the object of your affection for the first time. Aubrey (Britt Robertson) has a boyfriend (we'll get to him later) and Dave (Dylan O'Brien) is infatuated with a girl who will probably never like him for who he really is – she's just too into herself for that to ever happen.
At the beginning of the film, Aubrey and Dave meet, they're teenagers who go to different high schools, and their first night together reveals a natural attraction and an easy chemistry that allows them to just open up and talk about whatever they feel like saying. It's a fairly simple film, dialogue-heavy and follows their relationship as all teen romance films do, but there's something about it which suggests it's a genre we haven't really seen before.
"The First Time" isn't a comedy – it's a romantic drama. But it's not heavy and involved like a drama, it's light and funny like a comedy – but in a sweet, charming and real way. The only obvious attempt at comedy is with Aubrey's boyfriend Ronny (James Frecheville). Ronny is one or two years older, this, obviously, makes him wiser, more attuned to the ways of the world, and anybody who isn't him, or who hasn't gone to college, will just never understand the devastations that corporations cause. He likes Aubrey because she's different, she doesn't act all corporation-y.
We like Aubrey because she really isn't all that different. When she's with Dave, she's honest in a way that Dave needs. We like Dave because he convinces himself not to do something stupid, and then proceeds to do something stupid. Just like we all do. And that is why "The First Time" isn't as cheesy as it easily could be. It's a mature film in its depiction of teenagers; it works for adults just as well it does for its teen audience.
Writer and director Jon Kasdan (son of famous filmmaker Lawrence Kasdan) does a good job writing the main characters. The dialogue is a little unnatural at times, and some parts of the story are more drawn out than they need to be, but it's fairly easy to forgive that. The acting is surprisingly good, providing the film with the sweetness and charm that it needs. "The First Time" is a light romantic drama; easy to watch and enjoy, especially for fans of teen romantic comedies of any age.
