The First Time

I saw this movie late one night and could not believe how god-awful it was. It seemed to be paid for by the Niagra Falls Tourist Board (take a drink every time Tommy mentions the "Maid of the Mist" tour) and played like Wally, the Beav and Eddie Haskell go to a whore house.

This is a wonderful film, charming, light-hearted, modest, wise, touching and witty. It may be the best film about sex. The whole movie works: acting, directing, music, camera. The critics are wrong. One called it "embarrassingly sentimental". Don't believe them. It's a true classic. You'll like yourself and the human race more after enjoying it. You may shed a tear of gratitude at the end, and a tear of regret that they don't make them like this anymore. Every young person should see it.

Three big-talking teenage boys from New York, randy with bravado but no sexual experience, cross the Canadian border at Niagara Falls in search of prostitutes; instead, they chance upon a lovely young British woman they assume is a prostitute but who isn't. Amiable piffle from former-Disney director James Neilson and screenwriters Jo Heims and Roger Smith (who also co-produced) isn't very bright or witty, but has a certain shuffling charm--it's also not the last time Jacqueline Bisset would find herself between the sheets with a younger man. The boys' collective misunderstanding of the distressed girl's background isn't belabored...and when she realizes they thought she was for hire, she doesn't make a fuss, either. Still, this trio of would-be studs is rather colorless--one of the boys leers a lot while the other two look petrified--though heavy-lidded Wes Stern has a nicely low-keyed personality and Bisset seems genuinely touched by his youthful confusion. Neilson waits until nearly the end to turn the lights down low; in the meantime, we are treated to a tour of the Falls and downtown Ontario, which is fine for those seeking a nostalgic trip back in time rather than a movie with a substantial plot. ** from ****

This is your basic story of three young men who are trying to get laid and meet an older woman. We've seen it before and this offers nothing new. A young man named Kenny (Wes Stern) writes his friends from Buffalo that he goes to a whorehouse at Niagara Falls and then one day Mike (Ricky Kelman) and Tommy (Wink Roberts) show up and expect to be shown the whorehouse named "Rosies". They make it to Niagara Falls and in a bar they meet Anna (Jacqueline Bisset) who asks them to help her cross the border. They get back to Buffalo and head to their hotel room where they expect sex that Anna is not expecting. The lead actor is Wes Stern whom I remember as Lenny on the show "Rhoda" and the studio's really tried to make him more popular but it never happened. He was such an unmasculine and nerdy guy which made him perfect for the role in this film. Stern was not a bad actor and he actually has some good moments in the film. Bisset also has her moments and she actually seemed to play the same role years later in the comedy "Homework" if you remember that one. Nice location shooting of Niagara Falls that make this a nice film to look at. Not a bad film but awfully predictable and familiar.

I first saw this movie when it came out in 1969. I was 16 at the time and totally identified with the boys in the movie (emotions, thoughts, etc.) In fact I so liked the movie at the time that I continued to remember it and most of the scenes over the next 30 years. I could not remember the title but remembered the name of Wes Stern and so I kind of watched for it off and on over the years to see if it would appear on TV.

Anyway I watched it for the first time in 30 years this morning on Showtime. What a treat and what a rush of memories. A very sweet coming of age movie indeed. I guess some things never change.