Old Enough

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.

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.

Enjoyable little film about friendship, the fun and pains of growing up, and incidently, growing up on the streets of New York; Though not for everybody, this is still engaging to watch. 4/5 stars.... Maybe we see on DVD one day, no?

This is a rare gem, one that isn't afraid to confront what it means to grow up in 80s America. Set in 80s New York, Silver has lensed an astonishingly authentic view of childhood, surprisingly devoid of sentimentality. She isn't afraid to paint life in realist tones, often shocking the audience with the intrusion of adult behavior upon the young protagonist's life. The issue of class difference is central to the film's development of the two main characters Sarah and Kare; the former a rich Upper East-side innocent; the latter a brash, precocious Italian-Catholic schoolgirl. Yes, this treatment of the different class systems seems rather trite at first, but the complexities of the characters are mapped through until the sombre end, which is a refreshing change from the feel-good nonsense made by Disney et al. This independent film could have been a Disney film; thank Mickey Mouse it wasn't. A testament to the true spirit of independent cinema in the 80s.

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.