In the Mood

Here's a different story: funny and appealing for awhile. I say "awhile" because on the third viewing of this, I must have gotten "righteous" because I did not appreciate adultery, pre-marital sex and sex with minors as something to be glamorized. It was in this film, sad to say.

Apparently based on a true-life story of a kid called Ellsworth ""Sonny" Wisecarver, Patrick Dempsey plays the 15-year-old kid who married two adult women in the 1940s, causing scandals. In this movie, Wisecarveer is made out to be a lovable, naive, romantic and sympathetic figure despite the fact he is an immoral idiot!

The first woman he's involved with, "Judy Cusimano," is played by a pretty actress with whom I am not familiar: Talia Balsam. She reminded me of Lea Thompson. According to her filmography, she's done mostly TV work since this movie. Anyway, "Judy" and "Sonny" certainly make a strange pair. There are some funny lines between them, but she's as morally bankrupt as him.

After those two are quickly discovered and the marriage dissolved, Sonny is now the attraction of older women everywhere. It doesn't take long for Beverly D'Angelo enters the picture as "Francine Glatt" being second important adult woman in Sonny''s odd life.

Although the movie glorifies all this sleazy nonsense, it is a fun movie to watch if you've never seen it before. The bright colors in here, the 1940s mood and atmosphere, a great '40s soundtrack and some genuinely funny moment and scenes all are pluses.

In the Mood is like a 1940s version of Loverboy, which also starred Dempsey in the role of a young kid who manages to 'woo' older women while desperately trying to make things work with a girl his own age.

For those rent the video version, you'll get the mini-documentary of Sonny Elsworth Wisecarver, the man who's life 'In the Mood' is supposed to be based on. I'm not sure if this is shown during television broadcasts of the movie. But, even with the documentary of real-life Elsworth, it still seems hard to believe that the Woo Woo Kid shared the headlines with Hitler (the movie takes place during the second world war) unless of course, they were just small town headlines.

It is a nice romantic comedy. Wisecarver (Dempsey) narrates his days as a love struck 15 year-old who's wild romances become exaggeratingly probed by the press and law enforcement, making him the idol of young teenagers, the grievance of adults, and earns him the nickname, the 'Woo Woo Kid.' All he wanted was to meet a nice girl his own age. But that seems like one tough task for Wisecarver to accomplish. It all begins with a marriage to a 21 year-old married woman who Dempsey tries to help save from a rotten, abusive husband. After making the headlines, Wisecarver is the target of all the older ladies looking to get their hand on the romantic, but naive young man.

It is a funny little film and one you'll likely enjoy if you've like Dempsey's and Brian MacNamara's (he plays Wisecarver's friend) early 80s movies. Especially good in this movie are Michael Constantine (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) as Wisecarver's clueless dad, and Beverly D'Angelo as one of Wisecarvers girlfriends (sort of). It is a funny idea that a young boy's love life is so ridiculously probed by everyone as he's just trying to get along.

I must have watched this film close to ten times by now and I've enjoyed it every time. The script is charming, the acting great, the direction masterful and the sense of time and place very convincing. To top it off, it's even a true story. I love this film and I wish they'd bring it out on DVD.

In 1944, `Sonny' Wisecarver (Patrick Dempsey) is a fifteen years old teenager having very weird and depressive parents. He gets closer to his neighbor Judy Cusimano (Talia Balsam), a twenty-one years old woman living with a brutal man, Carlo (Tony Longo). His sensitive and delicate way of treating her makes Judy falls in love with him. They decide to escape to get married in a nearby town. A few days later, Carlo calls the police and the couple is arrested. The cases gets publicity, and the tender words of Judy about `Sonny' makes him famous as a heart-breaker. This is the beginning of a nice and funny movie, with Patrick Dempsey in the beginning of his career performing a character who really knows how women are to be treated. A good entertainment, recommended for those who likes comedy. My vote is seven.

Patrick Dempsey stars as "Sonny Wisecarver" aka the "The Woo-Woo Kid" in this small film which is based on a true story about a teenager in 1944 who has two affairs with older women. Beverly D'Angelo and Talia Balsam are appropriately sexy as the two love interests for Dempsey. All in all the film is a nice way to pass the time. It is one of those hit-and-miss comedies that came a dime a dozen in the 1980s. 2.5 out of 5 stars.