Generally, I have as much love for “coming of age” movies as I do for magic shows (the only thing I hate more are circuses), but every once in a while someone gets it right. Director Susan Skoog set this tale in a small New Jersey town in the early ’80’s (dig that retro soundtrack) before teenagers all lost their virginity at age 12. She displays the learning curve for sex, drugs, and high school as the gauntlet of terror that it is.
Anna (Liza Weil) is 17 and playing catch up in teen rebellion with her troubled pal, Brenda (Chad Morgan). Over two hours, she loses her virginity, almost her mind, but gains some identity and a little hope. Like Gallo in “Buffalo ’66”, she has to learn to move on. The true audience for this film should be teenage girls for the identification and the pain of recognition. They’ll probably never see it with it’s R rating and place in the indie film ghetto. It would be a travesty as everyone needs to see their lives reflected honestly in the media.
